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A $100,000 salary can feel like the moment someone has made it. But the number looks very different after taxes, housing, child care, student loans, and the rest of a household’s monthly commitments. “Income tells you how much money is coming in,” debt and bankruptcy attorney Ashley Morgan said. “It doesn’t tell you how much is going out or how […]

[B]ankruptcy attorney Ashley Morgan told The Independent in an email. “Probably the most common thing I hear after someone files is some version of: ‘I wish I had done this sooner,’” said Morgan, who owns Virginia-based Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC.

Ashley Morgan, a bankruptcy attorney and the owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law, regularly works with clients facing financial difficulties. Morgan said she’s seeing retirees struggle with higher prices across a range of typical expenses, from grocery prices to property taxes and insurance premiums … Many retirees don’t have the capacity to cover this multitude […]

However, for many, creating an emergency fund is a great place to start improving financial well-being, according to Ashley Morgan, a savings expert and debt and bankruptcy lawyer. So how much do you need? Calculate your living expenses for one month, and then multiply by six. That should be the long-term goal, according to Morgan.

“There’s a fine line between when is it just having fun and when is it actually taking over your budget,” says Ashley F. Morgan, a bankruptcy and debt attorney in Northern Virginia.

“Utilization is the most misunderstood element of your credit,” said Ashley F. Morgan, a bankruptcy and debt relief attorney. It’s important to keep your balances low relative to the limit, she said, because a spike in the utilization ratio impacts your score far more than applying for a new card or closing an old account.

Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Attorney Ashley Morgan said her practice has been increasingly busy, particularly as federal workforce reductions and cuts to government contracting have affected workers and small businesses across the Washington region. Morgan said the two most common forms of consumer bankruptcy are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. “Chapter Seven is sort of the […]

“Using home equity is a puzzle,” says Ashley Morgan, a debt attorney in Chantilly, Va. “It goes beyond whether you can afford to take the money out. You also need to consider how that decision fits with your future financial and housing goals.” Whether you need extra money now or simply want to understand the possibilities, […]

Some 64 percent of debt collection agencies saw their number of consumer accounts increase or significantly increase in 2025, according to a 2026 industry report from credit bureau TransUnion. The major problem makes debt collectors’ potential access to 401(k) accounts a relevant concern. But not to worry, says Virginia-based debt and bankruptcy lawyer Ashley Morgan. There are […]

WHEN money feels tight, it can be easy to look at your streaming subscriptions and think they need to be the first to go. However, debt and bankruptcy lawyer Ashley Morgan told The U.S. Sun that canceling Netflix isn’t going to suddenly fix your finances. The financial expert helps her clients in Northern Virginia with debt, credit and […]

Northern Virginia debt and bankruptcy attorney Ashley Morgan of Ashley F. Morgan Law agrees. “Temporary debt slowly becomes permanent debt when necessities are financed month after month,” she told SavingAdvice. The report also found that nearly 20% of working-age adults said they had dipped into long-term savings, including emergency funds, at least once in the previous […]

Debt and bankruptcy lawyer, Ashley Morgan, says, “It can be eye-opening to first write down what you think you spend on all expenses, then review your bank statements and credit cards to see what you actually spent.”

“At closing for a HELOC, either the closing company pays off the unsecured debt or the borrower draws from the HELOC shortly after closing to pay off other debts,” says Ashley Morgan, attorney and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. When the draw period ends and the repayment period of a HELOC begins, the homeowner has a set […]

Experts caution against treating new cards or higher limits like more money in your budget. “A higher credit limit is not the same thing as having more money,” says Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in Virginia. “It is simply access to more debt.”

“If someone realizes their car payment is too high, the first step is honestly evaluating the situation,” said Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in northern Virginia. “Is the issue temporary or long-term? A temporary income reduction may call for a different solution than a vehicle that simply never fits within the budget.”

Ashley F. Morgan, a bankruptcy and debt lawyer based in Virginia, told Straight Arrow she sees a growing number of stressed clients who became involved with contractors who pressured them into taking out loans to solve the contractors’ own cash flow difficulties. “Contractors have trouble getting paid, so some of them want to work with […]

Before tapping home equity, homeowners should first look at their budget.“ Too many people focus on finding money to pay for expenses instead of figuring out why the money is needed in the first place,” Ashley Morgan, an attorney/owner at Virginia-based Ashley F Morgan Law, PC, told NTD.

Foreclosure relief scams are unfortunately all too common, says Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in Chantilly, VA. “One thing I regularly see is that people become vulnerable to mortgage relief scams when they are scared and running out of options,” she says. “They are often stressed and trying to find anything that can help. Scammers […]

Ashley Morgan, a bankruptcy and tax attorney in Northern Virginia, warns, “people commonly underestimate balance transfer fees, deferred interest risks, and how aggressively they need to pay down the balance before the promotional period expires.”

“You might be able to quickly save the $5,000 and cash flow the project. But if financing is needed, both a 0% APR credit card and home equity can make sense depending on your situation,” says Ashley Morgan, owner and bankruptcy lawyer at Ashley F Morgan Law, PC in Chantilly, VA.

In the past few years, Virginia-based bankruptcy attorney Ashley Morgan has seen a new type of client reach out: people who have great credit scores and access to financial tools like home equity lines of credit. They make their monthly payments on time, but they’re seeing their consumer debt steadily increase. “When you do that […]

Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC, recommended that people build a small emergency fund first, to create “more long-term stability than trying to optimize debt payoff mathematically.”

“One thing many people misunderstand about mortgage payments is that even if you have a low, fixed mortgage rate, the cost of homeownership will continue to rise,” Ashley Morgan, attorney and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC, told NTD News. A fixed interest rate means you have the same principal and interest payment over […]

“Someone will have the cash available but choose to put a few thousand dollars on a card at a high-interest rate because they want to preserve their savings,” said Ashley Morgan, attorney and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. “That balance can sit there for years and will cost significantly more than the original expense.”

Chunking a purchase into smaller payments may feel more manageable emotionally, but Ashley Morgan, attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law PC, explained that it also lulls people into thinking about the payment — not the total cost. “Multiple smaller payments across different financing platforms can quietly stack up until large portions of future income […]

“Anyone struggling should have an honest look at spending,” says Ashley Morgan, a bankruptcy lawyer in Northern Virginia. “I am not someone who nitpicks every small purchase, but spending four hundred dollars a month on food delivery while relying on food stamps and borrowing from elderly parents is not sustainable.”

The FICO report shows missed payments have leveled off, but not whether cardholders are paying down debt or relying on cards for basic expenses. Many cardholders look stable on paper even when they are under pressure, says Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in Virginia. “Being current means that minimum payments are being […]

“The first place to start for any debt payoff is a budget. You need to know where your money is going. When you are accruing debt, it can be difficult to determine exactly how much you are spending each month. A budget will also help you figure out if you need to cut expenses or […]

Debt and bankruptcy lawyer Ashley Morgan, based in Northern Virginia, agrees that even people who have cut most of their discretionary spending “still cannot get ahead because the math simply is not working,” and added that “increasing income can have a much bigger impact than obsessing over every small expense.”

Ashley F. Morgan, debt and bankruptcy lawyer and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law, also pointed to structural economic pressures affecting younger households. “First, younger consumers generally entered adulthood during periods of extremely high housing costs, inflation, student loan burdens, and rising interest rates,” Morgan told Newsweek. “Many younger households have had difficulty building savings or […]

Minimum payments can also stretch payoff timelines dramatically, said Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. She noted that it “can be twelve to twenty years before you pay off the debt.” If your payments aren’t whittling away your actual debt, it’s time to change something.

One of the best ways to cut down on auto debt more quickly is to stop extending the loan term, especially when borrowers refinance vehicles repeatedly or roll negative equity from one car into the next loan. “That creates a cycle where people are always underwater on the vehicle,” Ashley Morgan, an attorney at Ashley […]

For people treading water with debt, attorney Ashley Morgan at Ashley F. Morgan Law says if you’re worried about making ends meet, then you need to take a realistic look at whether you can cover monthly expenses. “If not, typically you will need to see if you can cut back on expenses or increase income. […]

Side gigs might not even make a dent, according to Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. “Gig work can be a great way to supplement income, but you need to look at how much you are making and how much you are spending in expenses.”

“On the surface, it seems encouraging that a large percentage of people have some kind of savings, but the details tell a far more important story. There is a meaningful difference between having a small cushion and having a true emergency fund that can carry you through job loss, divorce, or death,” explains Ashley Morgan, bankruptcy […]

In Ramsey’s popular “Baby Steps” program, the first step is to build a starter emergency fund of $1,000 and then tackle high-interest debt before saving any more. Some experts argue that a $1,000 starter emergency fund falls short. Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law PC, says that amount […]

Minimum payments can also stretch payoff timelines dramatically, said Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney and owner at Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. She noted that it “can be twelve to twenty years before you pay off the debt.” If your payments aren’t whittling away your actual debt, it’s time to change something.

“Bankruptcy is a tool to manage your debts. It’s something that’s set up under federal law to ensure that people are treated fairly, and that creditors understand when people cannot afford to pay their debts back,” said Ashley Morgan, bankruptcy and debt attorney at Ashley F. Morgan Law.

Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy attorney in Virginia, sees the gaps up close. She questions whether limiting a single payment option can do much when people can shift funds in minutes. “Not being able to use credit cards on gambling apps may help reduce credit card debt for a few people,” she told ReadWrite, […]

Cut any unnecessary spending, then decide how to prioritize the money you have available. “Usually, your mortgage is going to be the first thing you’ll want to pay,” says Ashley Morgan, a bankruptcy attorney serving northern Virginia. However, she has seen situations in which people have prioritized their credit cards because they are using them to […]

Knowing what is on the other side of that finish line is also important mental motivation, said Ashley Morgan, a bankruptcy attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law, PC. “Do you want to use that extra money toward a vacation? A new car?” Morgan said in an email to The Independent. “Having a goal can […]

“The high cost of living means that it is more difficult to save an emergency fund or retirement,” Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in northern Virginia, told us. “This means that most people are just a hospitalization or job loss away from incurring substantial debt.”

Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in northern Virginia, regularly sees clients who gamble hundreds to thousands of dollars each month. “Sometimes people do not realize how much they are spending since it is so easy to spend money on apps. Many people don’t use credit cards to gamble, but will use cash/debit cards […]

Normally, as you pay down your mortgage, your equity increases. But if your home’s value isn’t rising faster than the remaining balance and you need to sell, the HOA debt still has to be settled, cutting into your housing stake, explains Ashley Morgan, attorney, owner and founder of Ashley F. Morgan Law, a law firm […]

Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in northern Virginia, has seen her share of merchant cash advances with small business bankruptcy clients. She said these advances are very common in businesses filing bankruptcies. “MCAs tend to be a last-ditch effort by businesses to cover necessary expenses,” Morgan told us. “Too often businesses consider MCAs […]

With economic uncertainty on the horizon, some homeowners may be wondering if they should tap a HELOC — even if they may not immediately need the money. “It’s a line of credit attached to your house that typically offers access to a large amount of cash at a relatively low interest rate. HELOC interest rates […]

Today, “cost of living is on the rise and wages are stagnant,” said Ashley Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer at Ashley F Morgan Law, PC. This means that even when being conservative with budgets, people have to spend more money to meet a minimal standard of living, she stressed.

For her part, debt and bankruptcy lawyer Ashley Morgan at Ashley F. Morgan Law agrees on getting that retirement match: “If you or your spouse has a 401(k) at work, make sure you are at least contributing for any matching. From there you can plan on other investment plans. Compound growth helps ensure larger retirement […]

“When the government offsets a tax refund, it is applied to any government debts,” says Ashley F. Morgan, a debt and bankruptcy lawyer in northern Virginia. “For student loans, the government will offset tax refunds for any federal loans.” The Treasury Offset Program applies only to federal student loan defaults, not to private student loan […]

Using a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to consolidate debt can make sense in some situations, Ashley Morgan, bankruptcy attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law, told NTD. “Some experts advise against converting unsecured debt to secured debt, but if it prevents a default by lowering payments it can be worthwhile,” Morgan said. […]