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When to Refinance Your Mortgage
When you take out a mortgage to purchase a home, you finance it. When you replace a home's existing mortgage with a new loan, you refinance it. Refinancing is a common practice among American homeowners. Why do they go through the effort of uprooting their existing...
Understanding Your Mortgage Payment Breakdown
Buying a home is one of the most exciting moments you'll ever experience. It will also require you to familiarize yourself with the mortgage process – especially the part that obligates you to make monthly payments for the next 15, 20 or 30 years. When you make a...
How to Maximize Your FDIC Coverage
Americans' trust in the banking system was justifiably shaken during the Great Depression. That's why Congress passed the Banking Act of 1933. It imposed numerous reforms, which included separating investment banking from commercial banking, outlawing interest...
Managing Margins During Inflationary Periods
In January 2020, approximately $1.8 billion USD was in circulation. As of May 2024, that figure increased to approximately $2.3 billion. In January 2020, the Federal Reserve's total assets equaled approximately $4.2 trillion. Just six months later, they had grown to...
How to Read a Balance Sheet
Book value. It is how much a business is worth: the combined total of all its assets and liabilities. It is normal for a company or organization to calculate its own book value every month or quarter. Doing so provides key information to the company's...
Debit Cards vs. Credit Cards: Which One Is Right for Me?
They're both flat, plastic rectangles you can use to buy things at most places. Other than that, debit cards and credit cards are two very different items. Without knowing you, we can't say which card is best for your unique financial goals and circumstances. Let's...
Things to Know About Overdraft Protection
Suppose you have $90 in your checking account. You purchase $100 worth of groceries using your debit card. Your bank approves the transaction – but your balance is now -$40 instead of -$10. What happened? An overdraft fee. When you opened your checking account,...
Getting a Business Loan? Find a Lender That Can Help You Grow
Need a loan for your small business? You could go to a big, national bank chain to request the funding you'd need to accelerate your enterprise to the next level. But here's the problem with big banks: despite all their billions of dollars' worth of assets, they...
Fix Up Loans to Gain Equity in Homes
Would you like to fix up your home? If you want an addition, alteration, renovation or repair that would make your home more liveable, more energy efficient, or more accessible, then the state of Minnesota and Sherburne State Bank can help! The Minnesota...
Benefits of Digital Banking
Many functions of a bank should only be done in person. For example, if you're applying for a home or business loan, you want to know the local lender you're borrowing from. But what about when you just want to pay a bill? Or view your current account balance? Or...