Tag: DNB First

When Soaring College Costs Hit Home

“Poverty is hereditary – it comes from your children.” 

Comedian Phyllis Diller may have been joking when she said that, but anyone who is raising a child today knows that there’s nothing inexpensive about having kids. In fact, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “it will cost an estimated $241,080 for a middle-income couple to raise a child born last year for 18 years.”

If that doesn’t shock you, consider an even more eye-opening fact: that figure doesn’t include one of the most expensive costs for parents – financing a college education. According to The College Board, an “in-state public college for the 2013–2014 academic year averaged $22,826 while a private college averaged $44,750.” In the last 30 years, college costs have quadrupled.

A shared burden

The burden of financing college education isn’t just falling on parents; today’s students are amassing significant debt.  As the infographic below shows, the average student graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt, giving them an uphill climb on the road to financial success.  The burden of this debt may be why they delay getting married and purchasing homes.

So how can parents help their children finance the costs of college and fill the gap where Financial Aid and other student loans leave off? One popular solution is actually close to home — home equity credit. With home equity, parents can borrow off the equity in their homes to pay for college costs, and take advantage of some very significant benefits, including:

  • Lower rates than those available with private student loans.
  • Potential tax savings.
  • The ability to borrow and repay funds with a home equity line.
  • Interest-only options to keep payments low.
  • The flexibility to use funds to cover any educational expense — from books to computers to room and board and tuition.

Here to Help.

At DNB First, we have competitive home equity options, including a special  rate on a home equity line.  Stop by or call us today to learn more. Of course, as with any financial decision, it’s important to carefully weigh your options. After all, college is one of the biggest investments you will make as a parent, so you’d better do your homework.

10 Mind-blowing Facts About The Cost of College TuitionCreated by: TakeLessons

The Lupus Foundation of America Supports Student Research

An experienced banking professional, Vince Liuzzi currently serves as an executive vice president and the chief banking officer at DNB First in Philadelphia. Outside of his professional pursuits, Vince Liuzzi supports the work of a number of charities and nonprofits, including the Lupus Foundation of America, an organization that seeks to improve the lives of individuals with lupus through research, education, and advocacy programs and activities.

As part of its ongoing efforts to advance the scientific understanding of lupus, the Lupus Foundation of America operates the Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program for individuals interested in pursuing careers in biomedical research. The program provides financial support to several students each year and connects them with established principal investigators, who assist them in conducting research projects on lupus.

Established in 1984, the Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program has provided grants to nearly 200 promising young students over the last 30 years and has helped inspire a new generation of researchers. A number of program participants have published their work in peer-reviewed journals, and several have gone on to earn advanced degrees and become medical practitioners or academic researchers.

DNB First celebrates Earth Day – Make a GREEN statement

Business Celebrates EARTH Day!

Tomorrow marks the 44th celebration of Earth Day – First celebrated in the United Sates in1970, Earth Day (April 22nd) marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

There are many ways this celebration is observed in our country and region – Take a look at what DNB First is doing to promote GREEN banking in our branch offices: Wanted to make sure you were aware of our new “Make a GREEN Statement” campaign. The campaign will run April 22 through mid-May, and it’s aimed at showcasing our “earth friendly” products and services like Mobile Deposit, Remote Deposit Capture (RDC), eStatements, On-Line Banking, Bill Pay, and more…

We will be leveraging various community sponsored events throughout the month like the Document Shredding and Electronics recycling event tomorrow in Thorndale, and the West Chester University Earth Fair coming up later this month. Our campaign officially launches on April 22 – EARTH DAY when we will be providing to customers in our branches some quick energy saving tips along with an energy efficient light bulb. Customers who enroll in eStatements during the campaign will be entered into a drawing for an iPad to encourage GREEN banking.

The United States Small Business Administration is going green too! Look at what they are doing to help businesses grow green.
Helping Small Businesses Grow Through Green Efforts

by Stephen Morris, Community Moderator

• Created: April 18, 2014, 12:31 pm
• Updated: April 18, 2014, 2:45 pm
Note: this post is by Donna J. Butler, SBA’s Senior Sustainability Officer & Deputy Chief Operating Officer

SBA helps small businesses find solutions to make their operations run efficiently. That’s why this Earth Day and every day SBA encourages small businesses to incorporate a green office environment. Whether it’s changing to a more energy efficient lighting system, implementing a recycling program, or considering eco-friendly machinery—all of these techniques help to conserve energy and save money. SBA also helps entrepreneurs and organizations build on green ideas and turn them into a successful business.

Taking an Idea and Turning it Green
Small business owner Carina Whitham of California took her passion for renewable energy and used SBA’s counseling services to help start an executive search firm Whitham Group Executive Search. Today, Carina’s firm successfully recruits and places executives in the arenas of Solar, Wind, Biofuels, Biomass, Geothermal Energy and all other areas of renewables.

SBA also supports sustainability through initiatives such as the Regional Clusters Initiative—which combines a network of organizations and businesses in a geographic area that grow through increased collaboration, efficiency and innovation. SBA funded its initial clusters in collaboration with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and several other agencies. Regional clusters such as Illinois Smart Grid, Clean Energy, and GreenMe are expanding thanks to the support from this initiative. Today, they are making their communities more sustainable and eco-conscious.

And for small business owners seeking to upgrade an existing facility with energy efficient upgrades or financing innovative eco-friendly tools–SBA.gov has a reference list ofgreen financing and green certification options.

SBA Green Practices
SBA is also reinforcing green practices throughout its office culture. The Agency’s priority goal for Fiscal Year 2014 was to increase paperless loan processing. SBA succeeded with this goal and saw an increase in the use of paperless processing with both the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. The 7(a) program use increased from 72 percent to 90 percent and the 504 program use increased from 55 percent to 75 percent. Additionally, SBA is collaborating with the General Services Administration to ensure that SBA’s Headquarters and Field Offices are housed in facilities that are energy and water efficient and are maintained with non-toxic and recycled content products. SBA has also reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from employee commuting by nearly 15% since 2010 in part through the increased use of mass transit and telework. This year, SBA initiated an agency-wide toner and ink cartridge recycling program in partnership with the U.S. Postal Services.

Go Green and Thrive
Celebrate Earth Day today and everyday by adopting new environmentally sound practices for your business. SBA is here to help you grow your business and succeed in your green efforts. Visit our website or connect with our local offices and resource partners for your small business needs.
About the Author
Stephen Morris is online media coordinator for the U.S. Small Business Administration where he manages digital outreach to the small business community.

Employee Engagement 2.0 – A Holistic View of Engagement in Today’s Workplace Environment

Statistics show that 78% of business leaders rate employee retention and engagement as critical or important to the success of their business. Organizations are looking for new and different ways to understand and improve employee or team member engagement. Effective and meaningful, active employee engagement is truly a competitive differentiator for the high performing business.

Active employee engagement goes far behind an annual survey facilitated by human resources that companies use as a measurement for employee morale. It speaks to the culture an organization fosters, and its willingness to make the right investments within the environment benefitting much-loved employees.    In a recent study by Deloitte, three key areas of strategic focus on employee engagement were identified: Lead and Develop, Attract and Engage, Transform and Reinvent. These three priorities go far beyond a typical survey “temperature check” followed by an executive summary turned into an action plan – many companies still call that an engagement program. Its en excellent study with rock solid conclusions and some pretty interesting tools and resources.

In past decades, Gallup and other leadership organizations have led the way around the concept of employee engagement program surveys. Employee engagement has in reality, been a topic companies have considered since the industrial revolution. These concepts were essentially rooted in the late 1800’s by an industrial engineer Frederick Taylor who was looking for ways to improve industrial efficiency. In his book “The Principles of Scientific Management” Taylor theorizes that four principles of scientific management center around the engagement of employees and how their attitude impacted productivity in the steel industry. It was ground breaking work for its time – but that was over 100 years ago!

Developing, enhancing and maintaining a high performing work environment is truly a complex issue to tackle. It blends an organization’s mission and values with its people, culture and performance. Once people join an organization, companies must continuously improve, redesigning and developing the work environment to make it more enjoyable and rewarding, making the employees happier and more productive. In today’s environment, companies need to update the way they look to engage employees. With the influx of younger workers and the proliferation of technology, organizations need to change the way they think about engagement making the workplace environment more flexible, modern, humane and enjoyable. Organizations must build an environment that is fun, meaningful, stimulating and rewarding to attract and retain high performing employees in today’s workforce.

Forward thinking companies truly understand the critical need to go beyond traditional engagement survey programs to create more productive and successful work environments. They design jobs, change the work environment, add benefits, invest in people and develop managers.  New employees hired into these organizations are screened for culture and job fit to ensure success. Effective hiring, on-boarding, training and development programs have never been so important.

Josh Bersin Principal and Founder of Bersin by Deloitte was recently quoted in a recent study published by Forbes magazine stating, “Let’s change our thinking and move beyond the concept of engagement. If we really achieve the goal of making organizations “irresistible”, we can make work fun, meaningful and enriching for everyone.”

Vince Liuzzi

EVP, Chief Banking Officer

 

DNB First, Banking since 1860

Early Mortgage Payoff?

DNB First shared a link to an article today about “why you should make an extra mortgage payment” and it made me wonder, how many people have been able to pay off their mortgage early? Continue reading “Early Mortgage Payoff?”

Thinking of a refinance – what’s holding you back?

Since 2012, many consumers across the United States took advantage of low rates and refinanced their high rate mortgages, lowering monthly payments and freeing up cash for other purposes. If you happen to be one of the approximately 20 million households who have never refinanced, and are paying 6% or more on your mortgage, you may want to take advantage of the current environment and refinance now, but hurry – time’s a wastin!

Continue reading “Thinking of a refinance – what’s holding you back?”

Retire Early?

Although it may not always be a possibility for everyone, preparation is key. Remember, its’ never to early to plan for retirement. As this couple found out early retirement was achievable by making some quick drastic changes. In her article, Andrea Coombes lays out 8 tips for success from early retirees.

http://youtu.be/6l5HXLWBFqo

Vince Liuzzi

What’s wrong with my savings plan?

A surprising statistic about the decline in personal savings rate of consumers in America was shared recently in a report published by Nerd Wallet. The study shows a sharp decline in savings rates post the 2008 economic crisis. Through the end of the third quarter of 2013, the consumer savings rate in the United States was 4.9% – down from 5.8% in 2008 – a 10 year high mark. Continue reading “What’s wrong with my savings plan?”

Too young to be thinking of retirement? Think again!

So often, consumers get focused on financial planning for retirement way too late. While it may seem years or even decades away, the truth is – you should start this process early in your income earning life stage. Start planning for retirement when you begin your career; not when you look to end it. Continue reading “Too young to be thinking of retirement? Think again!”