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| Saturday, June 28, 2008 |
| MP says Economy Can Wait; Stimulate Your Savings |
MP Dunleavey's latest NYTimes article is now up: Economy Can Wait; Stimulate Your Savings Unlike me, she is still waiting for her stimulus check and appears to want to spend just a bit of it on "pure, frivolous fun" - we shall have to see if she tells us how much she devotes to that (she gives a range of 2 - 10% of the check). But I refuse to take the pile-up of scary economic indicators and rising fuel costs as an excuse to panic. Good things can grow from this muck we’re in.
Over all, my debts are minor (and manageable) compared with some, but my husband and I still owe $11,817 on a home equity loan. When I look at the loan statement, I wonder whether the upgrades were worth the angst of carrying extra debt.
The larger point being: all that money, spent on what, for what?
WITH that question in mind, it’s worth rethinking what you want your stimulus check to stimulate. Here’s a thought. One of the oldest chestnuts in personal finance is, “Pay yourself first.” Knocking down high-interest debt and building your emergency savings (money for gas) would top that list.
But the budgeting system I try to follow also insists that you must spend a small percentage of your income every week or month on pure, frivolous fun. It’s like tithing, but on your own behalf. I am glad MP wants to add most of the stimulus check to her savings account, but her mention of just the home equity loan has me a bit confused. What happened to that last $5,000 in credit card debt? The unexpected $1,200 in medical bills? Could it be that MP sold those paperback rights to her book Money Can Buy Happiness: How to Spend to Get the Life You Want ? An infusion of cash from that deal could explain her sudden reduction of debt.Labels: MP |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:36 AM *
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| 8 Comments: |
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I think she's lumping the CC and medical bill in the "debts are small and manageable" line. She's not concerned about those like she is the HEL. Funny, I thing just the opposite--I'm willing to take out HEL for necessary house-related work, but I wouldn't get CC debt.
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Her powers of justification are unparalleled. "Minor (and manageable) compared to some." Yes, some people have six figures in credit card debt and are also drowning in student loans and upside-down on mortgages. MPD only has a second house with a HEL, four figures of credit card debt and four figures of medical debt. Way to go, MPD!
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How can she get paid to write about finance?
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Wow, looks like she's just plain lying now.
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"you must spend a small percentage of your income every week or month on pure, frivolous fun."
Every week?? No wonder her finances are in such a mess.
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Nope, the credit card and medical debts are still there according to her most recent post on the Women in Red Racers message board. The HELOC is in addition to the other debts.
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So, this is a HELOC on the new house, used for improvements?
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I figured maybe she had consolidated the credit card/medical debt into the HELOC, which would not be an awful way to go about it. But susan's comment above suggests otherwise...
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I think she's lumping the CC and medical bill in the "debts are small and manageable" line. She's not concerned about those like she is the HEL. Funny, I thing just the opposite--I'm willing to take out HEL for necessary house-related work, but I wouldn't get CC debt.