A Familiar Scenario: Laura's Story
Five years ago, Laura and her husband, Ron, were earning about $90,000 a year, but Laura desperately wanted to quit her day job to pursue acting (which she did on nights and weekends). She took the leap, and was so successful with performing and voice-overs that she was able to match her former $40,000 salary.
But when the recession kicked in, Laura's income dropped to about half that. Although the couple adjusted (eating out less, giving up their gym memberships, etc.), their overhead was still high. "We'd set up everything — the mortgage, utilities, our whole lifestyle — based on two incomes," she says. Laura and Ron shared expenses but kept separate accounts, from which each kicked in $2,000 a month. When Laura was short, her husband made up the difference. "But we didn't talk about money," she admits. "He was protecting me, because he didn't want me to feel bad about my decision to be an actor."
Turned out he had been putting expenses on their joint card and on his own, and by the time Laura saw the nearly $14,000 balance on the joint card last year, "I was so shocked," she says. Worse, she had racked up debt of her own — about $4,300 — most of which came from a long-standing retail therapy habit: buying clothes as a mood booster. Ron's card had over $8,000 on it. All told, they were more than $26,000 in the hole on their credit cards.
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What's Really Going On
By the time I spoke to Laura, the couple was on a budget so strict that Laura couldn't remember the last time she'd bought a cup of coffee. They've paid off about $12,000 of their debt so far, but she's struggling to clear the rest, rebuild savings and resume retirement contributions.
I have to give Laura a lot of credit here (forgive the pun). If you're in debt, you have to be bone-deep honest with yourself to figure out the emotional — and financial — pieces of your money puzzle, and she was.
Debt is about denial. When I heard that Laura and her husband had talked about her career change — but not the financial implications — I smelled a fantasy: "Somehow it will all work out." That way of thinking is the biggest debt driver, because it allows you to skip over the tough stuff, like doing the math (why run numbers if it's all going to work out?). Without that crucial reality check, the Smiths slid into denial about the growing gap between their basic bills and their actual cash flow. Mr. Visa, with his 15.9% interest rate, was all too happy to help.
Debt stems from bad habits. When Laura had a steady job, her acting paychecks were her mad money. Buying a new dress made her dull day job bearable. "It was really hard to give that up," she says, and admits she feels a lot of shame that she went so far beyond her means. She's since learned to address her emotional needs in more productive ways: going for a run ("It's free!" she notes) and blogging about living on less.
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How to Fix It
There are three ways out of debt, and Laura has to do all of them to make headway:
- Bring in more income. Laura does paid nonacting work when her acting gigs are irregular. But I suggested that she commit to a solid week of temp work per month, which would bring in $300 to $500. She wouldn't be free for auditions that week, but Laura agreed that she could both pursue her dream and bring in more cash.
- Cut back — and not just on lattes. At first when we spoke, Laura reiterated how frugal she had become (conserving gas, using coupons) — which saves hundreds. But to pay down the $14,000 they owe, they have to cut their monthly overhead as well. Could they rent out their guest room? Sell one of their cars, or even sell their home and downsize?
Laura said they could consider selling the house. "That's where most of our money goes each month," she said, since more than $2,500 is paid toward the mortgage. If they rented an apartment, they'd have a smaller monthly payment and they wouldn't have to worry about maintenance, she said. - Start saving. Laura mentioned that Ron was due a bonus (about $4,000), which they could put toward one of their cards. I told her to set aside $500 in a curveball fund — money that covers a dishwasher repair or lost cell phone, to avoid having to use a high-interest credit card.
The rosiest scenario: If Laura temps for a week per month and they downsize to an apartment, they could save about $800 a month — and be debt-free in just over two years. Then the couple can get busy rebuilding their financial security, savings and serenity for good.
MP Dunleavey writes monthly in WD about easy moves you can make to improve your finances.
This story originally appeared on WomansDay.com
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