Don and Marlene

Don and Marlene took their plan by the horns and decided to find every way they could to accelerate their debt-free date with 9 Year Mortgage.  The first thing we did was transfer some credit card balances to 0% accounts.  This allowed us to improve their plan performance by 3 months while simultaneously lowering their plan payment by $150/month.

Now we have done 2 more coaching lessons and they are very excited.  Don hadn’t been able to contribute the full amount into his 401(k) that his employer would match. Money was simply too tight. He was putting in 3% and they would match 3%. We found out that if he put in another 3% they would match half of it. That’s a 50% return on investment. He needed to get that extra 3%, but he hadn’t been able to afford it. On Don’s salary, the matching 1.5% per year was about $1000 that he was leaving on the table.

By reducing the plan payment $150 and by them finding another $100/month of savings through evaluation of their spending habits, we got things to where they could afford to contribute the full 6% towards retirement.  In fact, they even have found enough to start up an emergency savings account, which they never previously had.  It was mostly a matter of priorities and discipline, and being smart about their money.

These simple steps have transformed their outlook on spending and paying off debt. They have analyzed what their retirement will be like in 7 years (they are both in their early 50s) and they feel very confident and thankful to 9 Year Mortgage for the improvements they have accomplished so far in their financial lives.

Now we are looking at a mortgage refinance to make the plan run even faster. Enrolling with 9 Year Mortgage was the catalyst to make all these changes and get them moving forward. They are very happy.