USA Today Revisits Money Makeover Subjects

Filed in archive General on September 22, 2006

This past spring USA Today profiled 6 couples, focusing on the state of their finances and giving them access to financial planners who could help them correct their courses of action, either slightly or dramatically depending on the needs. Yesterday they revisited these couples to see how they were doing.

The thing that struck me while reading about their progress is how much work it is to get your finances straight, and how long it can take, depending on how neglectful (or spendful) you've been.

A couple examples:

When Griswold and de Swaan - a same-sex couple in Somerville, Mass. - first sought the advice of financial planner Debra Neiman, they had a combined 28 mutual funds, nine stocks, 20 credit cards, four savings accounts and seven retirement accounts.

Today? They have the same number of savings and retirement accounts. But they're down to 20 mutual funds, six stocks and 10 credit cards. "It's a little bit easier to manage," says Griswold, 42, who invests the couple's money.

I'd say a teensy eensy weensy bit easier to manage. They're still at 20 mutual funds? What could they possibly need this number for? Are they hemming and hawing because they can't bear to give up those accounts or have they just not had time? No movement on the retirement accounts at all, although seven isn't completely out of line for two people.

The Smiths have taken these steps:

• Paid off their highest-rate debt first. The couple believe they're on track to eliminate more than $15,000 in credit card and medical loans in about 2½ years.

• Increased their life insurance coverage, got renter's insurance and raised the deductible on their car insurance - all at Yeske's suggestion.

A minor setback: Their emergency fund, which started out with $2,500, has been all but depleted in recent months by dental work that Kevin and the couple's Eldest son, Caleb, 11, needed.

This couple is doing great so far, but it's going to take over 2 years to get those debts paid down. It's completely doable, but it shows you how when you get deep into debt, you have to bite the bullet for a long period of time to get back on track. And, as the surprise dental work illustrates, you're still going to have setbacks that test your resolve.

Getting out of debt or keeping away from debt in the first place requires a permanent mindset against getting in over your head--I hope USA Today comes back to these people again in a year to see how well they've stuck with it.

Overall, the couples seemed to be doing well, although most were moving slower than planned due to time constraints, which is the other hurdle to financial planning: getting your finances straight while doing that little thing called living your life.