The last 18 months have seen many changes in families and their finances, and resulting in an increased number of divorces. The large number of people in bankruptcies and foreclosure proceedings are now the norm and not the exception. More and more people are having money problems and feeling the stress related to those issues. As this level of stress rises so does the level of tensions in a marriage… and often times fighting gets worse. More people are seeking divorce because of the increased stress and problems brought to the marriage. When the mortgage or car note can’t be paid, having them go back to the bank could be the only recourse to the problem. A fresh start may be the answer either financially or emotionally.
While the above scenario isn’t very pretty, the year that was 2009 wasn’t either. Locally, our unemployment reached a record 13%. Construction of new homes hit rock bottom. Many of our local stores closed. Businesses were out of customers and customers were out of a job. Credit was tight both for consumers and small businesses. Not to mention what has happened on Wall Street, and to our 401K plans or retirement accounts. Times were tough in 2009, but we can finally see the economy starting to rebound. Home sales locally are up and local projects are coming to fruition, meaning people are finally going back to work. Small businesses are starting to hire again. The economists say the worst is over!
