Education

Recap & Refresh – CSE Blog Wrap-Up

As another year ends, we’re thrilled to recap our 2024 journey through financial education! Together through our blog, we explored a variety of money topics, from budgeting basics to protecting against scams and fraud. Here’s a quick guide to all the topics we covered this year in our blog, making it easy to revisit any lesson whenever you need a refresher!

1. Budgeting and How to Put it into Practice

Budgeting...

Fraud is happening more than ever, which means it’s crucial to stay informed and be vigilant. Knowing common terms and tactics that scammers use empowers you to recognize red flags and avoid falling victim to deceitful schemes.

Keeping educated on the latest fraudulent practices, can protect your personal and financial well-being, ensuring that you don't endure the hardship and stress that often accompany being scammed.

Staying informed is your first...

All the free things you can get with a simple library card!

Living within modest means and a budget doesn’t have to mean you miss out on all of the fun! Finding free resources and events in the community can help you save money for essential expenses and emergencies, yet still, give you the opportunity to engage in community activities or events that can enrich your life without straining your budget.

One of the best resources in many communities with...

From the kids to the adults, regardless of your age, it is important to learn about financial education! As we prepare for back to school, we want to share more about our Financial Education HUB! We strive to provide accessible and valuable financial resources for both adults and kids!

For the Kids:

The...

When it comes to unknown numbers calling your home or mobile device, most of us just let it go to voicemail to see if it’s a legitimate call or a possible scam call. We want to remind you of the best practices to keep you, and your financial and/or personal information safe.

If something seems too good to be true, it may be. Recognizing the following red flags may help you avoid falling victim to fraud or a scam:

Taxes and deductions can be complicated, especially when tax credit eligibility constantly changes. For families with children, understanding what child tax credit assistance is available and how it will be distributed provides helpful insight on how best to optimize personal finances.

Recent changes to the Child Tax Credit expand its reach to help more families for the 2021 tax year. Advance payments, based on 2020 returns, began rolling out in July 2021 and will continue...

Refinancing a loan is a fairly common practice for consumers, and refinancing debt can be beneficial if done right. “Essentially, refinancing replaces an old loan with a new one with terms that are better for your situation.” (BANZAI) There are multiple reasons why someone would consider refinancing a loan, so let’s start by evaluating what those reasons might be.

Here are a few reasons some people choose to refinance a loan:

To save...

Buying a home is a memorable and huge experience that many people dream about. But, buying a home isn’t something you should do ‘on the fly’, rather something you should do mindfully with good research, consideration, and financial stability.

It’s important that you, and your co-borrower if you have one, do ample know what it is you’re looking for in a home exactly. Talk about it, and make sure you’re on the same page. Once you’ve...

If 2020 taught us anything, it was to maintain an emergency fund, ready for when we need it most. An emergency fund is an amount of money set aside to cover unforeseen expenses, or, the extra money that is set back to cover basic expenses when there are drastic changes to your income. Emergency funds can be used for small emergencies or extreme emergencies. How much a person needs in an emergency fund is unique and varies based on personal circumstances. Common reasons that...

Here we go...another new year, another round of resolutions. Whether you’ve decided your New Year’s Resolution will again be to lose those 10 pounds, organize your office, or learn how to speak a new language – on your list of “things to do” in the New Year should also include giving your finances a check-up!

The start of a new year is a great time to review and re-evaluate your budget. It’s easy after the end of the year to gather...