In this quick explainer, CAPTRUST educator Debra Gates helps employees separate debt that builds long-term wealth from balances that quietly chip away at both credit scores and future goals.
Key takeaways
Good debt finances appreciating assets or career growth.
A fixed-rate mortgage, a student loan, or a modest auto loan can all boost your credit history—provided payments are on time and the balance fits comfortably in your budget.
Because these loans are secured by collateral (a house, a degree, a vehicle), interest rates are typically lower and credit bureaus reward the consistent repayment history.
Bad debt lingers on high-rate credit lines.
Payday advances and credit-card balances you can’t clear quickly are prime examples.
Gates illustrates the hidden cost: leave $1,000 on a card for a year and minimum payments alone can tack on roughly $180 in interest.
Maxing out a card also hurts your credit-utilization ratio—one of the biggest factors in your FICO score.
Know your borrowing threshold.
Lenders prefer that all monthly debt payments (housing, car, student loans, credit cards) consume no more than 36 % of gross income; Gates suggests aiming for under 20 % for true breathing room.
Questions to ask yourself:
What share of each paycheck goes to debt?
Is most of it tied to long-term assets—or short-term spending?
Am I using credit cards only for necessities and clearing the balance each month?
Can I pay more than the minimum to speed up payoff and cut interest costs?
Action plan
Shift discretionary credit-card spending to cash or debit.
Automate extra payments toward the highest-rate balance.
Revisit insurance, subscriptions, and other monthly outflows to free cash for faster debt reduction.
Gates closes with a reminder: understanding—then managing—the difference between “good” and “bad” borrowing is a cornerstone of any healthy financial plan. And if you need a co-pilot, CAPTRUST advisors are just a phone call away.
Video Synopsis – “How the Stock Market Works (and Why Long-Term Investors Should Care)”
In this quick explainer, CAPTRUST educator Debra Gates demystifies Wall Street for first-time savers and retirement-plan participants who keep hearing “put your money in stocks” but aren’t sure why.
1. What a stock really is
When a company issues shares, it’s raising cash to hire people, build products, or expand into new markets. The stock market is simply a matching engine—buyers on one side, sellers on the other—agreeing on a price that changes every second as news, profits, and global events shape expectations.
2. Why prices rise—and sometimes fall
A share gains value when other investors believe future earnings will be higher (think breakthrough products or fatter profit margins). Prices slide when a business stumbles or whole economies hit turbulence, as during the dot-com bust, 9/11, or the Great Recession.
3. The long-term record
Yes, stocks are volatile in the short run, but Gates highlights a powerful statistic: over every rolling 20-year period, the S&P 500 has delivered a positive return—and has outpaced bonds and cash. For anyone saving 30-plus years for retirement, that growth engine is hard to ignore.
4. Managing risk with funds
Individual stocks can be risky; most workplace plans instead use mutual funds or target-date funds that hold hundreds of companies. Diversification means one laggard can be offset by another winner, smoothing the ride while still capturing market growth.
5. Taking the next step
Your plan menu already sorts stock funds by company size and geography (U.S., international, emerging markets). Not sure how much to allocate? Schedule a call with a CAPTRUST adviser for guidance tailored to your time horizon and comfort with market swings. Remember: planting the seed today is what lets you enjoy the shade in retirement.
In this upbeat, employee-focused clip, CAPTRUST educator Debra Gates lays out a simple, step-by-step roadmap for turning today’s paycheck into tomorrow’s peace of mind.
Start with the end in mind. Whether you picture a beach condo or just worry-free weekends, retirement requires a plan—just like healthy eating requires a menu. Skip the fad diets (get-rich-quick schemes) and stick with sustainable habits.
Grab the “free money” first. If your employer matches salary-deferrals, hit that match before tackling anything else. Missing it is like refusing a raise.
Tackle high-interest debt. After securing the match, redirect every extra dollar toward credit-card and other high-rate balances. Eliminating debt frees cash flow that can be redirected to long-term savings.
Increase contributions gradually. Begin where your budget allows, then boost the percentage whenever you get a raise or pay off a loan. Gates suggests aiming for:
1x salary saved by age 30
3x salary by age 40
10x salary by traditional retirement age (67)
Focusing on these bite-size milestones feels less daunting than fixating on a seven-figure end goal.
Automate good behavior. Payroll deductions and annual auto-escalations make saving painless—and help you tune out short-term market noise.
It’s never too late. Even mid-career savers can catch up by tightening discretionary spending and channeling the difference into their plan.
Throughout the video, Gates stresses that no one has to navigate this alone. CAPTRUST advisors are “waiting by the phone” to help employees build a customized path to financial independence—because, as she quips, “You’ve never retired before, so you’re not supposed to know what to do.”