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Avery: We just bought a house and we are getting ready to have a baby in July. We’ve never actually seeked financial help before so this is a first for both of us as well. It’s a little shocking how much it costs to kind of stockpile the things that you need. Baby clothes, diapers, furniture for the baby room. I think until you’re actually buying that stuff you don’t realize how expensive it is.
Greg: Avery is an accountant so he knows how to stick to a financial plan. Once he has one he and Kim will be in great shape. Their main financial priority is setting up an education fund for their new baby.
Avery: Both of us are still paying off our student loan debts and so the fact that we’re still paying those off is a bit frustrating. We don’t want to pass that down to our children. We’d rather try to help them as much as we can.
Greg: Their student loan debt isn’t actually a priority right now. A lot of it is very low-rate and even the highest-rate loan that they have is a federal loan which offers a lot of flexibility that’s is valuable to them right now. I’m giving them a plan that is scalable. They plan on having more children in the future so I want to make sure they have a plan that will grow with their family.
Greg: Hi Avery, how are you today?
Avery: Good, how are you?
Greg: You know, first off, you’ve got a lot of excess cash piled up, particularly in that non-interest checking account. So in terms of working with that, first step would be open up and fund Roth IRAs for both you and Kim.
Avery: OK.
Greg: Right from the get-go one of your financial goals was getting an education fund started for the new baby. Get a 529 college savings plan going and then make monthly contributions. Do not compromise your retirement savings in order to do the college savings.
Avery: OK. It was a weight taken off knowing that we don’t have to feel pressure about the debt. You get so stuck in your own world that you don’t know if you’re in a good place or not, so I think seeking advice really helps gain perspective.
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