As the saying goes: a penny saved is a penny earned. And, if you're running a business, you want to earn as much as you can. But you also want to save some funds for that day when an emergency or opportunity comes knocking on your business door.

First, you need to build a cash surplus. But once built, the challenge is to find just the right place to store your funds.

There are a staggering variety of investment choices from real estate to the stock market. Many carry the promise of big returns — along with the risk that your principal might be lost.

You can put your cash into a long-term investment like a CD, and you'll be giving your money the chance to grow safely and steadily over time. But the trade-off is liquidity.

What's a business person to do? If you can't afford to risk your ...

St. Patrick's Day brings to mind that famous pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Have you thought about if you could build your own pot of gold?

Your parents have probably stressed the importance of putting money aside for, well, as long as you can remember. “For a rainy day”; “for that vacation you want to take”; “for a house”; “for your future.” But let's face it: saving money is hard work. Between rent, gas, credit cards, and various other odds and ends, you're not usually left with much to spend – let alone save (especially in your 20's and early 30's!).

The good news is that saving money isn't nearly as difficult as you might imagine. In fact, that saying you've heard all your life is actually true: a little goes a long way. Saving doesn't mean going without and it also doesn't mean having to ...

Recently, readers of The News Journal voted that we are “Florence's Friendliest Bank" and "Florence's Finest Place To Work.” We're very proud. But we're also very grateful. Because without you, our customers, we would not be the place that we are.

We try hard to be different from other banks. Honors like this tell us that our efforts are succeeding.

The way we look at it, we're not just a banking business. We've got deep roots in the communities we serve, and affection for the people who live there. So, it's important that we do whatever we can to help make your lives better.

Those of us who work at First Reliance are proud to contribute over 800 hours of volunteer service every year. We were especially excited this year at your response to our “Feeding Neighbors In Need” campaign. We collected over 300 pounds of non-perishable food items and ...

They're all around us. We don't think much about them day to day. But, when we need them, they are there. Sometimes they're on duty and dispatched to provide aid. At other times, like so many of us, they have a day off and are enjoying an outing with family and friends. Yet, even when off-duty, they're ready and willing to spring into action if their skills are needed. This was the case with two firefighters out for a day of racing fun at the Daytona 500 on February 23. Neither could have anticipated that just a few hours after arriving at the track, he would be in the middle of a horrifying event. That Saturday, a race car traveling 175 miles per hour crashed against a protective fence in front of the stands, sparking an explosion of car motor parts, wheels and fire raining down on spectators. More than ...