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By Andrea Eldert, NMLS #1094715 Insurance is a fact of life. It provides security in the case that things don’t go as planned. Health insurance covers the cost of medical care during an illness or injury. Auto insurance covers the cost of car repairs. Homeowners insurance pays for the damage done to a home. So

By Cindy Cabbage, NMLS#794021 You may have heard your friends or co-workers talking about a HELOC and wondered what this is. No, it’s not a super-strong security device used for keeping your treasured possessions safe. A HELOC is an acronym for a Home Equity Line of Credit, and many homeowners find it a convenient and

By Andrea Eldert Every home is unique, and every homeowner is an individual. So why should all mortgages be the same? At Federated Bank, we don’t think they should be. While the traditional mortgage is right for some people, others don’t fit into the traditional mold. This doesn’t mean that homeownership isn’t a possibility. As

By Michael Breisch The process of buying a car can be both confusing and exhausting. Various opportunities are available to potential car buyers, including purchase at car dealerships, through personal auto sales, or online. Buyers who don’t want to be taken for a ride on an auto purchase know they need to be knowledgeable about

It’s no secret – your credit score (also known as a FICO score) can have a huge impact on your financial future. A poor credit score may affect your ability to secure financing, increase the interest rate on loans you do qualify for, or limit your access to services, such as cell phone contracts, apartment

Capital One recently announced that they had experienced a data breach in which many as 100 million cardholder accounts and applications were exposed. While this data breach only affects Capital One cardholders, it underscores the vulnerability we all face and the need to take steps to protect ourselves from fraud. At Federated Bank, we are

By Mary Lukow Most Americans have at least some amount of debt, and many are trying to reduce or eliminate their debt. One option for tackling debt is debt consolidation. Some experts promote this tool for getting rid of debt while others encourage debtors to stay away. The reality is that many people just simply

By Amanda Martinez Seasons come and seasons go. Living in central Illinois, we know this better than anyone. The long, hot days of summer will soon give way to falling leaves and falling temperatures of autumn. Have you ever thought about how the seasons can affect your small business? There are actually a number of

By Domi Garcia It’s always easier to accomplish something if you have a clear goal and strong motivation to reach it. That is especially true when you are trying to save money. Just deciding that you’d like to save some money is not as helpful as being specific about how much you want to save

By Sarah Andrina Your typical college student is always on the look-out for ways to make things easy for themselves. Banking is not something that they want to put a lot of effort or time into so the easy situation is the one they usually go with. At Federated Bank, we try to put our