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Editor's note: Join columnist MP Dunleavey and a group of women as they seek to strip away the myths around money, liberate themselves from debt and find financial sanity. Follow the ongoing quest of the Women in Red every other Wednesday in Dunleavey's column on MSN Money.
Welcome to the "Where the heck does the money go?" issue of our semiannual Women in Red roundup.
Every six months the gals in the group seem to grapple with issues that cluster around a core problem.
Lately, it's learning to be more precise about tracking expenses so that we know exactly where our cash goes and why.
I know it sounds basic. And monitoring your cash flow is a personal-finance fundamental. But I find that it's the one skill that will atrophy if you don't exercise those muscles consistently.
Close-up of the class of 2008
And speaking of not keeping a rein on expenses . . .A few months ago I gleefully wrote about my success in saving more than $3,000 in our emergency fund -- which was supposed to have covered my deductible after I had an emergency appendectomy in May.
Unbelievably, only about $1,200 made it to the medical bills. What in Sam Hill happened?
It was a classic case of Budget Oblivion. My husband and I had put our expenses on autopilot, and we weren't paying attention to the irregular expenses -- everything from car repair to weekend vacations -- which, if you don't catch them, can knock even the best spending plan off course.
Remedy: We reviewed where we stand in relation to our 60% Solution budget, and we're tightening up what we're spending.
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Some other challenges:
- Debt: We are two freelance paychecks away from knocking out the last $7,700 of debt. Now I'm aware that even earmarked funds can go missing, and we're being vigilant to make sure that money pays off the debt.
- Retirement: Pretty good. I just increased our contribution to our SEP-IRA to 8% of our gross income, but I'd like us both to have fully funded Roth accounts by spring.
- Savings: Excellent! In addition to our emergency fund, we now have subaccounts for unexpected expenses and a vacation fund. We're saving about 5% of our gross.
- How's that budget going? As part of the overall crackdown, we just embarked on the Grocery Challenge and aim to cut our food bill by 50%. Fingers crossed, coupon clippers!
- MP's challenge: With some extra freelance money coming in and my husband working part time, now is NOT the time to relax about spending. Ironically, extra cash requires more discipline, not less.
| Spring '06 ($) | Fall '06 ($) | Spring '07 ($) | Fall '07 ($) | Change ($) | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Consumer debt | 10,782 | 4,400 | 8,500 | 7,700 | -3,082 | -28.6 |
Education debt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Retirement savings | 9,869 | 10,912 | 12,300 | 16,814 | 6,945 | 70.4 |
Other savings | 0 | 1,300 | 3,300 | 1,338 | 1,338 | N/A |
Home equity | 28,500 | 36,500 | 40,000 | 32,838 | 4,338 | 15.2 |
Net worth | $27,587 | $44,312 | $47,100 | $43,290 | $15,703 | 56.9% |
Heather
Heather has just joined the WIR, but she is already taking steps to remedy her financial straits.- Debt: Heather's $3,200 credit card balance is on track to be paid in full within 12 months. What she needs next is a strategy for tackling her $71,000 in law school loans, which could mushroom into $100,000 by the time she graduates in 2009.
- Retirement: On hold. Heather and her husband do not have any retirement savings yet, but they have a plan: "When our credit card is paid off next summer, we're going to put that money into an IRA," Heather says. Let's hope so.
- Savings: Excellent! Despite living on a shoestring, and eating part of it, Heather has managed to save $1,038 in a small emergency fund by contributing $50 a month.
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She also just opened a savings account and has committed to salting away an additional $50 a month for unexpected expenses.
- How's that budget going? Improving. Immediately after joining the WIR, Heather and her husband tracked their expenses. She admitted that within two weeks they had exceeded their already-excessive eating-out budget of $320 -- by about double.
- Heather's challenge: If Heather and her husband can stay on top of their expenses, they won't have to endure the splurge-and-deprive cycle. They have enough income to make progress -- and still have fun -- if they're smart about their spending.
| Spring '06 ($) | Fall '06 ($) | Spring '07 ($) | Fall '07 ($) | Change ($) | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Consumer debt | 3,268 | |||||
Education debt | 71,076 | |||||
Retirement savings | 0 | |||||
Other savings | 1,038 | |||||
Home equity | 0 | |||||
Net worth | -$73,306 |
Numbers shown only for the time since joining the Women in Red.
Continued: Jane, Kimber and Tricia
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