Recently we introduced The Money Management Tool to help clients better organize their financial lives. The tool has lots of features and we will occasional explain how some of the features are being used by our clients (or should be used) to help them reach their financial goals.
This post will deal with prospective client who needed some help staying on budget.
Situation: A young couple with two children asked us for guidance on getting a handle on their debts. They had multiple credit card balances with obscene interest rates, a result of unexpected bills. They were spending more and more of their income to make debt payments instead of saving for retirement. They were slowly realizing that they would not be digging themselves out of debt anytime soon and needed a plan to get back on track to save for retirement.
Problem: During the initial meeting, we discovered a significant amount of their take-home pay was going toward non-essential expenses, such as the most premium cable package available and eating out for lunch every single day.
Solution: Directing savings originally intended for retirement to pay down credit card debt is an acceptable strategy in some cases. But when there is a lot of non-essential spending occurring, a tightening of the belt should be the first strategy. In this case, the client could connect their credit card account to The Money Management Tool and analyze their spending habits to see just how much is spent on restaurants and entertainment. They could then develop a budget to help them stay on track.
If you or someone you know needs help getting their financial house in order, this tool can help.
