Making sure your financial house has a solid framework. By Adam Soloff If you set out to build a house of the utmost structural integrity, you would need a detailed blueprint and a team of experts with the best tools for the job. Why would you approach the building of your financial house any differently?...

By Adam Soloff Women face special challenges when planning for retirement. Because their careers are often interrupted to care for children or elderly parents, women may spend less time in the workforce and earn less money than men in the same age group. As a result, their retirement plan balances, Social...

What real community banking is all about. By Walter Carlyle We’ve been reading and hearing about big banks and their financial troubles for more than a year now. Many of those megabanks required huge bailout dollars and government guarantees. On the other hand, community banks—the vast majority of...

Green is who they are and how they do business. 3rd Federal Bank is a community bank where green is more than just a color–it’s who they are, and how they do business. For nearly a decade, the bank has been fully engaged in the sustainability movement. 3rd Federal Bank’s “Go GrEEn!” initiative...

Teach children the fundamentals of handling money. By John D’Angelo Most children tend to have far-fetched ideas on the fundamentals of money—such as believing that obtaining credit is like ordering a happy meal and savings only happen in malls the week after the holidays. To fill in the gaps in...

Is it for you? By John D’Angelo I get questions almost weekly asking about the current homebuyer tax credit. In fact, the two most frequent are “What do I do if I settle on my home after my return is already filed, but still want the credit?” and the most popular, “I already have a home [or owned...

Does your withdrawal strategy need a second look? By John Trezza In its simplest terms, a withdrawal rate is the percentage you withdraw from an investment portfolio in any particular year. However, in retirement income planning, what’s important is not just your withdrawal rate, but your sustainable...

Just what you need, right? One more time-consuming task to be taken care of between now and the end of the year. But taking a little time out from the holiday chores to make some strategic saving and investing decisions before December 31 can affect not only your long term ability to meet your financial...

A leader, corporate citizen and brand champion. In the boardroom, a group of new 3rd Federal Bank employees focus their wide-eyed attention on CEO Kent Lufkin, who asks one of several trivia questions: “How many ridges are on the edge of a quarter?”  Hands fly into the air. “96!” shouts one....

By John Trezza Planning on working during retirement? If so, you’re not alone. An increasing number of employees nearing their retirement plan to work at least some period of time during their retirement years. Why work during retirement? Obviously, if you work during retirement, you’ll be...