When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, there seems to be two types of people: those who look forward to making (and sometimes breaking) them, and those who think the whole thing is probably a waste of time. Everyone knows that many popular resolutions are broken by the time Valentine’s Day comes around, just look at the gym in January versus February or March!

The sun is shining, temperatures are rising, and the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance are in the air. It's graduation season again and, whether your graduates are finishing high school or college, you may be wondering if they are prepared with sufficient knowledge of personal financial skills to be successful. If you expected them to learn that information at school, you may be disappointed. As of May 4th of this year, only nineteen states required high school students to take a personal finance class before graduating (New York is not one of them), nor is it typically required in college.

The experts of this show featured Donna Cator, Vice President, Wealth Planning Advisor, and Matt Sorce, Assistant Vice President, Wealth Advisor.

In times of crisis, you don't want to be shaking pennies out of a piggy bank. Having a financial safety net in place can ensure that you're protected when a financial emergency arises. One way to accomplish this is by setting up a cash reserve, a pool of readily available funds that can help you meet emergency or highly urgent short-term needs.

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, or CFP® practitioner, is a financial professional who meets the requirements established by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. While some professionals may call themselves financial planners, only those who demonstrate the requisite experience, education, and ethical standards are awarded the CFP® mark.

There's no doubt about it — 2022 has been a tumultuous year for the financial markets. If you are looking forward to a fresh start this year, why not begin with your personal finances? Here are some tips to help you get started.

There's no doubt about it — 2022 has been a tumultuous year for the financial markets. If you are looking forward to a fresh start this year, why not begin with your personal finances? Here are some tips to help you get started.

You’ve accepted a job offer and are on your way to starting your career. Chances are your new workplace offers a variety of benefits to their employees. But which options are right for you? In this first episode in our series of next generation podcasts, Matthew Sorce, CFP®, Assistant Vice President, Wealth Advisor joins Dario Saccente, Wealth Associate, CNB Wealth Management to answer common questions new employees have about prioritizing benefits, contributing to HSAs, choosing a 401(k) plan, and more. Tune in to learn what you need to know to take full advantage of your employer-sponsored benefits.

Going to college is a time of excitement, anticipation and new challenges combined with a dose of anxiety from the unknown. Navigating this new path of independent living can be overwhelming and scary at times. Many young people will have to make decisions for the first time about how to budget their money or consider various financial choices. Managing your money while in college shouldn’t add to the stress of college students, especially considering the effort and determination it takes to earn this money.

Sending a child to college is at the top of the wish list for many parents. A college education can open doors to many opportunities and help your child compete in today's competitive job market. But, the cost of college has risen exponentially over the years and getting started on saving can be a daunting task.

While divorce can happen at any age, over the last 20 years, the rate of divorce has doubled for couples over 50. In this episode, Donna Cator, CFP®, CDFA®, Vice President, Wealth Advisor and Margaret Whelehan, CDFA®, Vice President, Financial Advisor with CNB Wealth Management join CNB’s Pittsford Bank Office Manager, Harry Gibbs and Laurie Haelen, AIF®, Senior Vice President, Manager of Investment and Financial Planning Solutions, to discuss this trend. Tune in to learn more about the unique financial challenges divorce poses to people over the age of 50 and how a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® can help.

An important part of managing your personal finances is keeping your financial records organized. Whether it's a utility bill to show proof of residency or a Social Security card for wage reporting purposes, there may be times when you need to locate a financial record or document--and you'll need to locate it relatively quickly.

We constantly remind clients to review their estate plans, making sure that wills and other estate planning documents (powers of attorney, living wills, and health care proxies) are up to date.

Whether you are early in your career or have started a family, as a member of the next generation of investors you face your own set of unique needs. Below are key tips to ensure you are off to a financially healthy 2022!

The time has come to pay back your student loans, now what? Dealing with student loan debt can be stressful and even frustrating for borrowers, however, now is the time to take control and alleviate that stress. First, create an inventory of your loans including loan type (private vs federal), balance, interest rate, payment amount, and repayment term. This can be done using your credit report through annualcreditreport.com for private loans or studentaid.gov for federal loans.