Apr 11, 2019 | Public Policy Blog, Tax-time Savings
Back in October, we wrote about the need to save, specifically at tax time. Why? Because that’s the time that most Americans receive their largest lump sum all year. Combined with research that shows savings habits are stronger when money is immediately placed into a...
Feb 28, 2019 | News, Public Policy Blog, The Un- and Underbanked
By Darrin Williams, Southern Bancorp, Inc. CEO As appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Sunday, February 24, 2019 The last week of February is a big week for savings in America and in Arkansas. It’s America Saves Week, and thanks to a recent proclamation from...
Feb 8, 2019 | Payday Lending, Press Releases, Public Policy Blog
Little Rock, Ark. – Southern Bancorp, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with operations in Arkansas and Mississippi, announced its opposition to this week’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule change that would remove...
Nov 30, 2018 | Public Policy Blog
A couple of weeks ago, we touched on the importance of having both a checking and a savings account. We mentioned that having your money in two separate places was key to seeing it grow. But what we didn’t touch on was the way your money gets into those accounts...
Nov 26, 2018 | Public Policy Blog, Tax-time Savings
As we continue talking about tax time and ways to save, one thing that we’ve left out of the conversation is the complexity we all face when trying to fill out our tax forms. We have to gather up all of our documents (most of which don’t arrive at the same time) and...
Nov 9, 2018 | Public Policy Blog
We’ve recently written about two ways to help folks save more at tax time. One is to split your tax refund – put some of your refund into a savings account and some into a checking account; the other is to be encouraged to “pledge to save” before even doing your...
Nov 2, 2018 | Public Policy Blog, Tax-time Savings
We’ve all been nudged before. But did you know there are different types of nudges? Behavioral economists (those folks who look at why we make the choices we make with our money) have their own definition: “a subtle policy shift that encourages people to make...
Oct 18, 2018 | Public Policy Blog, Tax-time Savings
Most (if not all) of us should be saving more. We know we need a financial cushion for life’s inevitable emergencies[1]. If we have children, we know we should be saving for their college. And if we plan on retiring someday, we should probably save for that, too. But...
Jan 26, 2018 | News, Tax-time Savings
President Ronald Reagan called the federal Earned Income Tax Credit ’the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.” This Friday, January 26, 2018, is Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day. Nationally, an...
Dec 13, 2016 | Payday Lending, Publications
In 2009, the last Arkansas payday loan store closed for business. At the industry’s peak, three years earlier, payday lenders operated 275 stores across the Natural State. Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL – www.stoppaydaypredators.org), a...
