GDonaldson's blog

A new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau show that about one in five Americans struggle to pay for life’s basic needs to include food, shelter and medical care. It further states that while roughly one-third of consumers have a hard time making ends meet.

Americans are drowning in student loan debt.  More than 3,000 people default on their federal student loans every day.  It takes around 20 years for the average student loan borrower to pay off their loans.  Today, there are over 44 million Americans with a total student loan debt of $1.4 trillion.  But what happens if you can’t make the necessary payments?

With back to school right around the corner, many shoppers are hitting stores and using credit card to pay for their purchases.  A recent report by the U.S. Federal Reserve showed total consumer borrowing rose by 18.4 billion in May which is the strongest gain since November’s $25.1 billion increase.

College tuition continues to increase every year!  I cringe to think how much it will be when our youngest goes to college.  The reality for most families includes getting student loans to finance college.  The harsh reality of borrowing via student loans hits when the excitement of graduation comes to an end in four short years.

We have a high school senior this year and with graduation festivities around the corner, our focus has been how will be pay for college for our daughter the next four years!  Whether your student has applied for scholarship opportunities or not, you need to be aware that there are school-based financial priority deadlines for Alabama’s four-year colleges.

Why do clients end up in my office every day?  Today, a client told me it started innocently with a t-shirt.  He was in college and offered a credit card with a $200 limit.  How much trouble could he get into with that small of a limit? Well, about twenty years later, that credit card debt grew and grew and snowballed into a lot more.

Auburn University at Montgomery’s Alpha Gamma Delta Chapter invited me to speak to their sorority this week about finances.  The number one growing problem I see in my practice is student loan debt.

Many clients who come to discuss their financial hardships are a result of unforeseen medical debts.  Many times, a simple slip and fall accident results in unexpected medical expenses or time off from work without pay.  A recent study by Urban Instit

Hyundai is one of Montgomery’s biggest employers where more than 3,000 team members are employed with high-paying jobs and full benefits. Additionally, more than 35 tier one suppliers are located in seventeen counties across Alabama.  Further there are 78 total suppliers located throughout North America to support the Hyundai plant.

Last fall, Wells Fargo admitted it had created over 2 million phony accounts as a result of an incentives program that rewarded employees who increased their sales numbers. Some employees who tried to report these wrong activities were retaliated against and fired.