Financial Education

Welcome to Our New Website

How to Save for Your Child's Future

• Saving

How Much Money Should I Be Saving?

• Saving

Smart Summer Travel: 7 Ways to Save and Still Have Fun

• Saving

The Best Ways to Start Saving

• Saving

20 Ways to Save

• Saving

Why You Should Start Saving for Retirement Today

• Retirement

Should Your Business Switch Its 401(k) Provider?

• Retirement

Preparing Your Finances for Retirement

• Retirement

Leaving a Job? Here Is What You Can Do With Your 401(k)

• Retirement

Is A Money Market Account Right for You?

• Saving

Is Your 401(k) Plan Helping You Attract and Retain Top Talent?

• Retirement

Money Market vs. CDs

• Saving

Think Twice Before Tapping Your 401(k)

• Retirement

Our Top Travel Money Tips

• Saving

Should I Open a Certificate of Deposit?

• Saving

Should I Save Money, or Pay Off Debt?

• Saving

Ten Tips to Road Trip on a Budget

• Saving

What Tax Documents Do You Need?

• Taxes

How to Prepare for Iowa’s Tax-Free Weekend

• Taxes

How Your Financial Decisions Affect Your Taxes

• Taxes

Tax Tips All Year Round

• Taxes

Children’s Books to Teach Financial Literacy

• Youth

Save Money for You - and Your School

• Youth

Summer Reading Tips for Youth from Hills Bank Employees

• Youth

Summer Reads for Youth

• Youth

Retiring in a Rocky Market

• Retirement

Cash Flow Distributions During Retirement: Navigating "Peak 65"

• Retirement

4 Questions to Ask About Your Old 401(k)

• Retirement

5 Simple Steps to Secure Your Retirement

• Retirement

Top 5 Tips for Increasing the Value of Your Home

Should I Buy a House?

I've bought a house. Now what?

• Mortgage

Home Loan Process

Is Now the Right Time to Refinance Your Mortgage?

• Mortgage

Does a Mortgage Application Affect My Credit Score?

• Mortgage

Escrow Accounts: What You Need to Know

5 Things to Know When Buying a Home

5 Signs You Could Refinance

5 Advantages of Working with a Real Estate Agent

What You Need To Know About Loans

• Loans

What's The Difference Between a Home Equity Loan and a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

• Loans

What Rising Interest Rates Mean For You

• Loans

What Low Interest Rates Mean for You

• Loans

Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Scams

• Fraud Types

How to Spot a Tornado Relief Scam

• Fraud Types

How to Shop Safely This Holiday Season

• Fraud Types

Avoid Holiday Scams

• Fraud Types

What To Do After a Data Breach

• Fraud Security

Stay Secure With Mobile Banking

• Fraud Security

Keeping Your Account Safe Online - With Tokenization

• Fraud Security

How to Spot Counterfeit Dollars

• Fraud Security

How to Prevent Financial Elder Abuse

• Fraud Security

Beware of Tax Identity Theft

• Fraud Security

Top Financial Scams Affecting Americans

• Fraud Awareness

How to Recognize and Avoid Scams

• Fraud Awareness

How to Spot and Stop AI Imposter Scams

• Fraud Awareness

Don't Be Scared By Scams

• Fraud Awareness

Be Aware of Money Mule Schemes

• Fraud Awareness

How to Select a Financial Advisor Part 2: Rebalancing and Diversification

• Financial Planning

How to Select a Financial Advisor

• Financial Planning

What to Do Before Making a Big Purchase

• Financial Foundations

Overcoming Bad Financial Habits

• Financial Foundations

The Most Important Things to Know About Your Finances

• Financial Foundations

Make Financial Wellness Your New Year’s Resolution

• Financial Foundations

Wills vs. Trusts

• Estate Planning

Starting Your Estate Plan

• Estate Planning

Selecting an Executor or Trustee

• Estate Planning

5 Ways Assets Can Be Titled

• Estate Planning

5 Important Documents Besides Your Will

• Estate Planning

What is Debt Consolidation, and is it Right for You?

• Loans

What Are the Different Kinds of Loans?

• Loans

Tips to Buy a House in a Seller's Market

How to Get the Best Car Loan

• Loans

Protect Your Privacy When Applying for a Loan

• Loans

Is your child ready for a summer job?

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

Where is my stimulus check?

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

Our Favorite Local Summer Activities

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

Kids Activities to Cure Summer Boredom

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

How to Make the Most Out of Your Stimulus Check

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

The Penny Is Retiring: What It Means

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

3 Ways to Save Money on Your Thanksgiving Dinner

• Lifestyle / Seasonal

Top Digital Banking Tips

• Debit Cards

How to Use Your Debit Card Online

• Debit Cards

Get The Most Out of Your Debit Card

• Debit Cards

Everything You Need To Know About Debit Cards

• Debit Cards

4 Helpful Tips When Using Your Debit Card

• Debit Cards

What's the Difference Between a Credit Card and a Debit Card?

• Credit

What makes up your credit score?

• Credit

Three Ways to Delay When You Pay

• Credit

How Much Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score?

• Credit

How to Choose the Right Credit Card for You

• Credit

When is Credit Card Debt a Problem?

• Credit

The Best Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

• Credit

Should My Partner and I Have Separate Bank Accounts?

• Life Events

Should I Have More Than One Bank Account?

• Life Events

How to Prepare Your Finances For a New Child

• Life Events

Giving Financial Advice to High School Graduates

• Life Events

Financial Moves to Make After Marriage

• Life Events

What You Should Know About Investing in a Volatile Market

• Investing

Understanding Traditional + Roth IRAs

• Investing

The Impact of Inflation on Your Financial Assets

• Investing

The Importance of Giving Back

• Community Support

How a Different Kind of Unit Can Help Solve Housing Needs

• Community Support

Give Back on #GivingTuesday

• Community Support

The Best Items to Donate to Food Banks This Holiday Season

• Community Support

How to Choose a Checking Account

• Checking

Why Roth Conversions Deserve a Second Look

• Investing

How to Write a Check (Without Overthinking It)

• Checking

Common Checking Account Fees, and How to Avoid Them

• Checking

Checking vs. Savings Account

• Checking

Why Consider a Donor Advised Gift Fund?

• Charitable Giving

Donor Advised Gift Fund Basics

• Charitable Giving

Teaching Kids About Money

• Youth

Exciting Enhancements to our Business Online Banking Experience

• Business Payments / Banking Tools

Helping Local Businesses Thrive Through Better Payment Processing

• Business Payments / Banking Tools

Investing on Tap Insights: The Future of Investing in an AI Driven World

• Investing

Three Tips for Business Success

• Business Operations

Starting Business Tips

• Business Operations

Organizing Your Small Business

• Business Operations

Network Your Next Event

• Business Operations

Grow Your Business with Referrals

• Business Operations

How to Mitigate Business Check Fraud

• Business Fraud & Security

How to Guard Against Business Email Compromise

• Business Fraud & Security

The Rising Tide of Business Banking Fraud: What Corridor Businesses Need to Know

• Business Fraud & Security

Real Stories, Real Lessons: Business Fraud Case Studies from Iowa

• Business Fraud & Security

Protecting the Mission: Helping Nonprofits Stay Ahead of Fraud

• Business Fraud & Security

Fraud & Finance Forum: Key Takeaways for Protecting Your Business

• Business Fraud & Security

Cybersecurity Essentials for Corridor Businesses: Protecting Your Digital Front Door

• Business Fraud & Security

New Year, Less Risk: Tips to Mitigate Business Fraud in 2026

• Business Fraud & Security

Building a Fraud-Resistant Business Culture: Your Best Defense Starts Within

• Business Fraud & Security

Digital Best Practices to Keep Your Business Safe

• Business Fraud & Security

Spring Cleaning: How to Tidy Your Finances

• Budgeting

Protect Your Finances From Inflation

• Budgeting

How to Start a Budget (And Stick to It)

• Budgeting

How Do I Prepare for a Recession?

• Budgeting

How to Create Good Money Habits in Difficult Times

• Budgeting

Coping With Inflation? Be Budget Aware

• Budgeting

Challenge: 30 Days to a Better Budget

• Budgeting

Financing Beginning Farmers

• Agriculture

Hocker Urges Farmers to Replace Hope With Structure in Managing Profitability

• Agriculture

The Future of Farming in Iowa: 2026

• Agriculture

Schroeder Warns Farm Families: Poor Planning Fuels Costly Legal Disputes

• Agriculture

How We Help Beginning Farmers Grow in Eastern Iowa

• Agriculture

Operational Strength Starts With Better Financial Habits

• Business
• Finance