Finding a Qualified Financial Planner

Oct 17, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Coach at Southern Bancorp National Financial Planning Month is a great time to seek expert advice from a certified or qualified financial professional. However, finding the right person can be challenging if you’re unsure...

How to Qualify for Down Payment Assistance Programs for Your New House

Oct 16, 2025 | Blog

By Miguel Vega, Director of Mortgage Production Are you eager to make your homeownership dreams a reality? At Southern Bancorp, we recognize that gathering funds for a down payment is often a significant obstacle for homebuyers. To alleviate this challenge, we offer a...

How Fed Rate Cuts Affect Mortgage Rates for Future Homeowners

Oct 16, 2025 | Blog

By Kortni Beene, VP, Mortgage Production Leader In the current mortgage financing environment, recent Federal Reserve rate cuts have significantly affected mortgage rates for potential homebuyers. It’s essential to grasp these changes, as a decrease in the...

Eight Components of Developing a Financial Plan

Oct 10, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Coach at Southern Bancorp In last week’s article, I discussed October being recognized as National Financial Planning Month. This week, I’ll explain the eight key components of developing a financial plan. These components...

October is National Financial Planning Month!

Oct 3, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Coach at Southern Bancorp October is the perfect time to review your finances. During the fall season, nature’s changes are evident with just a glance at your surroundings. The same can be said when you take a good look at your...

The $6,000 Senior Tax Deduction: What Does It Mean?

Sep 25, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Coach at Southern Bancorp Taxes are a fact of life, and being a senior citizen is no exception. Many people believe that Social Security income is not taxable, but that’s not entirely true. Whether your Social Security benefits...

Secured or Unsecured Credit Cards
Which is Better?

Sep 19, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Coach, Southern Bancorp The holidays are just a few months away, and if we’re being honest, most of our purchases will be made by sliding, tapping, or inserting a card. Now is a great time to evaluate which type of card might...

September is Insurance Awareness Month

Sep 12, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Counselor at Southern Bancorp You might be asking yourself, “Why is having insurance so important?” Well, let me ask you this: How would you pay for an unexpected event like a car accident, a house fire, or a medical emergency?...

Managing Your Finances During College

Sep 4, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Counselor at Southern Bancorp Managing your finances during college can be a significant source of stress. For many students, this is the first time they’ve had to take personal responsibility for their financial decisions....

Recognizing and Diffusing Text Scams

Aug 29, 2025 | Blog, Financial Fitness

By Charlestien Harris, Retired Financial Counselor at Southern Bancorp I don’t know about you, but I’ve been receiving – and promptly deleting – a flood of text messages about package deliveries, toll payments, work-from-home opportunities, and more. I’m frustrated...