News Releases

HARRIS HELPFUL HINTS
Spring Cleaning your Finances

CHICAGO, May 28, 2008 - As the economists debate whether we are in a recession and gas prices continue to climb, people are looking for ways to tighten their purse strings and save more money. Therefore, before summer officially arrives, take some time to spring clean your finances. Dust off your old budgets and financial plans, and add in new insight to make sure those plans are tailored to you and your family's current needs.

There are many tools and resources available to help.

Educational resources

• MyMoney.gov offers articles, tool kits and online tutorials to help individuals learn how to save, invest, and manage money more effectively. It is the U.S. government's website dedicated to teaching the basics of financial education, including planning to buy a home, balancing a checkbook, investing in a 401k and more.
• The Financial Planning Association has a wealth of information available on their website to help educate and demonstrate effective financial planning methods, including testimonials, articles and brochures, checklists and more. One standout feature is their Financial Decisions for Life Events, which links specific articles and tools to different milestones, such as purchasing a home, having medical issues or getting remarried. Visit their site at: http://www.fpaforfinancialplanning.org/

Tools

• Most bank websites provide good tools to give an up-to-the minute view of your financial picture.
  • For Harris Online Banking^® customers, that snapshot information can be expanded with Harris Total Look^®, a free add-on service that allows you to securely view your Harris and non-Harris banking accounts, investments, credit cards, and more in one secure site with just one User ID and Password. Harris Total Look not only lets you organize and consolidate all your online account information, but also gives you free access to budgeting tools such as automatically categorizing your expenses and setting up email alerts to help you safely and securely spring clean your finances and just as importantly, keep them in good shape going forward!
  • For those who are not Harris customers, there are numerous, free calculators on harrisbank.com that can help you answer many budgeting questions, such as:
    
    Should I consolidate my debts?
    How much w ill my savings be worth?
    What will it take to save for a vehicle, home, etc.?
    How will taxes and inflation affect my savings?
    What will it take to pay off my line of credit?
    What's it worth to reduce my spending?

You can even have any of your calculator results emailed to you for future reference.

While it may take a little time and research, the tools and resources to help you rework your budget and financial plan are readily available. Your banker or financial planner will be able to assist you as well.

Harris has been helping its customers and the communities it serves for over 125 years and has more than 230 full-service locations and more than 600 ATMs in Illinois and Indiana.

About Harris:
Harris is an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending, investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name. For more information, please visit www.bmocm.com or .

Harris^® is a trade name used by various financial service subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Banking products and services are provided by Harris N.A., The Harris Bank, N.A. and their bank affiliates. Members FDIC. Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc. (HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC registered investment adviser. Insurance and annuities are off ered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Securities are provided by BMO Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCM), a registered broker dealer and member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC. HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are affiliated companies and are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Products offered by HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are Not Insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by Any Bank or Bank Affiliate, May Lose Value. The purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition to any bank loan or service. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser. Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location.