Give the gift of a sound financial future
News | Published on December 17, 2020 at 1:59pm EST | Author: Chad Koenen
0Mortgage, refinance rates present opportunity
By Barbie Porter
Editor
The Vergas State Bank offers Christmas gifts that give well beyond the holiday season.
Imagine under the tree a small book with a ledger inside. At the top of the ledger is the child’s name and a cash amount. Traditional savings accounts are a right of passage for some families, and an opportunity to began teaching the benefits of saving.
Most kids will have plenty of toys to play with come Christmas, but this gift has the potential to build a strong foundation for their financial future.
Assistant Vice President Sherri Hanson said a great gift accompaniment to opening a savings account is a piggy bank.
Saving can be fun. If there is a goal of purchase for the child, be it the newest video game console or a car, find a photograph of the item. Then take a blank sheet of paper and draw a thermometer. Mark lines on it with amounts that are milestones toward achieving the goal. As the money in the piggy bank is deposited into the savings account, watch the thermometer rise by coloring it in.
“Saving when younger may help create a really good habit for a lifetime,” Hanson said.
By achieving savings goals while young, the child will gain a better understanding of fiscal responsibility when older. They may also learn how work, be it shoveling driveways or doing chores for an allowance, equals purchasing those sought after items.
To open a savings account, there is no minimum amount required. Another bonus to savings accounts is the amount in the account receives interest. Hanson said the rates are low now, but when they rise the rate a customer receives automatically rises as well.
Savings accounts are great gifts for children and young adults, but don’t forget the amazing gift one can give themselves through purchasing a house or refinancing their mortgage.
“The market is really good for refinancing or getting a home loan,” Hanson said, noting Vergas State Bank has a well-versed loan officer, Daren Berube. “He can make the process easy and is very knowledgable.”
With the new year ahead, Hanson also invited customers to stop by for a wall calendar.
The Vergas State Bank lobby is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the drive-through and walk-up is open Monday-Friday 8-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Vergas State Bank is located at 106 East Main Street.
All business can be conducted through the drive up, including opening accounts and refinancing mortgages.
“We’re still here working,” Hanson said. “We will find a way to get the customers what they need.”
Farmers State Bank was the first bank in Vergas and opened in 1904. The bank closed in 1932, during the Great Depression. The Vergas State Bank opened in 1936 and has provided a dependable, consistent banking presence in Vergas and Otter Tail County. The locally owned, independent, community bank is led by President Greg Dahlgren and Vice President Lee Dahlgren.
Throughout the years the bank has enjoyed quality leadership and staff, which has helped the bank maintain a major share of the local banking market.
The Vergas State Bank will be closing Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. and will be closed Christmas Day. On New Years Eve the bank will close at 3 p.m. and be closed New Years Day.