American State Bank of Pierre

American State Bank Bulletin Board - ASB home

We take pride in our local community. We encourage you to participate in events going on in the area.

Upcoming Events

08/31/2010 Pierre-Fort Pierre Food Pantry Pizza Ranch fund-raiser , 5 p.m.-8 p.m.

09/01/2010 President’s Great Outdoors Initiative Listening Session, 8:30 a.m.-noon, AmericInn, Fort Pierre.

09/02/2010 Stanley County High School Junior Class fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Perkins

09/02/2010 Ribfest, Fischer Lily Park, sponsored in part by American State Bank

09/03/2010 Stanley County High School Junior Class car wash fundraiser, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Becks Super Wash, Truck bypass

09/06/2010 Flags Across the Bridge, an Exchange Club Americanism Project sponsored by American State Bank of Pierre.

09/06/2010 Closed - Labor Day

09/09/2010 Girls Just Want To Have Fun Pierre Mall from 6 – 10pm; all proceeds donated for Missouri Shores. Sponsored in part by American State Bank of Pierre.

09/09/2010 Pierre Young Professionals Kick-off event, 6 – 8pm Steamboat Amphitheatre.

09/11/2010 Clean Out Your Freezer” game meat food drive, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Community Food Bank, Airport Road

09/13/2010 Pierre Riggs High School Coronation, 7:30 p.m., Riggs Theatre.

09/14/2010 Riggs High School homecoming parade, 5:30 p.m.

09/17/2010 Pierre Homecoming (vs. Brookings)

10/08/2010 Stanley County Homecoming (vs. Hill City)

10/11/2010 Closed – Native American Day

10/31/2010 Happy Halloween

11/11/2010 Closed – Veteran’s Day

11/25/2010 Closed – Thanksgiving Day

12/24/2010 Closed at Noon – Christmas Eve

12/25/2010 Closed – Christmas Day

Good tips for online safety

As social networking stretches into every corner of our lives, parents are right to be concerned about the information their children may be sharing online—and about what kind of information they should share about their own families. Here are some guidelines for safety:

Pick a strong password. Don’t use common words or significant dates in your life. Create a password that’s a mix of letters, numbers, capital letters and lowercase so it can’t be guessed easily.
Don’t give your birth date. Leaving your full birth date—month, day, and year—can give hackers and identity thieves an avenue to more confidential information. Share just the day and month, or no birthday at all.
Use privacy controls. Limit what’s available on your profile so strangers don’t have complete access to everything you post online.
Vacations. Don’t announce that you’re going to be out of town ahead of time. You don’t want to advertise that your home will be empty.

Bad credit? It may be because of your name

Having a familiar name may create problems with your credit rating. With all the John and Jane Smiths in the world, a simple mix-up can get an honest John Smith mistaken for a fiscally irresponsible one. Take these precautions if you have a name that’s common:

Always include your full first name and middle initial on credit applications. The more complete your name, the better your chances that it won’t get mixed up with another person with a similar name. Be sure to use the Jr. or Sr. designation if you have one.
Be consistent. All your credit cards should have the same exact name. If one has John Davis, another has John J. Davis, and yet another Jack Davis, mistakes can crop up more easily.
Write clearly on all documents. Be sure your name is completely legible to anyone who might read an application. If you don’t, your “J” initial can appear as an “I” to an application processor.
Check your credit report regularly. You never know if your Social Security card number got copied incorrectly somewhere along the line, or if the credit report agencies have mistakenly added information from someone of a similar name.
Correct errors right away. And be persistent. Contact creditors directly. The last thing you want to do is argue with a collection agency over a bill that isn’t yours.

Save more money when you shop

You’ve got to buy food, but you don’t have to spend wildly on it. Smart shopping can save you a bundle. For instance, if you save just $20 a month on groceries, you’ve banked more than $200 over the year.

Here are some strategies to save on your food bill:

Plan your shopping carefully. Look through your refrigerator and pantry to see what you need on a regular basis. This lets you look for sales and buy those products in bulk.
Cut back on convenience foods. Don’t buy things like packaged salads or pre-cut celery. You’re paying big for a small convenience.
Use coupons. If you find that you buy some name-brand foods regularly, then start clipping the coupons for them. Otherwise, generic foods are comparable in quality and content, and usually less expensive.
Check out different stores. You may find as much as a 10-15 percent difference on identical products at different stores, depending on the neighborhood and demographic factors. Shop at the store that is the cheapest overall.

Medical reimbursement? File for it already!

Some of us don’t file medical claims with the insurance company in a timely fashion.

Try this system for staying on top of the process:

Step 1: Get organized. Set up five folders and label them: “to be processed,” “submitted claims,” “completed claims,” “claims forms and envelopes,” and “insurance correspondence.”

Step 2: Don’t lose forms. As soon as you or a family member returns from a medical visit, file the bill into the “to be processed” file.

Step 3: Set aside a regular time for claims. Schedule one or two permanent days every month to attend to the claims. Write it down in your appointment book for the year so you don’t forget.