Chronic diseases — such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes — are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.

According to 2008 National Vital Statistics Reports, chronic diseases account for 70% of all deaths in the U.S., which is 1.7 million each year. These diseases also cause major limitations in daily living for almost 1 out of 10 Americans or about 25 million people.

In today’s economic world, another form of disease has surfaced for small businesses involving their relationships with financial institutions, causing disabilities for many companies. With the growing cost of supplies and overhead, businesses’ banking needs have diversified and financial institutions may be adding to your daily operating costs.

Learning how to analyze your banking relationship is crucial now more than ever. Through preventive measures, business owners can help fight the war on financial disease, and being educated about your banking choices can help remedy any illness related to your company’s lifespan. By following this checklist, you can help exercise your company’s changing needs to keep healthy and disease-free:

• Cash management — Ask for a cost assessment for online cash management services. Is there a way to reduce costs associated with daily transactions? Are they passing on an FDIC assessment to you?
• ID theft management — Is your company’s Antivirus software most current? How is your bank partnering with you to help protect your company from fraudulent activity? Do they offer any free fraud protection services?
• Deposit fees — What are your charges for ACH, wires and account transfers? Do they offer deposit technology, like remote deposit, to save on personal and deposit costs?

Managing your business’ financial wellness is important. Investing the time to understand banking fees and cost structures could save you thousands of dollars and minimize any financial limitations.

Kurt Lutz is a vice president and Commercial Loan Officer at Westfield Bank’s Akron office.

When you are shopping for a high-yield savings account or other type of investment, like a CD, you’ll often see the rate of return listed twice, and the numbers listed are almost guaranteed to be different. Why? Because one is higher (and is intended to pull you in), but the other is legally required in order to give you a way to compare accounts effectively. Here’s how to be a discerning investor.

Let’s say, for example, that you’re looking at an account that offers you 8% interest on your investment, but then says that the account has an APY of 7.25%. Another bank offers a 7.5% interest rate but has an APY of 7.4%. Where should you put your money? To many investors, this is tricky situation, but it shouldn’t be: APY is the effective investor’s best kept secret!

What is APY?
APY stands for “annual percentage yield” and is the most accurate measure of what you’ll get from an investment account. It takes into account multiple factors, including the number of times per year interest is paid and what the rate of interest is for the account. Because APY accounts for all the factors that influence the total payout of a savings account, it is the surest way to compare accounts. Look at APY this way: If you invested any amount of money (Let’s say $100, for now) in an account for a year, what percentage of that amount would you gain by the end of 1 year? If it were a 2.5% APY account, you’d end up with $102.50 or if it were a 5% APY account, you would end the year with $105. That’s all there is to it.

So, when you’re choosing a way to invest, disregard all interest rates advertised except for the APY. Banks are allowed to advertise their upfront interest rate (without considering the number of payout periods per year) but they are legally required to also include the APY of that account in their advertising. Skim right past the number advertised in big, bold font and look for the one marked APY. This is your clue as to what you will really get out of an account. Use it!

Although not as steeply as predicted, consumer prices did rise in January, marking another difficult week for American consumers. The Consumer Price Index puts the rise at 0.2 percent, a seemingly miniscule number, but one that is felt by the public as they seek to purchase the commodities they need to live their day to day lives.

The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the increase in price of commodities like groceries, energy, transportation costs, clothing and other consumer goods. The index does not include products that are considered independently volatile, and is therefore considered to be an accurate reflection of overall market trends.

Economists are hypothesizing that these increases in price are due in part to the early arrival of spring-like weather, which inspires consumers to buy season goods (like summer clothes and bathing suits) and spend more time out of the house, eating out and generally driving around more often.

A rise in these prices can be a good or bad sign—it can indicate that the economy is recovering, or it can just reflect hard-to-afford commodities that make current unemployment rates even harder for consumers to face.

Additionally, the rate of inflation over the last 12 months is also 0.2% higher than what is considered optimal (a rate of 2.0% compared to this year’s 2.2%) which many economists consider a bad sign for the American consumer. We see increases in the cost of items, but still a bad market for consumers in terms of loan interest rates and employment.

America rounded out 2010 with $800 billion in credit card debt, and this year we came pretty close—holding a whopping $798 billion in debt at the end of 2011. Where did Americans spend all that money? It’s become clear as analysts look at the unexpectedly high Black Friday and holiday sales that holiday shoppers stretched their budgets just a little too thing this season, spending over $52 billion in credit card sales during Black Friday weekend alone and surged by $20.4 billion in November.

Although these numbers seem high, the data for December has not yet been released. Considering the strong sales season retailers had, it will come as no surprise when December credit card debt looks similarly grim.

What’s making people feel so free to put purchases onto credit cards? Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com told Time Magazine that one major factor is promotions form credit card companies that offer 0% APR for a limited time, temping consumers into using charge because there’s less immediate risk of penalty. However, he warns, when these promotional rates start to expire, it’s going to be a rude surprise for card holders who will quickly see interest charges adding up and their credit score going down.

The other day my grandfather told me that he was thinking about discontinuing his homeowner’s insurance because he’s “paid them enough over the years, but they’ve never given me anything back.” I asked him if he’s ever had a claim, and he said that he had not. So, we had a good discussion about why it’s important to stay insured even when it feels like you’re not getting anything out of your relationship with your insurer.

The way I explained it to him was that you pay a little now so you won’t have to pay a lot when something catastrophic happens. With homeowner’s insurance, you may not ever make a claim and get a check in the mail from your insurance company—but if something expensive happens to your home, you’re going to be very, very glad to get that check in the mail. If you discontinue your insurance now, I told him, you won’t have that kind of peace of mind.

The same goes for any other type of insurance, whether it be motorcycle insurance or renter’s insurance, you make a commitment to paying a little now, month by month, in agreement that if something happens within the terms of your insurance agreement, the insurance company will pay for the damages. It may seem very theoretical now, but it will be very real when you find yourself facing damage that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay for.

It’s a choice and it’s yours: would you rather pay a little out of pocket every month to be insurance against catastrophes or would you rather have that monthly payment back and possibly face huge amounts of debt and possible foreclosure when the unexpected strikes?

Over the years, I’ve talked to many people who have just given up on budgeting for any number of reasons. Some of them claim it’s too complicated, others have had a bad experience with a particular budgeting system and for many, it’s just the dread of being limited in how you spend your money that scares them away from setting a budget and sticking to it.

The real trick is budgeting realistically. I think this is what trips people up more often than anything else.

What does it mean to budget realistically? To set goals for yourself that are attainable and sustainable. Sure, you’d save a lot of money if you only spent $100 on groceries every month and only bought one tank of gas—that looks great on paper. But it is practical? Depending on your lifestyle, probably not. In my experience, the best ways to actually budget in a usable way are:

1. Leave room for the “other” stuff
   Sometimes an unexpected expense comes up—or just dinner with an old friend at a restaurant across town. Whatever it may be, it’s good to leave a little bit of your monthly budget un-assigned so you can have a little wiggle room. This will prevent you from feeling “trapped” by your budget and will reduce your risk of going over budget.
2. Make your budget flexible
   You spent less on gas this month than usual? Great! Move that extra money over to your grocery budget because you’ll be having family over for dinner next week. Money you don’t spend doesn’t need to stay in a single category as long as it’s unspent. Use it where you need it. Adjust next month’s budget if it looks like the difference will be a long-term one.
3. Base your budget on you
   Don’t base the amount you budget on anything other than your own needs, wants and habits. Budgeting software and systems will try to tell you what you should spend, but you’re going to be better off if you take into account what you actually do. You usually spend $100 on eating out each month? That might be a place to save—but it’s going to be hard to completely change your lifestyle on demand. Back it down to $90 next month. See if you can stick to that. But don’t set your restaurant budget to $0 because someone said that’s what every budget has to look like.

Every five years the IRS releases data about the tax gap—the amount of unpaid taxes from a given year. The last set of data was released in 2001, and although the total amounts are different the causes of the gap are similar this year. About 85% of unpaid taxes are due to underreporting of income by individuals filing their taxes. 10% of taxpayers failed to pay the total amount they owed. Only 5-6% of Americans failed to file.

The tax gap number is calculated after audits have occurred to collect as much of the missing tax money as possible. What isn’t collected is the official five-year tax gap. This year’s figure is $385 billion, about 15% of the total tax revenue in the year of 2006.

Those who underreport their income may make a number of errors on their tax forms, either intentionally or by mistake. Some over-report their exemptions or expenses. Expenses without receipts included may not be accepted or deductions may be over represented.

There are over 140 million tax returns filed every year, but the IRS only employs about 22,184 employees responsible for enforcing tax law and following up on missing payments. To confound the problem of under-enforcement, tax laws have been changing rapidly in the last few years, making it difficult to enforce current laws before they change.

Last year the IRS audited 1.6 million individual tax returns, a group which included one out every eight millionaires in the country. Also audited were 62,000 corporate returns.

Although these numbers seem high, voluntary tax payment among Americans is higher than most nations and the number of Americans failing to pay what they owe has remained relatively stable—making it more manageable and giving lawmakers a clearer picture of the problem and how it can be solved in the future.

College is pricey, but there are a few ways to mitigate the costs, whether you’ll be paying for a child to attend in the near or distant future or are an adult looking for ways to finance your own education.

Save.
This one’s obvious, but probably the most important. The sooner you start saving and the more you save, the better. Savings will increase with interest and have be used as a primary means of financing or an emergency fund for continuing your education if other funding falls through. Either way, it’s vital to save as much as you can whenever you can.

Scholarships.
Scholarships are everywhere, but they are not always worth very much or particularly easy to get. Pay attention to deadlines and really read up on the organization funding the scholarship. When you write essays, make sure your message is in line with the values of the organization. Even if the scholarship isn’t worth very much or will only be for a limited number of terms, apply anyway. Whatever money you can get in grants and scholarships is money you won’t have to pay out of pocket.

School Choice.
Choose the right school. In-State is good because you can get a lower rate as a resident of the state. Public schools are substantially cheaper than private schools, and will make your money go farther. Many private schools will advertise that they offer more scholarships than public institutions, but you need to consider how far your money will go—sure, a $3,000 scholarship at a private institution sounds great, but you’re still paying $10,000 more there than you would at a state school, you’re not breaking even.

Subsidized Loans.
If you do need loans, stick to federally subsidized student loans if they are an option for you. These loans have lower interest rates (the government pitches in to help mitigate the interest cost) and interest does not accrue until you leave school. If you do need loans, these will be the easiest to pay off and will put you a lower risk for credit damage straight out of school.

Did you resolve to save money in the new year? If so, you’re not alone, and hopefully it won’t be as difficult as you think. There are practical ways to make saving money a little easier.

Take it straight from your paycheck
You can do this yourself—save a certain portion of each paycheck and put it straight into a high interest personal savings account—or your can have your employer withhold a little extra from your paycheck for taxes. The more you withhold, the bigger your tax return will be next year—and you can put that money straight into a savings account when you get it. Either way, it’s easier to save money that you don’t have the option of spending.

Looking for ways to make your money saving habits better in 2012?

Save the change on each purchase
Some credit cards let you save the difference between you purchase and the next dollar. For example, if you spend $5.50 on a meal, your credit card company will automatically round your purchase up to $6.00 and then put the difference (of fifty cents) into your savings account for you. This is another “painless” way to save a little at a time. You can, of course, do the same thing with cash transactions using a change jar, but it just feels more high tech to do it the credit card way.

Commit to setting aside “surprise” income
Figure out what you make, on average, each month. Assuming you can live comfortably on this amount, decide that you will, without exception, squirrel away any additional income above that amount each month. Whether this is overtime pay, a holiday bonus or some additional consulting (or babysitting, whatever your style may be) income, it can go straight into savings because you’re accustomed to living without it. Use a savings account for saving and a high interest checking account  for your day-to-day money management.

Wonder what’s ahead for American workers in 2012? The job market is relevant to you if you live, work or purchase commodities in the U.S., so most of the country is waiting with bated breath to see what comes next in terms of jobs, hiring and salaries in the coming year.

There’s good news and bad news: it appears that hiring in 2012 will be similar to hiring in 2011, which is bad news for those who are unemployed or looking for work… the only jobs that will be available are those which others have left because of dissatisfaction with wages, conditions or benefits. The good news is that if you already have a job, you may see a raise this year as many managers are considering slight wage increases as an incentive to workers to stay in their positions. Again, if you’re looking for a job, this is bad news—it means that those few jobs that were available in 2011, the ones recently vacated, will probably be fewer in 2012 as employers work harder to keep the employee’s they’ve got and lessen hiring and re-training.

An expert at CareerBuilder predicts that there may be a slight increase in new hires later in the year as companies work to increase their workplace’s diversity, focusing on more Latino and female hires and increasing the number of bilingual employees in order to respond effectively to a changing market.

According to surveys by CareerBuilder, 70% of mid- to large-size firms intend to create no new positions or are unsure of their hiring plans. This means that only 30% of these firms will be hiring new talent in the coming year. That being said, smaller businesses, those who employ fewer than 250 workers, have a more optimistic plan for 2012, with more of these businesses citing plans to hire than to maintain or decrease their current staff.