Southern Blog
Super Smart Tax Savings
A new decade, a new tax year. 2020 is here and tax season has officially started. Every year, millions of Americans get a tax refund and every year millions of Americans spend their tax refund within weeks, maybe even days of getting their check or direct deposit....
I’ve paid off my student loan…Now what?
On December 10, 2016, I graduated from Arkansas State University, and on November 4, 2019, I sent in my final student loan payment. Some people spend a significant portion of their lives paying off student loans, so I realize I’m incredibly blessed to already have...
Looking South by Southwest to Map America’s Unbanked
By James Owen Editor’s note: This is the second blog in a series aimed at understanding the what, where, why, and how of unbanked and underbanked households. If you love maps, this is the blog post for you. And if you like numbers, here are two important ones: seven...
Talking about Poverty: Inflation Inequality
By James Owen Editor’s note: This is one in a series of blog posts to critically examine how poverty is defined, measured, and talked about, and how those conversations influence public policy. If you’ve been keeping up with our series on poverty, it should be...
Understanding the Underserved: Unbanked and Underbanked Households
By James Owen Southern’s mission is to be wealth builders for everyone. If you’ve spent any time following our Twitter, Facebook, reading our blog posts, or participating in our community events, you’ve probably seen a post or had a conversation with a Southern...
Holiday Super Saving
Black Friday as we knew it for years has changed. The days of having to go out at midnight to get a good deal are practically over, as many stores have started opening on Thanksgiving Day and others wait until normal business hours the day after. Nonetheless,...
Talking about Poverty: Re-examining Basic Needs
By Kathryn Hazelett Editor’s note: This is one in a series of blog posts to critically examine how poverty is defined, measured, and talked about, and how those conversations influence public policy. Now that we’ve explored the ins and outs of how we define and...
Is It Possible to Build Wealth in College?
Working for Southern Bancorp as a “wealth builder for everyone” has made me take a closer look at my own finances. As mentioned in previous blogs, I’ve spent the last year reducing debt and saving automatically in an effort to increase my net worth, and I’m often told...
Talking about Poverty: In Need of a Refresh
By Kathryn Hazelett Editor’s note: This is part of a series of blog posts to critically examine how poverty is defined, measured, and talked about, and how those conversations influence public policy. Mollie Orshansky figured out “how” we measure poverty. Her method...
A Big Idea: Banking on Building Empathy
By James Owen Most of us don’t think twice about how easy it is to access money. If you’re like me, it’s so easy you can do it before your first cup of coffee. Select, swipe, sip. But for too many Arkansans, just accessing their money is a challenge. Nationally, seven...