The dog days of summer are officially here. I used to dread this time of year as a kid because I knew that the start of a new school year was sure to follow. I always hated kissing summer goodbye, but at least I got to go back-to-school shopping.

I've always been a shopper, so my favorite part of heading back to school was shopping for new clothes, shoes, and supplies. Growing up in a small town in Virginia, we didn't have many retail stores to get the things we needed, so we always came to the beach for our big back-to-school shopping trip. If she could, my mom always tried to plan our trip on tax-free weekend.

This year, tax-free weekend is August 6th-8th. If you're planning to shop, check out my blog post from last year's tax-free weekend for a few pro tips.

As said by the famous Carrie Bradshaw, “a closet full of clothes, nothing to wear.” If you’re like me, you may run into this dilemma far more often than you should. Luckily, I’ve found the perfect solution, thrift shopping. When you’re able to find trendy outfits for cheap at your local thrift store or Goodwill, you can feel a lot less guilty about overfilling your closet.

As Carolina Trust's Brand Ambassador, I spend a lot of my time out and about in the grand strand area. Although we have seven branches that stretch across our large field of membership, most of my engagements tend to be in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area. However, I love the quaintness of our Florence County branches, which is why I was so excited to head out there for one of my recent Living Local Carolina Financial Friday segments. 

American consumer debt reportedly exceeds $14 trillion, and it seems individuals accumulate more — not less — as they get older. Recent data points to a troubling trend that often puts hard-working people in a difficult financial position. Responsible people in these age groups reportedly take on sometimes onerous debt and struggle to get relief.

There are a variety of different types of loans available to borrowers today. Unfortunately, since the circumstances and individual consumer need varies so greatly – there is not a one size fits all solution when it comes to unsecured loans.

When hard-working community members suffer financial hardships or lack cash-on-hand resources, Personal Loans remain a go-to solution. Personal Loans, also known as Unsecured Loans, can be put to work resolving the little curves life throws at all of us. But one of the things that makes some responsible people apprehensive about applying is that they believe a loan could lower their credit score. When the repayment process is managed well, taking out a Personal Loan can actually improve your credit score. If that seems counterintuitive, consider the following.

Nearly everyone has a credit history and a credit score. Whether yours is poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent is based on a myriad of factors — from how much debt you have and your debt to available credit ratio, to how diverse your debt is and how often you pay your bills on time.

At some point in their lives, most people will need to borrow money. And while some have a friend or family member who is willing and able to lend the necessary sum, this isn't always the case. Furthermore, racking up credit card debt or using the equity in your home by putting another mortgage on the house are not always viable options.

It's beginning to look a lot like Independence Day! Well, at least at my house it is. Independence Day has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, when everyone else liked Christmas or Halloween, I was an Independence Day type of girl. Fireworks, summer weather, and great food; what more can you ask for? 

I love to stay busy. If you looked up a busy bee in the dictionary, I'm sure my photo would be right there. Most every night and weekend, I busy myself with some event or activity.

I'm not quite sure if I keep myself so busy to avoid boredom or if I just have a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out). Either way, I try to stay in the know on upcoming community events because of my desire to keep busy.

It may be because so many events were canceled last year, but this year's summer social calendar is jam-packed! Below are some of the fun events I've attended/ plan to attend this summer. Join in the fun, and maybe I'll even run into you there.