For some folks, October is the spookiest month of the year. It's a time for good-natured fright-fests and ghost stories. There are even scary thrills and chills to be found at familiar store fronts temporarily transformed into haunted mansions.

It's also harvest time. And there's no better way to reap savings than by refinancing your vehicle and scoring a better interest rate. With our competitive vehicle loan rates, we may be able to help you lower your car or truck payment dramatically.

Car dealerships were offering 1.99% or even 0% for up to 72 months, only for select customers on select cars, proclaiming it as extraordinarily low. Very few customers can meet the credit criteria or afford the payment on the high end cars this is normally offered on.

Refinancing a vehicle loan with First Reliance Bank is fast and simple. So ...

Making the decision to start your own business can be an exciting, yet overwhelming experience. On the one hand, you are possibly fulfilling a lifelong dream to become your own boss and indulge in your passion. On the other, there are a lot of technical, financial, and administrative aspects to be worked out, leaving you with a lot of figurative plates spinning in the air. To make the process, a little less confusing, here is a step-by-step guide to how to take your business from idea to reality.

1. Draft your business plan

The first step to starting your business will be you creating a detailed plan of how your business will operate. Your plan will include things like a description of products and services, a market analysis, your marketing strategy, structure, and more. The South Carolina Small Business Development Centers (SC SBDC) has created a helpful business plan template ...

Preparing for your soon-to-arrive bundle of joy can be both exhilarating, and overwhelming. Not only are you assuming the lifelong responsibility of a human being, raising children can be expensive. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the cost to raise a child in the US is approximately $245,340. By putting together a budget in an advance, you can develop an understanding of the expenses that are ahead when baby arrives. Here are some things to remember when planning your budget for baby.

First Trimester
Prepare a Budget

You may be surprised by how quickly the costs can add up after baby arrives. Between the costs of one-time items such as a car seat or baby crib, and regular expenses like daycare or diapers, baby could easily cost you $10,000 during your first year. You can plan in advance by using an online baby calculator, such as the ...

It goes without saying that marriage is a huge step that comes without a lot of responsibility and accountability. Not only are you joining your life with another individual symbolically for what is ideally forever, but you are also marrying many physical aspects of your life, such as finances and debt. While some couples may choose to keep their finances separate regardless of marriage, this can occasionally cause trust issues as you may question what your significant other is spending his or her money on. To foster trust and communication about finances with your significant other, we recommended that you join your financial accounts with your spouse after you marry.

We also suggest that you wait until you are married to join accounts. While you may be in love, and may even be engaged, there are some couples that never say “I do,” and it can make breakups especially messy ...

First Reliance Bank, a local Florence icon, was just named among the top 1 percent most extraordinary banks in the United States by The Institute for Extraordinary Banking™.

First Reliance Bank was recognized with the Institute’s Banky® Award for their commitment to strong community banking. This recognition is given to the top 60 out of 6,000 community banks across the country.

“We set out to make First Reliance Bank an exemplary community bank which doesn’t just exist to make money.  We are proud to come to work every day with a purpose, “to make the lives of our customers better,” said Rick Saunders, First Reliance Bank CEO.   “If you’ve been in banking long, you quickly understand that product and price do not differentiate you from the competition.  The only differentiator is the customer experience which is the core of what we do. Our associates are driven by our purpose and ...