CTFCU Blog | Seasonal

Everything You Need to Know About Artfields

Posted by August on Apr 24, 2025 11:13:16 AM

Artfields is officially back! During ArtFields, the town of Lake City, once one of South Carolina's most prosperous agricultural communities, becomes a living art gallery as we recognize, celebrate, and share the artistic talent of the Southeast.

ArtFields started in 2013 with a simple goal: honor the artists of the Southeast with a week's worth of celebration and competition in the heart of a traditional Southern small town. The competition and exhibition offer over $145,000 in cash prizes. The votes of people visiting ArtFields determine the winners of two People's Choice Awards; a panel of art professionals selects all the other awards, including the $50,000 Grand Prize and $25,000 Second Place award.

With Carolina Trust having a branch in the heart of Lake City, I'd been through the town several times before, but after attending Artfields a few years ago it's become a can't-miss annual event for Adam and I. Saying that Lake City completely transforms for Artfields would be an understatement. The amount of fine arts culture and community closeness that Artfields creates left such a lasting impact that this event will find a spot on my calendar year after year.

If you're planning to attend Artfields this year, here are all the things you need to know:

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Topics: Home, Life & School, Seasonal

How To Get The Best Deal When Buying a Car

Posted by August on Apr 3, 2025 3:08:04 PM

Buy new, buy used, or lease? These are just a few of the many decisions you’ll need to make before happily driving away with a vehicle. While shopping for a car or truck is exciting, it’s also no simple matter. You can avoid buyer’s remorse by making important financial and practical decisions before signing on the dotted line.

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Topics: Seasonal

Avoid These Tax Blunders

Posted by August on Mar 28, 2025 9:33:26 AM

It's that time of year again; W2s are rolling in, tax professionals are gearing up, and your mind is already swirling with ways to spend your tax refund check. Before getting too excited and seeing dollar signs, check out this BALANCE blog post for common tax blunders you should try to avoid.

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Topics: Seasonal

Spring Cleaning for Your Finances

Posted by August on Mar 21, 2025 12:14:46 PM

The freshness of spring motivates a lot of people to throw open the windows and doors, and do a thorough spring cleaning. It’s a great way to take stock of what you have, organize it so everything’s more accessible, and ditch the clutter that’s keeping you from enjoying your space. While you’re at it, why not dive into a bit of spring cleaning for your finances, too?

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Things You May Be Paying Too Much For

Posted by August on Feb 20, 2025 1:36:12 PM

Many of us might be overspending unknowingly, with our hard-earned money slipping away in areas we seldom scrutinize. While it seems impossible to escape these inflated costs, plenty of alternatives and discounted rates are readily available.

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Share the Love With a Handmade Valentine's Day Card

Posted by August on Feb 7, 2025 11:31:54 AM

As a child, I always loved Valentine's Day. My favorite part of celebrating was going to the store and picking out a box of Valentine's Day cards to give the other kids in my class. It always took me forever to address my cards because I wanted each card's phrase to match its recipient perfectly. And let's face it, it's a tough decision to decide who gets "Be Mine" when you're in the fourth grade. Honestly, that card probably got tossed in the trash.

I'm not sure that finding the right card for my loved ones has gotten any easier as an adult. Although there are isles and isles of cards with both funny and mushy sayings, nothing ever really seems to perfectly suit my friends and family, which is why I've resorted to making my own.

While I sat down to make my own cards, I began thinking of all those who could use a little extra love this Valentine's Day, so I researched a list of places that I could send additional cards.

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Topics: Seasonal

How to Get the Best Vehicle Financing Deal

Posted by August on Jan 31, 2025 9:47:30 AM

I recently found myself on the hunt for a new vehicle, meaning I needed to find a new car loan as well. I used some of the tips from the BALANCE blog below to help me find the best vehicle financing deal and figured they might be a good resource for someone else in the same boat.

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Affordable Indoor Activities Your Kids Will Love

Posted by August on Jan 24, 2025 1:58:41 PM

Winter has abundant opportunities for outdoor family fun. But with limited daylight and stretches of severe weather, how do you keep your kiddos entertained when going outside isn’t an option? It’s a tricky question for parents on a budget—you can’t just take your little ones to the movies day after day.

Fortunately, children have an unlimited imagination that can fuel a full day of fun. So flex your creative muscle, and keep them occupied indoors with these activities:

Build a cushion/pillow fort

Kids love to build, so encourage them to take the cushions from your couch and create their special fortress. They can build different rooms for each person in your family and even reinforce the perimeter against all enemies with extra pillows from their beds!

Have a dance party

Do your children bounce off the walls after being cooped inside on a snow day? A dance party is an excellent way for them to burn excess energy. Designate one area as the dance floor, and have them pick some kid-friendly upbeat music. For a twist, they can even challenge each other to dance-offs.

Work on a puzzle

Puzzles are perfect for kids on days when they’re stranded inside. Depending on their age, they may even be able to stay focused on large puzzles, potentially keeping them busy for hours.

Make a movie

While children may be more familiar with online videos than feature films these days, they can easily pass the time by making their own movies. Using your phone or another camera with video capability, encourage them to write a script, choose costumes, and act out the characters. Most smartphones even have basic editing tools as well.

Bake with your kids

If you have a knack for creating sweets from scratch and need to keep your kids occupied, baking can take a bite out of a long winter afternoon. First, have them choose a treat (Cookies? Brownies? Cake?). Then, visit the store together to pick out the low-cost ingredients. Finally, incorporate them in every step of the baking process. It’s a great bonding experience, and you get to enjoy a sweet reward for your efforts when it’s over.

Take a Tropical Vacation

Not really, just pretend like you’re on one. So shut the curtains and crank up the heat; it’s summer in January! Time to pull out your swimsuits, beach towels, and sunglasses. Watch a summer movie, toss a beach ball, play island music, or have a beach towel picnic. For added fun, have a limbo contest. How low can you go?

Do a color scavenger hunt around the house.

Here’s how it works: Draw a graph, like a BINGO card, and then color each square a different color. Next, the kids have to search the house, looking for something in each color category they can add to the BINGO sheet. First, one to five in a row wins!

The blog post above was shared from BALANCE. For more information and similar resources, click here .

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Don't Let Gift Giving Break Your Budget

Posted by August on Dec 20, 2024 7:43:33 AM

Giving gifts to the ones I love is one of my favorite things about the holiday season. However, as someone who sticks to a strict monthly budget, forking out additional money for gifts during December always makes me a bit anxious. It's hard enough deciding what to get everyone, but then trying to stay within my budget while doing it adds a whole other layer to the cake.

Below are a few tips I've been using this holiday season while shopping for gifts for others, which have helped me stay within my budget and less anxious about spending.

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Creating Holiday Memories for the Kids Instead of Debt for Your Family

Posted by August on Dec 12, 2024 2:21:20 PM

There’s no denying it: the season of giving is an emotional time. In fact, for most people, it’s probably the most emotional time of the year. And when kids are involved, those feelings tend to go into overdrive. Just about any expense can be rationalized because it’s being done in the spirit of creating an amazing holiday experience for the young ones.

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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal

Carolina Trust FCU Blog

Everything You Need to Know About Artfields

How To Get The Best Deal When Buying a Car

Avoid These Tax Blunders

Spring Cleaning for Your Finances

Things You May Be Paying Too Much For

Share the Love With a Handmade Valentine's Day Card

How to Get the Best Vehicle Financing Deal

Affordable Indoor Activities Your Kids Will Love

Build a cushion/pillow fort

Have a dance party

Work on a puzzle

Make a movie

Bake with your kids

Take a Tropical Vacation

Do a color scavenger hunt around the house.

Don't Let Gift Giving Break Your Budget

Creating Holiday Memories for the Kids Instead of Debt for Your Family

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