PRESIDENT S DESK BUY LOCAL, BANK LOCAL

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1 BANK OF PRAIRIE DU SAC NEWSLETTER SPRING 2017 PRESIDENT S DESK BUY LOCAL, BANK LOCAL GIVING BACK We are proud to support our community by giving back! Here are just a few of the non-profit groups and financial education initiatives we supported in DONATIONS TO LOCAL NON-PROFITS Sauk Prairie Area Food Pantry St. Vincent de Paul Sauk Prairie Healthcare Foundation River Arts, Inc. Sauk Prairie School District Sauk Prairie United Way My Neighbor in Need Good Neighbor Clinic PRESENTATIONS FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION Teach Children to Save Elder Financial Abuse Get Smart About Credit In a world where we have access to a global supply of food, goods, and services, many people are returning their focus to the areas in which they live. People are going to local farmers markets, eating at local restaurants, and shopping at area small businesses all in an effort to support their local economies. This focus on spending money in the area you live is part of a movement to buy local. As we learned at this year s Economic Outlook, small businesses create the biggest bursts of economic growth. By supporting the farmer, entrepreneur, or family business, we help them grow. In return, their growth benefits our local economy by providing more revenue and jobs where we live. You can also support the local economy with your banking activities. When you deposit money into a local community bank, it is used for lending to the community s small businesses, farmers, and residents. When you buy local and bank local, our community benefits with every dollar you spend and every dollar you save. When you buy local and bank local, our community benefits with every dollar you spend and every dollar you save. At Bank of Prairie du Sac, we have always maintained a local focus. Since our start, we have been locally owned with a local board of directors. The people of the Sauk Prairie area are our top priority. As a community bank, we can only be successful if our customers and communities are successful. That is how we have been able to grow and thrive for over 100 years by providing our customers with the tools to be successful. When you join in by banking local, we work together to build a more sustainable, vibrant economy here in Sauk Prairie. Feel free to stop by our office or give us a call to discuss how you can bank local with Bank of Prairie du Sac. Steve Ploetz, President & CEO IN OUR COMMUNITY Our staff went Casual for a Cause to raise money to help 3 local families in need. We attended the Chamber s annual dinner. Crystal was a nominee for Young Professional of the Year. We did not take home a trophy at the Chamber Bowl, but one of our teams made finals and we got to wear our light up shirts!

2 HOME POSSIBLE Buying a home for the first time or on a low to moderate income? Bank of Prairie du Sac is now offering Freddie Mac s Home Possible Mortgages just for you. Home Possible Mortgages have options for low down payments and flexible credit terms to make home buying easier. WHAT IS IT? A responsible, low down payment mortgage option WHO IS IT FOR? First-time homebuyers Low to moderate income borrowers HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? Down payment options as low as 3% or 5% Stable monthly payments with our fixed-rate mortgages Reduced mortgage insurance coverage levels Flexible closing cost funding options Waived or lower qualifying income requirements WANT TO LEARN MORE? Whether you are just looking or ready to buy, our mortgage lenders, Linda and Crystal, will guide you through the home buying process. They will work with you to provide the best mortgage option to meet your needs. Mortgage Lenders Linda Oelke-McNamer (NMLS# ) and Crystal Lautenbach (NMLS# ) DAIRY DAY FRIDAY, JUNE 16 TH 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM PRAIRIE DU SAC OFFICE Join us for our annual celebration of June Dairy Month in support of our farmers and community. LEARN MORE AT BANKPDS.COM/DAIRY Lunch, music, kids activities, and more! New this year will be information on consumer protection, the agricultural industry, and banking technology.

3 INVESTMENTS & PLANNING FICTION I can handle my finances on my own. SPRING CLEANING From the Wisconsin Bankers Association Consumer Columns It is time to open up the windows, sweep out the garage, and do some spring cleaning. As you scrub and organize, do not forget to clean up your finances too. Here are a few tips to get your finances organized this spring: DISPOSE OF OLD RECORDS Go through paper files and receipts from the past year and place everything into either a File/Save or Toss/Shred pile. Items that should be shredded include ATM receipts, bank deposit receipts, and credit card statements, once the accounts are current. Utility statements can also be discarded after they have been paid. This helps protect you against identity theft as well as clutter. If possible, switch to e-statements to reduce the amount of paper lying around. Save digital copies of the e-statements until they have been paid, then archive or delete them. Note: Tax information should be kept for seven years, so be sure to put those in the Save pile. UPDATE YOUR BENEFICIARIES Look at insurance and retirement account policies to make sure the beneficiaries are current. If your marital status recently changed or you experienced the loss of a spouse or child, it is especially important to update your beneficiary information. Make sure the money will go where you want it to go if it were distributed today, not where it was designated when you first signed the policy. This is also a good time to reassess your insurance coverage is the amount you originally signed up for still enough to protect you and your family? CASH IN YOUR REWARDS Go through credit card points, frequent flyer miles, store credits, loyalty club memberships, etc. Schedule when you need to use these benefits before you lose them. If you are currently paying a fee to participate in these programs (such as an annual fee for a credit card) do the math to figure out if the reward outweighs the fee. If not, consider dropping the program. ORGANIZE YOUR CREDIT CARDS Cut up and cancel cards that have not been used in six months or more, especially if they carry an annual fee or have a higher interest rate. You will have more space in your wallet and fewer bills to worry about. If you are trying to eliminate debt, stick with just one or two credit cards or a debit card. If you are carrying debt on multiple cards, talk to Bank of Prairie du Sac about the possibility of consolidating that debt into a single payment. Taking a little extra time this spring to clean up your finances will make budgeting throughout the rest of the year much easier. FACT The onslaught of information available to consumers has given many people the impression that they can manage their investments and financial planning alone. The truth is there are few things more important than your financial security. Having a professional on your side makes a world of sense. Financial professionals possess a sound understanding of complex financial issues and can provide objective advice, helping you pursue the most practical path toward your financial goals. Start taking control of your finances with a complimentary consultation. During the consultation, we can: Review your existing portfolio Determine whether it is consistent with your objectives Revise or create a plan that is right for you Ensure that you are following a strategy that makes sense no matter what the market is doing. Talk to us to get started PARKAVEINVEST.COM Located at Bank of Prairie du Sac 555 Park Avenue, Prairie du Sac, WI Mitz Schueman offers Securities through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/ SIPC. Fixed Insurance Products and services offered through Park Avenue Investments or CES Insurance Agency. SECURITIES AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED. NO BANK GUARANTEE. MAY LOSE VALUE. NOT A DEPOSIT. NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

4 SECURITY CORNER TOP 5 MOST RISKY SCAMS When it comes to protecting your finances, you strive to keep your information private. But what if you are being scammed into giving that information away? The Better Business Bureau s annual risk report reveals the five scams with the most exposure, susceptibility, and overall loss that people experienced in Protect yourself by recognizing these scams before becoming a victim to one. #1: HOME IMPROVEMENT Door-to-door solicitors offer quick, low-cost repairs and then either take payments without returning, do shoddy work, or find issues that dramatically raise the price. Owner of a company was driving in my neighborhood looking at driveways needing sealcoating. Asked if he could do ours. Gave us one of his business fliers. Twenty-four hours later, after it rains, half the sealcoating washed away. Cracks were not filled. We made multiple attempts to contact the owner to return and repair. The owner never came back to repair. #2: FAKE CHECK You deposit a phony check and return a portion by wire transfer to the scammer. The stories vary, but you will often be told you are refunding an accidental overpayment. I was ed instructions to accept a check that would cover travel arrangements and deposit the check and then wire money to a travel agent account. I deposited the money into the account and two days later the original check I sent bounced and now I owe the bank. #4: ONLINE PURCHASE These cons often involve purchases and sales on direct seller-to-buyer sites. A buyer may send a fake check, or a seller may simply never deliver the item. Buying a motorcycle off Craigslist. The seller asked if it was okay to do the transaction through Google Wallet. We agreed. They said we had to buy gift cards and load them with the amount of the purchase. Now we are out a lot of money. #5: ADVANCE FEE LOAN A loan is guaranteed but once you pay upfront charges, such as taxes or a processing fee, the loan never materializes. I really needed to pay a bill. A man ed and told me I would get the loan by MoneyGram and I needed to send money to pay the fees, so I did. The next day he told me I needed to pay for insurance on the loan. Then another fee the next day, and I never received the loan. MARKETPLACE SCAMS IMPACT #3: EMPLOYMENT Led to believe you are applying or being hired for a new career, you have, in fact, given personal information or money to scammers for training or equipment. I was looking for work that I could do from home and after listening to the company and all its potential I invested $17,000. The company has delivered nothing. 1 IN 4 HOUSEHOLDS AND 1 IN 5 INDIVIDUALS PER YEAR BONUS: TECH SUPPORT SCAM A call or claims to be from a tech support company. They say there is a problem with your computer and try to gain remote access to your computer or have you pay to fix the problem. Do not provide any information if you receive this call or . Companies such as Microsoft have stated they do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer.

5 TEACH CHILDREN TO SAVE Join us for Teach Children to Save Day! As part of the Reading Raises Interest program, we will read books about money and savings during storytime at both libraries in Sauk Prairie. Come to story time: Tuesday, April 25 th 9:00 am at Sauk City Public Library 10:00 am at Ruth Culver Community Library Together, we can help children build good financial habits from an early age! Ask about our Eaglee Savers Club for kids age 12 and under. BUILD YOUR DREAM Bring your dreams of building a home to life with special low rates on construction and lot loans. Talk to our mortgage lenders for details and learn how to get started. 1.99% / 3.655% APR * CONSTRUCTION LOANS Monthly interest paid on advances made 20% Minimum down payment Short Term *APR is based on a loan amount of $300,000 and a 20% down payment. Must be a single family, primary residence. 3.99% / 4.986% APR RESIDENTIAL LOT LOANS Monthly interest only payments 20% Minimum down payment Short Term Offer valid for new construction loan transactions or lot loan purchase transactions opened between 2/27/17 and 11/30/17. Subject to credit approval. Rates subject to change. PROMOTION We are excited to announce the promotion of several of our staff! (l-r) Brett Kirner to Senior Vice President, Operations; Diane Endres to Vice President, Loan Compliance Officer; Crystal Lautenbach to Vice President, Mortgage Lending; and Jennifer Haskins to Assistant Vice President, Retail. Thanks for everything you do!

6 555 Park Avenue Prairie du Sac, WI Phillips Boulevard Sauk City, WI WHAT S INSIDE Home Possible Dairy Day Spring Cleaning Investments & Planning Top 5 Most Risky Scams Build Your Dream SHRED FEST FRIDAY, APRIL 28 TH 1:00-4:00 pm Come to our Prairie du Sac office to securely dispose of papers and safely recycle old electronics! SHRED Receipts Credit Applications Insurance Forms Checks Business Records Paper shredding by Shred-It. Limit 5 small boxes of paper. RECYCLE Computers Keyboards Small Printers DVD/VCR Systems Cell Phones Electronics recycling by Helping Hands Recycling, some fees apply. LEARN MORE AT BANKPDS.COM/SHRED CONTACT BANKPDS.COM VISIT US 555 Park Avenue Prairie du Sac, WI Phillips Boulevard Sauk City, WI HOURS Mon-Fri: 8:00 am - 5:30 pm Lobby 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Saturday: 9:00 am - Noon Lobby 9:00 am - Noon, PdS only