Blog

Astra Bank's Third Annual Shred Fest - Helping to Keep Your Information Safe

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:35:00 GMT

Account numbers. Social Security numbers. Don't give identity thieves a chance to steal valuable information from your personal documents and files. Let Astra Bank help keep keep your information secure by visiting one of our branch offices for our SHRED FEST!

If your documents are past their usefulness, bring them by one of our branch offices and we'll be shredding them for you - absolutely FREE. Shredding will be performed by a AAA-Certified shredding company, or if you prefer you can even watch your documents be shredded. You can bring up to three boxes or bags of paper to shred.

What Should You Consider Shredding?

While the decision is ultimately up to you, below are some examples of what Astra Bank recommends:

Bank Statements - Shred after your account is reconciled
Credit Card Statements - Keep 1 tax year
Monthly Bills - Shred if 1 year or older
Tax Records - Keep last 7 tax years

Shred Fest is Saturday, March 31st

Abilene 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Belleville 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
(FREE BBQ Lunch)
Chapman 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
(FREE Dessert)
Scandia 8:00 am - 10:00 am
(FREE Breakfast)
Sutton 9:00 am - 11:00 am

The Tradition Continues...

This year marks the third consecutive year that Astra Bank has held the SHRED FEST and offering ways for our customers and the community to keep their identity safe and secure. Even if you're not a customer (yet) of Astra Bank's we encourage you to stop by. We'll be happy to securely shred your confidential documents. Who knows, maybe you'd even be interested in learning more about Astra Bank and giving us a try.

What If???

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:45:00 GMT

Because I'm a banker, I'm often asked about my opinions about the monetary policies that are being utilized in the United States and abroad. The question is generally summarized as, "With the Federal Reserve stimulating the money supply as they currently are, don't you think inflation is inevitable? And, given coming inflation, what do you think I should do with my savings?" Talk about some heavy-hitting questions ...

Before I continue, I must confess that just because I'm a banker doesn't mean that I receive a standard-issue crystal ball from Mr. Bernanke, so I really don't have any more concrete idea than you do about what the future holds. Sure, I may be exposed to some financial information that you don't see, but all that gives me is more data (which is not the same as information) off of which to form an opinion.

First, when people talk about interest rates rising, they are thinking of the rate cycles that have been common over their adult lifetimes. For most folks, this covers the portion of the chart (courtesy of Crestmont Research {www.crestmontresearch.com}) circled in red.

However, when you look at the part of the chart prior to the red circle, you will find that for the majority of the 20th century, interest rates were very close to where they are today - sometimes slightly higher, sometimes slightly lower. In fact, when you look at the 1920's (also known as the Roaring Twenties), you will find that rates were only slightly higher than today ... even in a time of significant economic growth and expansion.

So, what if rates are really returning to normal levels after an abberation in the late 70's and early 80's? What should you do if you're wanting to maximize your return on dollars that you have in Astra Bank? I'd make two suggestions. The first is what I believe to be our best paying deposit in the bank - a 48-month Trade-a-Rate certificate of deposit (CD). With this CD, you earn a rate just slightly lower than our 48-month CD, but you have an option to adjust the CD rate once during the term of the CD. Accordingly, if rates go up, you still have a feature in the CD that allows you to take advantage of rising rates. Just so you know, we also have 24-month and 36-month Trade-a-Rate CD's.

The second suggestion is to build a "ladder" of CD's. What do I mean by that? Instead of having one large CD, you have several CD's that mature over the investment period. As an example, instead of one CD of $40,000 that matures every four years, you have 4 CD's of $10,000 with one maturing each year over the four-year period. This strategy positions you to better take advantage of rate changes - especially when you anticipate that rates may rise. For the best of all possible worlds, you can build a ladder of Trade-a-Rate CD's!

Does this answer the question about inflation? No, but it provides a solution for how to maximize earnings on your deposits in a rate environment that hasnt been seen since the 1950's. If you need assistance with maximizing earnings on your deposits, please come see us. We look forward to helping you turn your deposit dollars into fulfilled dreams!

Welcome to 2012 – Time to Set Your Goals

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:28:00 GMT

The arrival of the New Year brings with it many things. Sure, you have to remember to start using “12” instead of “11” when writing the date and that calendar needs replacing. But one of the things that many people include with the New Year is setting goals… also called “resolutions”.

It doesn’t matter what you resolve to accomplish in the next 12 months, if you don’t have some sort of a plan to ensure you carry out your plan, you’ll most likely fall short and come May or June look back and wonder what happened. Here are some tips on ways to ensure that you keep on track and accomplish all that you want in the year ahead.

Be Specific – Make sure that you are clear in what you want to accomplish, otherwise it will be difficult for you to determine if you’re being successful.
Write it Down – There’s something about the power of putting a thought into writing that helps to increase the chances of making it become reality. Even if you think this is silly, write down your resolution(s) and come back to them often.
Share It – Tell your friends what you’re trying to accomplish. This will help to create a support network to help you along the way, and create little bit of “peer pressure” to stay on track.
Measure It – Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, check your progress on a regular basis. That may be daily, weekly, monthly or some other interval. Consider creating a chart that can help you keep track of your progress so you can see when you are making improvements (or when you may need to “pick it up a bit”).
Have Fun – Life’s too short not to have fun along the way, so try and enjoy yourself. Look for positive ways to reward yourself for meeting milestones and don’t be afraid to treat yourself to keep motivated.
Think Big Picture – While the temptation to come start quickly and get the biggest impact early on may be great, keep in mind that you’re looking at the entire year (or maybe even a lifetime), so it’s alright to gradually ease into it. For example, if you’ve resolved to “get fit” (#5 below), don’t feel that you need to go to the gym every day if you’ve not worked out much before. That will only risk burning you out and then you’ll stop. Getting fit is a life-long goal and think about where you’ll be 6 months, 12 months or longer if you do a little each week.
Adjust – Sometimes life gets in the way, and that’s fine. If you get sidetracked for whatever reason, don’t let that discourage you. Simply adjust your routine and get back on track as quickly as you can. Just because you slipped for one day (or even a week), doesn’t mean that you should quit and consider your efforts a failure.

Wondering what some of the more popular resolutions are for people these days? Well, the folks at USA.gov have created a list and below are the top ones. Any of these sound familiar?

Drink less alcohol
Eat healthy food
Get a better education
Get a better job
Get fit
Lose weight
Manage debt
Manage stress
Quit smoking
Reduce, reuse and recycle
Save Money
Take a trip
Volunteer to help others

Astra Bank would love to help with some of the financial-related resolutions above. Items like #7 (manage debt), #8 (manage stress) and #11 (save money) are all ones that can come with having a sound financial partner. With our helpful staff, convenient electronic banking access and great product lineup, if these are on your list for 2012 stop in and see us. We’ll be happy to help. Feel free to let us know what your resolutions are for the coming year in the comments of this post (#3 - Share It!).

Welcome to 2102!
Kyle A. Campbell, President & CFO

We All Have A Lot To Be Thankful For… Happy Thanksgiving!

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:31:00 GMT

Since we are blessed to live in the most free, most advanced and most prosperous society in the history of the world, we have much for which to be thankful. On this Thanksgiving week 2011, here is a limited selection of items for which I am thankful:

I am thankful for our customers. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. You provide us with satisfaction in performing our roles in Astra Bank to the best of our abilities, and you challenge us to constantly improve how we serve them.
I am thankful for each and every one of the Astra Bank staff. Their commitment to our customers and to Astra Bank makes this bank a great place for me to come on a daily basis. Their commitment also makes the bank one that you choose to achieve your dreams.
I am thankful for our communities. We are blessed to have very vibrant and stable communities to serve. Also, I am thankful for the volunteer hours each of our employees invests in their communities to ensure that our communities continue to thrive.
I am thankful for my family. Though they are listed last in this compilation, they certainly are by no means the least on my list. They love me no matter what mood in which I arrive home, no matter how many hours may be required in the bank, and no matter how many faults I have. I’m sure that you can say the same about your family. Make sure you take the time to let your loved ones know how you feel.

During this time of thanks, feel free to post in the comments what you’re thankful for this holiday season. I’d love to hear from you.

Kyle A. Campbell, President & CFO

“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” – H. U. Westermayer

Welcome To Our NEW Website!

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 06:13:00 GMT

Welcome to the NEW Astra Bank website and our very first blog entry. We hope you're as excited as we are about our new website and all the great new things that you'll find here. To help you get started, here's a listing of just a few of the new elements you'll find on our website... and why we're excited.

The Blog

With our new website we'll be using the Astra Bank Blog to help share information, not only about the bank, but our communities as well. You'll be able to provide comments to let us know what you think, so be sure to keep checking back and see what's new and give us your feedback.

Financial Calculators

With over 40 calculators to pick from, our Financial Calculators page will help you determine your own loan payment amounts, save for retirement, plus much more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? Of course you do. But the good news is that we've got the answers. We've compiled a list of many of the popular questions that our banking customers have and made them available on our FAQ page.

Our Communities

We understand just how important our communities are to the bank's success. As a community bank, we are proud to celebrate our market areas and have compiled many images that represent these great communities. Stop by and visit the "Our Communities" page to see for yourself.

New Internet Banking System

In addition to our website, you may have noticed that information available through our Internet Banking system has also changed. With more information at your fingertips and easier navigation, we're excited about providing our customers with state-of-the-art banking services. Be sure to check out our Internet Banking Demo to learn more.

Plus Much More...

Stat tuned for even more news down the road. Be sure to keep checking back with our blog and let us know what you think of the new website in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!

Kyle Campbell
President & CFO