Southern Bancorp: Wealth Builders for Everyone!

By Charlestien Harris

Who wants to build wealth…raise your hand! Most of us aspire to be financially stable during our lifetime. Being financially sound and knowing how to build your wealth can take different paths depending on the goals you set for yourself. 

What is wealth building, you might ask? Wealth building is defined as the process of growing your money to achieve your financial goals. It can involve several categories such as earning, saving, investing, and educating yourself about how to handle your finances by creating a plan and opening an emergency fund. Another step might also include determining how much debt you have accumulated and developing a plan to pay that debt down, contributing to your retirement fund, or saving for your kids’ future education.

Southern Bancorp has several products to assist you with achieving the goals you set to get your finances on the right track, no matter your zip code or where you are on your financial journey. 

Some of the financial products and services Southern Bancorp offers to help you build wealth are listed below:

1. Checking and Savings Accounts: These types of accounts allow you to deposit and withdraw funds to purchase assets or pay your monthly expenses, whether for personal or business purposes.
2. Certificates of Deposit: This product allows you to set a designated amount of money aside for future use. Often referred to as a CD, it is a savings account that pays a fixed interest rate for a set period of time.
3. Credit Builder CD: A credit builder certificate of deposit (CD) loan is a type of loan that helps people establish or improve their credit history. The lender deposits the loan amount into a CD, and the borrower makes monthly payments to repay the loan. Once the amount has been repaid, the borrower receives the full value of the CD – plus interest! This creates a positive payment history that is eventually reported to the credit bureaus, and helps people save money at the same time. Credit builder loans can help borrowers build a history of on-time payments, which can improve their credit score.
4. Individual Development Account: This is a savings account that helps eligible individuals and families save for specific goals, such as a home, education, or a small business. IDAs are matched savings accounts, meaning that the account holder’s contributions are matched with money from a sponsoring organization. The sponsoring organization is often a nonprofit or government agency, and the bank is a financial institution that partners with the organization to distribute the matching funds. IDA programs may include financial education, credit counseling, and case management services. 
5. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program: This is an IRS and community-sponsored program designed to assist low- to moderate-income taxpayers with the preparation of their annual tax returns at no cost. Southern Bancorp prepares thousands of tax returns for free in our communities, for customers and non-customers alike. Last year, Southern Bancorp’s IRS-trained tax volunteers prepared more than 4,700 tax returns, securing more than $6.1 million in tax refunds for those clients. The total number of Earned Income Credit (EIC) returns prepared was 1,135, resulting in $2.5 million worth of refunds. Visit banksouthern.com/vita to see where the nearest location is that will be preparing taxes this year!
6. Financial and HUD-Certified Homebuyer Counseling Services: These services offer our customers the guidance needed to assist them with such tasks as setting up a budget, establishing an emergency fund, systematically paying down debt, housing affordability, homebuyer education classes, credit rebuilding, and other services. You can visit our website at www.banksouthern.com to complete the contact form to request a free appointment with one of our financial counselors.

Let’s start the New Year off right by including some financial planning steps to work toward building your wealth! Southern Bancorp’s mission is to create economic opportunity in underserved communities by providing responsible, responsive, and innovative financial products and services that balance profits with purpose. Wealth building is who we are and what we stand for, because we believe a path to financial opportunity should be possible for everyone! I invite you to visit your nearest branch to discover how we can help find a path that works best for you and your financial future. 

For more information on this and other financial topics, you can email me at Charlestien.Harris@banksouthern.com or call me at 662-624-5776. 

Until next week – stay financially fit!

Charlestien Harris is our financial contributor, a financial expert with Southern Bancorp Community Partners whose articles are seen in a number of publications around the region.