Ok, so I just went over my mom's finances. I only asked about 100 questions and gave her a migraine! Too bad. She claims she has no money and I can't see where the problem is!
Her checks vary and her last 4 checks ranged from 550.00 to 640.00 every two weeks. Her monthly bills are as follows:
340.00 Rent
75.00 Phone/Internet
40.00 Car insurance
50.00 Owed on overdraft for next 6 months
75.00 Electric
I found out that her bank is charging 5.00 per month for the acct and 1.00 per month for the debit card. Huh? Their current fee schedule does not have those fees! She will be calling the bank to discuss this with them.
So what's left over to pay? food, gas for the car, heat, then work on a few "small" debts she has. There seems to be quite a bit of wiggle room for her to account for a rise in heating costs for the winter.
So, where has the money been going? I'm actually feeling optimistic about her situation. It does not seem as bad as she seems to think it is.
Ah, I just discovered an error in my spreadsheet. The next month will be the toughest but it will get better after that.
Where is the money going?
November 10th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
November 11th, 2007 at 12:35 am 1194741343
November 12th, 2007 at 07:46 pm 1194896786
November 12th, 2007 at 08:46 pm 1194900414
You did touch on something I hadn't accounted for though - the homeowners insurance! Thanks!!! I'm not sure what to do in this case as she has a LOT of things that are old and mostly sentimental. She wouldn't survive a fire or robbery emotionally, forget anything else. I'll have to give this issue some thought. I'm rather stumped at the moment.
She does have a 401k, but I'll have to talk to her about disability and such. We're mostly starting with nothing here - $26 and change in the checking account. That's IT.