Centris Blog
What Are Tax Scams & How to Identify Them
Tax season is a prime time for fraudsters. Taxes are often mystifying, leaving people with questions about their tax returns. And because the IRS does not carry a perfect reputation with Americans, many are left on edge about receiving IRS communications. These...
Building an Emergency Fund: A Complete Guide with Common Questions
Having an emergency fund is like having great shock absorbers on a car—if you hit a bump, you can feel safe knowing you won’t be jostled around. An emergency fund functions the same way. When you hit a bump in life—whether unexpected medical bills or losing a...
Cybersecurity Tips: Protect Yourself Against Student Loan Forgiveness Scams
Some people seeking student debt forgiveness may not understand the process or know which sources to trust to see if they qualify. Unfortunately, loan scammers take advantage of those individuals. In doing so, they create fake student loan forgiveness applications to...
Fraud Prevention: Tips & Red Flags You Should Know
Fraud has become increasingly more common in today’s digital age. Fraudsters have more ways to target individuals than ever before, such as email, text and social media. As a financial institution, our responsibility is to educate our members about fraud and how to...
How to Prepare for Paying Back Student Loans
In March 2020, federal student loan payments were put on pause due to COVID-19. After more than two years, the extensions will be ending on December 31, 2022, so student loan repayment will restart in January 2023. To help guide you through paying back student loans...
What is the Best Way to Finance a Car?
If you’ve ever bought a new car, I have a question for you: Did you think about financing as much as you thought about which car model to buy? Most of the time, the answer is “no.” But believe it or not, doing the research on financing a car before purchasing one is...
How to Budget to Buy a New House
Buying a home is probably one of the most significant investments you’ll ever make. It’s important to remember that what you can buy doesn’t always equate to what you may have available in your budget plans. Determining how much house you can afford involves a lot...
Council Bluff’s Teacher and Centris Member See’s the Need to Focus on Financial Education
An important lesson that we can take advantage of, and one that can last a lifetime, is a focus on financial education. Sasha Rindone, a Special Education teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, IA has a passion for teaching her students how to be...
12 Tips to Help You Save Money
Here are some quick tips to help you start saving money so you can fulfill some — or all — of your financial dreams. Track your expenses and purchases to review your spending habits. If you want to be able to identify opportunities for how you can save more money,...