INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Many Americans have trouble managing money, but rarely do people talk about their financial problems.
“Oh my gosh I was so nervous, so nervous about this,” Terri Lee, a young-professional living in Indianapolis said.
Terri is 28, single, and has no children.
As she approaches 30, she wants to fix her finances.
Pete the Planner, a personal finance expert, offered to help her to just that.
He started by asking Terri if she felt that she could easily afford her current lifestyle?
“It’s a bit of a struggle at times,” she replied.
Terri makes around $50,000 a year working in the public health field.
She racked up nearly $100,000 in student loan debt pursuing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
In addition to that, she’s also working to pay down her credit cards.
“This is a pretty classic situation, you’ve got someone who is clearly very intelligent—is going to have a PhD—she understands money, this is a behavior issue,” Pete the Planner said.
Terri and Pete sat down and came up with three short term financial goals:
- Save $1,000 by April
- Ignore student loan debt and focus on paying off credit cards
- Try only spending money 10-14 time per week
“The problem is your past is dominating your present, and that’s Terri’s situation. When you have someone that’s really smart, that’s adding a lot to their community, who wants better for themselves but their consumed by their past—you don’t lay blame, you just show a path to change that,” Pete the Planner said.
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