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(Jessica) Welcome to Money Matters on the Southern Bank Financial Wellness network. I’m Jessica.

(John) And I’m John!

(Jessica) And today we’re talking about the price of gasoline.

(John) That is the topic of the year, no doubt.

(Jessica) John, with gas prices so high, what are some tips to help save money on fuel?

(John) The good news, Jessica, is there are lots of options available! Gas apps can find low prices near you, plus there are fuel rewards programs from places like gas ...

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(Jessica) Welcome to Money Matters on the Southern Bank Financial Wellness Network. I’m Jessica.

(John) And I’m John!

(Jessica) And today we’re talking about inflation. That is a hot topic. What is inflation exactly?

(John) Well, Jessica, basically you have inflation when prices are rising on just about everything even though the products and services haven’t changed.

(Jessica) Basically, you’re getting less bang for your buck.

(John) Exactly.

(Jessica) So, what should you do?

(John) Well, short term, you might have to dip into your savings account if you have one. Big picture, you have ...

Did you know that financial stress is one of the biggest impacts to employee performance?

According to a recent study, financial stress can impact your workforce in a wide variety of ways, ranging from increased absenteeism and tardiness to decreased productivity, even to physical health issues such as ulcers, anxiety, and heart problems.

So, what can you do to address this stress as an employer?

Many organizations now offer financial wellness programs that help teach employees to better manage their money and reduce their ...

If you think your identity has been stolen, here are five important steps to take:

Step One: Contact your financial institution to review and possibly remove any fraudulent charges.

Step Two: Contact one of the credit reporting companies to report that you have been a victim of identity theft, and request a fraud alert or credit freeze to your account.

Step Three: Request other credit reports. Victims of identity theft are entitled to credit reports from each of the major credit reporting companies.

Step ...

Do you know about the 50-30-20 rule of budgeting?

This rule is an easy way to evaluate how much you should be spending on a monthly basis by recommending that you spend 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and debts.

For example, let’s say you make $1,000 in a month.

Fifty percent of that is $500, and you’d put it toward something like your rent or mortgage, groceries, and utilities.

Thirty percent would be $300 for wants, ...

Hey! Do you know how to make your money work for you, simply by using the power of time?

Compounding interest is, essentially, interest on interest. Interest accumulates on what you put in as well as any interest that came before. It adds up faster than you might think.

For example, say you start with $10,000 and contribute another $500 every month for five years at a 5% interest rate that compounds annually. In five years, you will have around $38,000. In ...

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(Kristen) Welcome to Money Matters at 7:57 with Justin Chastain. And, Justin, for those out there who are trying to cut back this year, what are some ways to really save money on a tight budget?

(Justin) Don’t take yourself too seriously. So, I always tell people it’s not about cutting things out or giving things up. It’s what are you adding value towards? So, when you’re looking at your value-based budgeting, make sure if you don’t value something in your ...

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(Kristen) Welcome to Money Matters at 7:57 with Justin Chastain. And, Justin, okay, help us out today. So, we all may want to know some tips on how to research stocks.

(Justin) I think everybody does, right? And even Warren Buffett says, “I’ll never give you advice on a basic stock,” or a tip, but some basic things to do as you’re out looking around. Number one, go to websites like NerdWallet, Investopedia. Those are really good resources, too, to really talk more ...

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(Kristen) Welcome to Money Matters at 7:57 with Justin Chastain. And, Justin, today, how about we make a list? Does that sound good?

(Justin) Well, unless you’re Santa Claus or you work for the DMV or the government officials, I don’t know. But I do think checklists are important, especially when you’re talking about your finances.

(Kristen) Yeah, so let’s talk about the financial checklist. So, how can it really help us, like, stay on budget this year?

(Justin) Because if you take ...

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(Kristen) Welcome to Money Matters at 7:57 with Justin Chastain. And, Justin, budgeting – not always an easy task for most of us, but what are some good goals to set for a budget? We all do that, you know – New Year goals.

(Justin) You know, when I think of goals, I think of pandas. Now, you’re like, OK, now what? Bamboo? They need to be strong but flexible, and they don’t need to be anything that’s not realistic or valuable to you. ...