Women in Red Series

Meet Jane. She has a mortgage payment that is too big, two sons in college, credit card bills, a big loan -- and, finally, a game plan. (not sure why it was noted that the sons are in college, from this article it doesn't appear she is paying anything towards their education or living expenses.)

Jane is 52 and works as a secretary in eastern Massachusetts. Her youngest son turned 18 in May, and at that point $12,000 a year in child support stopped coming.

Jane has a long way to go to get her finances straightened out. What makes her a terrific addition to the Women in Red is her level of commitment.The good news is that Jane was prepared for this moment. (she may have known that his birthday was coming but in my opinion she was in NO WAY prepared)

The bad news is that she took out a $26,000 personal loan, which was co-signed by a friend -- and the loan has to be repaid in full by December 2008. (evidently the money wasn't earmarked for anything specific just day to day living)

The good news is that Jane owns her condominium and has about $150,000 in equity. (She couldn't qualify for a home-equity loan because of her credit history.)

The bad news is that it looks like she has to sell the condo in order to repay the loan next year. (it doesn't appear that she is making payments on the loan based on her list of monthly expenses.)

The good news is that this might be for the best: Jane can't really afford the condo. While it's in a good area and could be a good investment, the monthly mortgage and fees come to more than $1,400 a month. (her home is 76% of her income!! most analysts recommend 34%)

The really bad news is that Jane's take-home pay now, without the child support, is $1,840 per month.Jane is 52 and works as a secretary in eastern Massachusetts. (her monthly expenses are $3,208. Anyone can see what happens when you spend MORE than you make. She's running at $1,368 negative a month or $16,416 a year. Even when she was getting the child support she was still over spending.)

Even though the article mentions briefly a "health issue" that makes taking on a second job "difficult", there has to be something she can do part-time that wouldn't be too strenuous.

It doesn't sound like she's going to sell her condo but that really is her biggest expense (76%). Plus $400 on food. Damn what does she do eat all the time? She can nickel and dime the other expenses but without making payments on that loan which comes due in 12 months the only solution I see is selling and moving into a much cheaper place and start saving for retirement.

This article was from September, I looked for an update but didn't find one. Hopefully, her situation will be updated soon.