Blog

By Cindy Cabbage One of the great benefits of technology is its ability to make life easier. We experience this everyday as we work, travel, and take care of the house. Technology can also make it easier to manage finances. Have you thought about all the financial tasks you can accomplish with technology? Here are

By Mary Lukow The holidays should be a time of joy and celebration. That’s what we all strive for. The reality is that it can be a stressful time too. Many obligations and priorities compete for our limited time. Family commitments pull us in different directions. Perhaps the most significant source of stress at the

To get a glimpse at pure joy, just look at the face of a child on Christmas morning. The anticipation and excitement of the holidays as experienced by a child is hard to match. For some children, though, the holidays are not so happy. Children living in poverty may not have the typical joy-filled experience

Communities are living, breathing organisms – always growing, always changing. Today’s students will be tomorrow’s leaders. It is important that healthy communities support local students as they invest in their education and build a future for themselves. In that spirit, Federated Bank is pleased to invite Illinois high-school seniors to enter a statewide essay-writing contest

By Tom Cleary We are about to enter the busiest shopping season of the year. Many of us will spend more time in department stores during the Christmas season as we try to find the perfect gift for every person on our list. That means that we will also be confronted more often with the

Seasons come and seasons go in Central Illinois, and everyone has a favorite. For many of us, our favorite season is just around the corner – the holiday season. There is just so much to love about the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Good food, parties with friends, time with family, opportunities to give to those

By Cindy Cabbage Almost everyone understands that debt is not good. Yet in the real world, it is easy to fall into the debt trap…and so hard to get out of it. For anyone who has accumulated credit card debt, the question becomes how to get rid of it and stop its dangerous growth. Here

By Steve Wedig Major life changes have a way of affecting even the small details of your life. For instance, a change in address may require that you find providers of often used services closer to your new home. Banking is one of those services that you may consider changing providers when you move. But

By Craig Gocken There are times in the life of a business when applying for a business loan makes sense. This may be at the very beginning, when the business is just getting started, or at a time of growth or expansion into a new geographical area, a new market, or a new product offering.

By Steve Wedig Sending a kid to college can be a scary time for everyone involved. It means lifestyle changes, moving away, and a lot more independence, all of which are good but sometimes frightening things. On top of all this, college can be an economic burden, and it raises a lot of questions about