Posts Tagged ‘Education’

Monarch Online Banking and Mint.com

April 21st, 2010

Mint.com is a personal finance web app, which helps you keep track of spending and income. Up until this week, Monarch Community Banks online banking was not supported, but now it is.

We have had the ability (and still do) to export to Excel, Microsoft Money and Quicken. However the process is still a manual process of downloading and the importing.

I am lazy, and the less steps the better. That is where Mint comes in.

With Mint you can automatically pull all your Monarch accounts you have listed. Once your account is set up then that’s when the fun begins. (well if you call micromanagement of your finances fun.)

How to Add your Monarch Community Bank accounts

first thing you need to do is sign up for mint. just go to www.mint.com and select sign up. all you need to provide is an email and a password.

Once signed up you need to add an account.

Click the orange Add account button.

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And then enter www.monarchcb.com in the search box.

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Select us from results Monarch Community Bank (MI)

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enter your Netteller ID, or the alias you have defined, and enter your password.

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ok at this moment you are probably thinking ( and rightfully so) why would i give them my account info, isn’t that against the security best practice you wrote? Yes it is, however mint is a secure site. for more information on Mint’s security check out the video below, and also there security FAQ

Ok so now that has been addressed lets finish adding our accounts.

So click on Start

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It will now go through communicating with our online banking

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And Boom! There’s your accounts. This test account has 3 accounts associated with it a Checking, Savings, and Mortgage

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Close the window and you are one your way to financial management bliss.

Of course once you have your information set up you can add credit cards, store cards, investment accounts, assets and pretty much all your financial info and once you have that data, you can budget, track spending, and graphs!

Security Best Practices

January 15th, 2010

Monarch Community Bank is committed to protecting your data; however, we cannot do it without your help. Please follow the guidelines below to help protect you and your accounts. This information in not limited to keeping your Monarch Community Bank Online Banking account secure. It will help keep all your online experiences safe and secure.

  • Monarch Community Bank will never solicit you for passwords, account numbers, or other personal information-if you get an email requesting information contact us at (800) 882-2911;
  • Access the online banking Web site by typing www.monarchcb.com into the address bar, rather than clicking links you might see in an email, instant message, or on another web site;
  • Check for anything that looks unfamiliar, unprofessional, or out of place to you and;
  • Never allow your web browser to save username and passwords.

Secure Your Passwords

  • Create strong passwords. These are complex passwords longer than six characters. It should include both upper and lowercase, numbers, and special characters (!,@,#,$, etc.). Create a saying and abbreviate it to help remember the password. For example, My dog Rex can help you remember the password Myd0gRe%;
  • Use a different password for each online account;
  • Keep your password safe-don’t leave it in a file on your computer or in a sticky note on your monitor;
  • Change your passwords at least every 90 days and;
  • Never share your password.

Secure Your PC

  • Maintain active, up-to-date antivirus, spyware, and firewall protection . Microsoft Security Essentials, and AVG both offer free antivirus protection
  • Keep your operating system (Windows XP, for example) browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox) and applications (such as Adobe Reader or iTunes) up to date;
  • Exercise caution when computing in public (Airports, Coffee Shops, etc.) Be on the lookout for theft and people looking over your shoulder for usernames and passwords and;
  • Only download from trusted sites, and always scan the file for virus first.

Securing Your email:

  • Never open attachments unless the sender explicitly notified that they were sending one.
  • Never click on a link in a spam message, even the unsubscribe link.
  • If any company is asking for personal information (Account Number, Passwords, Usernames, etc) call the company at their listed number on your statement or credit card. Legitimate companies will never ask for that information in an email.
  • Delete spam messages when they arrive. Ideally do not even open them.

Securing Your Data

  • Backup your data frequently.
  • Move Backup data and store in a fireproof safe, or Safe Deposit Box.

Physical Security:

  • Guard your PIN number.
  • Secure your mailbox.
  • Shred any documents that contain identifying information before disposing of them.
  • Don’t leave credit cards, bank statements, checks, or other financial documents where service workers can find them.
  • Sign up for electronic statements.

Monitor your Accounts

  • Managing your bank accounts and credit cards online can actually help you protect your identity-log in and check your financial statements regularly.
  • If you notice any unauthorized transactions on your Monarch Community Bank accounts, immediately contact us at (800) 882-2911.
  • Check your Credit Report annually. Use www.annualcreditreport.com to review your reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

How Stuff Works, How Mortgages Work

March 30th, 2009

How Stuff Works, has an amazingly in depth article on how Mortgages work.. The qualification process, debit to income, APR, payment, Freddie Mac, PMI, everything is covered. They also list ways to save money over the life of your mortgage. Plus they have charts.

From the article:

  • Choose the right type of mortgage – A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the most expensive type of mortgage you can get — UNLESS you’re going to stay in your home for many years. Think about how long you will be in your home and choose the type of mortgage that makes the most sense and offers the lowest payments for the years you will be in the home.
  • Make extra payments – Extra payments go directly to the principal of the loan. This means that the actual principal of the loan is knocked down by that extra amount you pay, rather than having the bulk of your mortgage payments paying interest. By doing this, you can cut your mortgage down tremendously. In fact, you can reduce your mortgage by almost 10 years simply by making one additional mortgage payment each year. Try out this calculator to see how much money extra payments can save.
  • Bi-weekly payments – Just as making an extra payment will shorten the life of your loan, so will shifting your payment schedule to bi-weekly as opposed to monthly. What this schedule does is build in an extra payment each year without it “feeling” like an extra payment. Your mortgage payment can simply follow your paycheck schedule — if you get paid every two weeks, that is. With bi-weekly payments, a 30-year fixed mortgage will be paid off in about 23-and-a-half years.

The article is a few years old so the interest rates used as an example might seem off, and there is no mention of any recent developments in the mortgage and banking world. However, the core information in the article is solid and worth the read.

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