Case Studies

Buying Quality vs. Buying Cheap

I hate it when things break, don’t you?  Maybe you can relate to what happened to me last week.  We just finished moving into our new place and unpacked our appliances.  Now before I share about the great appliance mishap, let me preface quickly. We couldn’t take the microwave from our old apartment because it [...]

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This Family Paid Cash For Their Car; You Can Too!

My friends John and Lisa recently shared some exciting news with me: for the very first time in their lives they paid cash for a car – a sweet 2 year old Toyota Prius with only 29,000 miles on it. They saved up the $17,000 purchase price (new price was $31,000), did some shopping and [...]

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Settling an Insurance Claim After an Accident – Struggling with Guilt, Doubt and Greed

Our normal anxieties in dealing with insurance companies are based on the concern that we won’t be sufficiently compensated. However, not everyone fits this mold.  This post is based on an email from one of my clients (I will call her Carol) who, because she had been injured in an auto accident, is in the [...]

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A Great Phone Call

As you may know, I am a self employed financial counselor, meaning that I help people devise a plan to reach their financial goals. I wish that I could say that every story has a happy ending, but life is real and story book endings don’t always happen. You may remember reading The Sad Tale [...]

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The Sad Tale of Clarence and Evita

photo credit: Let Ideas Compete Clarence and Evita (not real names) came to see me recently for financial counseling. As they entered my office, I noticed that Evita walked slowly, with a noticeable limp. Clarence, white hair with matching full beard, offered friendly banter. After introductions, I asked them what their short term financial goals [...]

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Debt Free in One Year: A True Story

This post was awarded Runner-up in Free Money Finance 2010 March Money Madness contest. Erin, “Debt free for me means that we have more choices, more freedom and less that will hold us down keeping us from what and where we want to be.” Jeremy, “It means tremendous peace…now we can pay ourselves every month.” [...]

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Should Christians Tithe While Paying Off Debt?

photo credit: processwhite Darren and Cynthia (fictional names) had $80,000 in credit card debt, two old paid for vehicles and a house with zero equity that they were trying to sell. Because Darren’s job required him to work sporadic hours, it was difficult for him to find extra work. Cynthia worked a sales job that [...]

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Case Study: Alline Davenport Our Plan Hits a Snag

photo credit: snappybex Meetings 4 and 5 Introduction: This is the fourth post in a case study series of financial counseling meetings with Alline Davenport (real person with fictional name). Previous entries are found under the “Case Studies” tab. Alline is a widow in her mid 60′s who works full time as a receptionist and [...]

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Case Studies: Alline Davenport

photo credit: Jen_Maloney_Photo Meeting Three: 6/15/09 Review of Meeting One: Alline’s short term financial goal is to become debt free. Her long term goal is to rebuild some of her lost retirement and put herself in a position not to be a burden to her children. We established a preliminary budget with plans to review [...]

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