Blogs

We are a few days from Christmas, and the holiday season is in full bloom. Many people plan on making donations to charitable organizations before the end of the year. However, you want to make sure that organization is a Qualified Charity in order to claim a deduction for the donation on your federal tax return during tax season. Donating to charity is one of the best ways to reduce tax debt--if done properly.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual Point in Time report released this month, the U.S. homeless population increased for the first time since 2010.

Can you lose your job if you fall behind on your student loans?  In 19 states, government agencies can seize your state-issued professional licenses if you default on your student loans.  Thankfully, Alabama is not one of these states.  In South Dakota, your driver’s license can be suspended which can make it impossible to get to work.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), individuals and companies are piling on debt at levels last seen just prior to the financial crisis a few years back. The IMF reports that borrowing in the “non-financial sector” has surpassed the pre-crisis high. The “non-financial sector” is composed of governments, non-financial companies, and households.

Are you facing difficult financial decisions?  Bills piling up?  Trying to figure out how to pay for Christmas gifts?  As fun and joyous as the holiday season is supposed to be, the money aspect of it can be very stressful.  No one really wants to think about their financial problem especially during this time of year.  This article is designed to help you prepare if you are

Entrepreneur magazine published an article last year about how entrepreneurs rebound from filing bankruptcy and move forward with their lives. After reading the article I believe the recommendations are solid for individuals who have filed or are considering filing.

Recently, a family member of mine started receiving calls from various financial institutions to verify his information from his recent credit applications.  He never applied for credit from any of these financial institutions.  Someone had stolen his identity and was applying for various credit cards and loans in his name.  Oddly enough, this particular family member never uses credit for

The golden years are turning out to be not very golden, unfortunately, for many Americans. This is something that I have noticed in my own law practice. Over the last several years, I have seen a trend in more older and retirement age folks having to seek bankruptcy assistance.

I love my law firm of Bond and Botes, my law partners, my law associates, my employees and the practice of Consumer Bankruptcy very much. It is a great thing to love what you do and who you do it with and I am so blessed to get to do just that every day.

The biggest shopping weekend of the year is fast approaching!  Black Friday will kick things off on November 24th before we move onto Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.  Many people across the nation will be out shopping for holiday gifts, and the urge to spend is stronger at this time of year than in any other season.  Unfortunately that urge is what can make us easy targets for “predatory lenders”.