Two of the Buena Vista National Bank lenders attended an interview on Wednesday, November 9, for Mr. Springston’s Journalism class. Josh Brown, Vice President and Lender, and Vicki Laramore, Assistant Vice President and Lender, answered questions about problems with today’s economy, careers in banking, and the best ways to save money.
“One of the most important things that I encourage for young people is to go ahead and set goals,” said Mr. Josh Brown, stressing the importance of staying in control, especially when it comes to personal finance. Some of the best advice for college-bound students is for them to start saving early. He said if they set their goal and set aside a certain amount per month, they will be there in no time! Mr. Brown and Mrs. Laramore advise that “If you are consistently putting the same amount of money aside, in a few weeks you will be used to the new amount of money and you won’t miss the amount that goes into savings. It is much easier to put away many small sums than to put away one large one.”
Mrs. Laramore provides insight on applying for local scholarships. “In this community, we are very fortunate with how many local scholarships there are, so take advantage of those.” She urges students to apply for all scholarships, even if they aren’t eligible. If one is not eligible but no one else applies, it will likely go to them anyway. She encourages students to write essays for their applications if they are needed. “I know it’s tedious to write the essays, but you find that if you write one essay you can tweak it, and it will apply to all of them.” This advice applies to the scholarships that colleges may offer, as well. Things like this are very important for students to know and ensure that they fill out scholarship applications to the best of their ability.
They expressed that another very good way to pay for college is to take out student loans. Mrs. Laramore expressed that “A loan is a way to accomplish those goals in advance and pay them as you go.” Most large purchases require a loan to be taken out. Although student loans will be the biggest concern for students currently in high school, loans are also used for buying cars, houses, weddings, funerals, and many other large purchases. They are also a very good way to build credit. Even if one does not need to pay anything off, one could take out a small loan and pay it back and it would help to increase one’s credit score. This is very important when it comes to buying cars and houses. Mr. Brown and Mrs. Laramore stress that it is very important to be careful when selecting a company with which to take a loan out. They assure students that “at Buena Vista National Bank we don’t offer a specific student loan program, but we have expert lenders at our bank that have experience with student loans. They would be happy to help any student navigate and figure out their best options.”
The guests made sure to let students know that Buena Vista National Bank is very community oriented and they love to help people in the community. Forming relationships with customers is a fun part of their job that they look forward to, so don’t be scared to stop by and ask for help!