The winter holiday season is almost here. Soon we will be busy with holiday activities--cooking, decorating and socializing. We'll also be shopping for gifts for family and friends, but unfortunately may overspend. Then in the New Year, when the bills start rolling in, reality and regret will strike.

Here are some tips on how you can enjoy the season without inducing an overspending hangover in January.

• Make a list of everyone on your gift list. Try to limit it to close family and friends, and set a maximum amount to spend for each recipient. Calculate this total; if too high, revise the individual limits to keep the total reasonable.
• If you have overspent already, review the list to see where you may be able to give meaningful gifts without spending. Consider giving personal "coupons" for specific chores-for example lawn mowing, babysitting, cooking a meal or hand car washes.
• While some people enjoy the hustle and bustle of shopping malls, you may prefer to stay home and shop online, which saves on travel expense. To maximize the value of virtual shopping, look for free-shipping promotions. Another option is to check with nearby retailers to see if they can save you on shipping costs if your item is shipped to the store, instead of to your home address.
• Many people use credit cards for their holiday shopping in order to increase frequent flier miles and other rewards offered by their credit card company. There are benefits to this strategy, but keep in mind that will need to budget for the charges arriving in January; they will need to be paid off to avoid incurring large credit card interest.
• You might opt to use cash for Christmas shopping. Decide on an amount for each person, total the amounts, and take cash from your checking account. Divide the cash into your predetermined amounts for each person, and place the cash in envelopes with each person's name and amount on the envelope. Take these envelopes with you on your shopping excursion. Stick with your list, and when the cash is gone, it's gone.
• With social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, you also may be able to find additional money-saving coupons and discounts.
• If you have adequate storage space, one of the best times to do your Christmas shopping is in January, when retailers are clearing out their merchandise from the holidays. Along this line, think of shopping for stocking stuffers during the year, as these trinkets can become costly if bought during the holiday rush.

To make the most of your holiday season, sit back and take a moment to enjoy the meaning of the season and the opportunity to gather with family and friends and all those you hold dear. Then take a deep breath, and shop wisely.

Source: Indiana Bankers Association - November 15, 2011

Each year, the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity hosts a ‘Volunteer Dinner’ to celebrate and thank the volunteers who’ve helped them accomplish goals of raising money, building awareness and building homes.

This year at the dinner, we were given the Corporate Partner of the Year award. Over the course of 2011, MutualBank employees helped to build homes and raise money for Habitat for Humanity by paying $5.00 to wear jeans one Friday. We had the opportunity to underwrite a grant yielding the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity $50,000 in funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. Additionally, we hosted the “Traveling Wall” for the “$10 Makes a Difference” campaign.  Lastly, we serviced nearly all of the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity mortgages.

It was a true honor for us to be named Corporate Partner of the Year.  After all, MutualBank’s motto is to help people live better lives. It closely ties to Habitat’s motto: “Build Hope, Build Dreams, Build Community”. Together, we help people achieve their dreams of home ownership. Furthermore, our community is better when more people have safe and affordable homes
to live in.

We thank the Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity for their service to our community, giving employers opportunities to serve the community and honoring MutualBank as the
Corporate Partner of the Year. 

Pictured (Left to Right):
Lindsay Arthur, Executive Director, Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Jennifer Volk, Senior Staff Auditor and Outreach Committee President, MutualBank

Have you ever participated in a Facebook contest?  On November 14^th, MutualBank began its very first Facebook contest. The contest is called “Reward Yourself”. It’s designed to get you thinking about how you would reward yourself if you were to win some free money. 

So what do you have to do to participate?

It’s easy. You go to our Facebook Page and like our page. From there you can enter the Reward Yourself contest. All we need from you is your name, email address and a photo of you rewarding yourself or how you’d reward yourself if you won.

We’ve seen people stop there. They’ve taken the time to enter the contest, but they haven’t taken the final step of sharing the contest with their friends and family. The more you can share it and get your friends voting, the more likely you’ll see victory!

At the end of the contest, which is December 16^th, the three photos with the most votes will win the prizes. (Which are AWESOME if I can share my biased opinion.)

First place wins $1,000 VISA gift card.
Second place wins $500 VISA gift card.
Third place wins $250 VISA gift card.

Let’s put things into perspective. What can you get for $1,000?

Two iPads
 

Four flights from Indianapolis to Orlando for Spring Break

Two night stay in New York City over New Year’s

100 movie tickets
 

Clearly, the prize is worth it. Not only because it’s worth $1,000, but because you get to choose what to do with your reward.  And rewarding you is what we’re really excited about. We can’t wait to hear how you will choose to use the money whether it is for a new kitchen countertop, a tropical trip or simply to pay for groceries for a few months. It’s your choice.

So here are a few tips to help you be successful:

1. If you’ve not yet liked our page or entered the contest…what are you waiting for?
2. Share the contest with your friends and family.
3. Remember everyone, including you, can vote every single day.  (After today there are only 23 days left!)

And keep in mind, rewarding yourself isn’t just for this month long Facebook contest. At MutualBank, you can always reward yourself with UChoose Loyalty Rewards. UChoose Loyalty Rewards reward you for your loyalty to MutualBank. Learn about all of the ways you can reward yourself just by doing everyday banking.  Remember, we’re excited to reward you, through this contest and throughout the entire year! 
Go ahead! Start rewarding yourself today!