Larry Miller, (r) of Asset Management and Planning LLC works with a financially curious walk- on in front of the Richland County Public Library on Assembly Street. All day Tuesday, November 25, Your Money Bus was in town, lured to Columbia and underwritten by Abacus Planning Group of Devine Street. Cheryl Holland, founder and CEO of

Abacus, was featured in The

Wall Street Journal Monday, December 1. The article covered almost a full page and noted that Abacus has more than $500 million invested for its clients.

Co- sponsors of the national tour of Your Money Bus were TD Ameritrade, NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation, and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. TD Ameritrade has a Columbia office on the ground floor of 1233 Washington Street. NAPFA stands for National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Your Money Bus had three stops in downtown Columbia: USC's Russell House on Greene St., the Richland County Public Library on Assembly St., and the Drew Wellness Center behind Columbia Fresh Market on Harden St.

Inside the Russell House there was a presentation by Arianna Derrick, a certified financial planner with Abacus, on the basics of understanding debt, saving and financial well-being. Professional financial counselors were available on the sidewalk next to Your Money Bus on Greene St.

Outside the Richland County Public Library, Your Money Bus parked on the curb on the Assembly St. side, and the financial counselors handled the questions from the walk-ons for an hour or so.

Among the many inquiries was the typical slate of questions from one well- invested parent who wondered about the affordability of a private college for four years after a major makeover in the kitchen. The shared conclusion allowed for a fine public institution plus an adequate kitchen redo or for a private college and nothing new in the kitchen.

At a lower station of financial standing, a married couple was in a fix, a real mess, as they described their status to the volunteer financial advisor. Credit card abuse was out of control. They were told there was a way out. It wasn't pretty, but there was a way out. They left with the attitude they were ready to work it out

Point being, people sat next to Your Money Bus and discussed alternatives at all levels, from the extreme departure to the minor shift, and began to understand the consequences and the rewards.

Some people just wanted to discuss the basics of money management to avoid the problems shared by others.

Besides Abacus, other firms lent their expertise, and every financial advisor donated the whole day for the three stops with Your Money Bus in downtown Columbia. The bus tour came to Columbia after a day in Atlanta on Monday. After Columbia, Your Money Bus was taking some holidays until January.

This was the first stop in Columbia for Your Money Bus, and those who attended got great advice for free from local professionals.