Sometimes life gets so busy that we forget to stop and think about all that we have to be thankful for. This November, I want to challenge you to pause each day to reflect on the good things in your life but I also want to challenge you to apply it to your life. For instance, if you are thankful for your family, maybe schedule a family outing to show just how thankful you are for them. If you are thankful for the clothes on your back, maybe consider donating the clothes that you don’t wear anymore and give them to someone in need. Thankful for your friends? Write them a personalized card telling them how much they mean to you and mail it to them. It is refreshing to get a personalized letter in the mail every once in a while.

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In the month of November, the Heritage team will be sharing pictures and a short blog on what we are thankful for. This will be featured on our brand new website and we will share it via our Facebook page as well.


The Heritage Team would love to hear back from you to read about what you are thankful for and we would love to see pictures of you and your family or anything you are thankful for.


​I hope you participate in this with us and we hope you know how thankful we are for you, not only in the month of November, but every month. You all mean so much to us and we are thankful for you for choosing Heritage.


​Best regards,
Bri Trevino and the Heritage team

 With the Federal Reserve expected to continue to raise interest rates, here are 4 steps you can
take to protect you from paying higher interest rates.

1. Consider refinancing your current mortgage to a fixed-rate now while rates are still
incredibly low. If you have a variable rate loan, consider locking in a fixed rate mortgage.

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2. Pay down any variable rate notes you may have like a line of credit. You can also look into
making these a fixed-rate loan as well.


3. If you have variable rate credit cards, look into a fixed rate option if you cannot pay-off the
balance. It may be worth considering a fixed-rate bank loan to pay-off high interest credit
cards.


4. Car notes can also be refinanced through your bank or credit union to a fixed-rate option.
If you have been in the market for a car, now may be the time to buy a new car and lock-in
some of the year-end financing deals.


5. If you are a saver, go on the internet and look for some of the higher yielding savings
options available to you. If you can avoid locking your money up into a time investment. If
rates are going up and you have locked your money into a CD (or something similar), you
will not be able to take advantage of the rising rates.


6. In a rising rate environment, it is even more important that you do not have more debt than
you can afford. The debt you have you want to be sure and pay the lowest rate possible.
So locking rates in while interest rates are still low can really work to your advantage.

In today's modern economy people are changing jobs more often. Here are 5 steps that will
help make your transition a smooth one.

1. Make sure you understand your new companies benefits. You will want to sign-up for the
short-term and long-term disability options if they are available. If thee is a group life
insurance policy you will want to be sure and fill in the beneficiary information even if you
are not married! If you have a choice with health insurance plans, make sure your doctors
are on the plan you choose.

2. Sign up for the 401k plan and make sure and withhold enough from your paycheck to get
the full company matching contribution (this can be an additional 3-5% of your salary).
Pick an investment allocation that is appropriate for your age and risk level.

3. Evaluate your options for your former retirement plan. Generally speaking, you can leave it
with your former employer, move it to your new employer plan, or roll it over to an IRA.
There are benefits to all three options depending upon the plan expenses and investment
options.

4. Make sure you take all of your personal and professional contacts with you! Update your
LinkedIn profile and make sure you have your personal email address as your primary
contact.

5. Meet with your financial advisor to review your new company benefits as well as the
options for your former company retirement plans.

Changing jobs is a very busy and exciting time so you want o make sure you take care of
yourself when signing up for your new benefits. Make sure you take enough time to
familiarize yourself with your new benefits and that you have gotten signed-up for
everything you want.