It seems like every time I watch the news; every single story is negative or sad in some way. I don’t know about you but when I wake up in the morning the last I want to hear is a ton of negative news to start my day. Fortunately, in the past week, there have been a few stories highlighting some random acts of kindness. Paid-Off Walmart Layaway Balances Some of those random acts of kindness include Tyler Perry and Kid Rock paying off layaway balances for three Walmart stores. Tyler Perry paid off balances for two Walmart stores in…Read More
Over the last 10 or so years, we have seen a decline in the real estate market. It does seem to be improving a bit of late, however, many people have come to us for help because their home or other real estate has little or no equity and has become too burdensome to maintain and afford, particularly those folks with adjustable rate notes! What Happens When You Purchase Real Estate? Before we talk about what actually happens to real estate that someone surrenders in bankruptcy, let’s go back to what happens when you purchase real estate. When you purchase…Read More
With Thanksgiving over and Christmas just around the corner, it’s time for many Americans to start thinking about holiday shopping. The holidays are a time to gather with friends and family and enjoy great food, relax by the fire, and hopefully exchange a few gifts. What Do the Statistics Say? Unfortunately for many Americans, the gifts purchased for their loved ones will put them in debt to the tune of about a thousand dollars on average. Around 75% of American shoppers will use credit cards to pay for some portion of their holiday spending. To make matters more challenging, about…Read More
As we all know, the holiday season can be one of the most stressful times of the year. The added pressure of trying to buy gifts for family and friends can push an already strained budget to the breaking point. With the tax filing season fast approaching, it can be tempting to consider taking out a tax refund loan, but there are some important points to keep in mind. What is a Refund Anticipation Loan? These types of loans have become increasingly popular and are offered by several of the nationally known tax preparing agencies. They promise to get your…Read More
Christmas time is here again, and with that comes the stresses of gift giving. Getting wrapped up in the season makes it easy to overspend. I put together Christmas shopping tips to help with shopping on a budget! 1. Set a Spending Limit. Take a look at your finances and figure out exactly the amount you are going to spend in all. 2. Make a Shopping List. Make a list of everyone you need to buy gifts for. It is okay to trim this list to just immediate family or close friends. 3. Plan Your Spending Around Your List. After…Read More
While I was serving on active-duty with the U.S Army years ago, I saw firsthand the many daily struggles and obstacles faced by soldiers. I wanted to be in a position to help them as veterans as well once they (and I) left active duty. A number of years after my military service, I discovered the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA). These are talented and dedicated attorneys throughout our country who help veterans with VA disability claims. As a result, I joined this organization and I devote about a quarter of my practice to this area of law assisting veterans….Read More
Working as a secret shopper, being paid to have your car wrapped with a company logo, and winning the lottery all have one thing in common—they are all tactics scammers are using to try to steal your hard-earned money. Although overall FTC fraud complaints have declined slightly since 2016, from 2.98 to 2.68 million, Alabama is ranked 8th in the country for fraud reports per capita. A check-cashing scam is a major part of this problem. The scams have been increasing in complexity. Even though they are typically run by people living overseas, scammers have gone a step further and…Read More
We have all dreamed of hitting the Power Ball and thought of all the ways we would use the money IF we won. We’d pay off our debt, go on elaborate vacations, and buy a new house and cars. However, lottery and sweepstakes scams rank among the most common consumer frauds. I do not encourage “gambling” when you are struggling to get out of debt by any means. But if you do, beware of fraudsters out to take advantage of any win-fall you may come into if you were to suddenly win proceeds from a lottery or sweepstakes. Along with…Read More
Navient is a publicly-traded student loan servicer familiar to many Americans with student loan debt. The company formally split off from Sallie Mae and contracts with the U.S. Department of Education to service and collect upon student loan accounts. Now, the company is being criticized in an audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. What Did the Audit Report About Forbearance? The audit was conducted in 2017 but is just now being released to the public. Navient is accused in a series of lawsuits with steering borrowers into higher cost repayment plans in order to boost its profits. In…Read More
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has released its annual Agency Financial Report for the fiscal year 2018. Among other items, its Management’s Discussion and Analysis section contained some interesting statistics I’d thought I share today in my blog entry. What Did the Report Say About Disability Results? In terms of disability numbers, the report notes that the SSA managed to produce some 766,000 hearing results, which sounds good, but the national wait time for these determinations was about 17.3 months, unfortunately. The wait time for Alabama was about the same, while for Tennessee it was about 15.8 months. Nationally the…Read More
