Category: Reader Case Studies

Holly is a music therapist living in Virginia with her husband, Josh, their three young children, two guinea pigs and one dog. They love hiking and spending time together as a family. Josh is a stay-at-home dad, which suits their family perfectly. Holly’s question is whether or not this is sustainable from a financial perspective. They are naturally frugal and don’t spend much, but wonder if they’re saving and planning well enough for retirement. Join...

Ann is a 47-year-old home health aide living in Southern California. Her four teen/young adult sons live with their dad 10 minutes away, which enables her to spend time with them regularly. She is also newly married to her soul-mate, Robert, who is serving a Life Without Parole sentence in a California prison 300 miles away. Ann’s making major changes in her life right now, including earning her BA in English and preparing to buy...

Rebecca and Robert are newlyweds living with their two cats in Washington, DC. Rebecca works in environmental sustainability and Robert is in donor relations at a non-profit. Their ultimate goal is to buy a home in a rural area with lots of natural beauty and the opportunity to grow their own food. They also have dreams of traveling full-time in the future–perhaps with their future young children. Right now, they’re living in a one-bedroom apartment...

Marie and her husband Ryan live on a 25-acre horse farm in rural Florida with their 10-year-old son and lab puppy. Ryan, who works as a firefighter, is incredibly handy and built their house 8 years ago. Marie is an elementary school teacher who enjoys her job. The family loves their rural lifestyle and the fact that their extended families live nearby. The only problem is their struggle to live within their means and the...

Jamie lives in the Netherlands and recently completed his degree as an all-around construction worker, with training in welding. He’s currently switching jobs to become a full-time welder and has two job offers he’d like our help deciding between. Additionally, he and his girlfriend dream of living and working abroad some day. Jamie lost his father when he was just 13 and has been working and helping his mother financially since then. At just 21...

Alice and her wife Ann live in a small northern New England town with their two sons and two dogs. Both Alice and Ann are educators and enjoy their work. Their children were adopted from the foster care system and both have significant early childhood trauma. Due to this, they have intensive needs and Alice and Ann have organized their family life around addressing these needs. Practically, this means Alice is the primary at-home parent...

Kate lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband Dan in a condo she bought back in 2013. She enjoys her job in marketing and Dan likes his work in manufacturing. Kate is in the process of considering the purchase of a marketing firm with her business partner, which means she’s paying extra attention to her personal finances these days. She and Dan maintain completely separate finances as that’s the system that works best for...

Kay and her husband Max recently moved to rural town an hour south of Minneapolis with their two young children and three old cats. Kay works as a financial operations manager and Max is a government attorney. The couple was able to lower their cost of living by making this move–most notably in the areas of daycare and their mortgage. As they relish this lowered spending, they want to ensure they’re allocating their “extra” money...

Laura and her husband Sam live in Virginia with their two young children and one dog. Sam works for the federal government in a law enforcement capacity and Laura works as a full-time stay-at-home parent. Sam is eligible for retirement (with full benefits) in nine years, but the stress of his job has the couple wondering if he can afford to switch to a lower-paying, lower-stress government position in six years. Laura also wants to...