Advice: Switch cable and cellphone providers.
How he responded: McKinley reduced his cable bill from $150 to $100 and placed the extra money into an ING online account, which he uses for his emergency savings. He reduced his cellphone bill from $90 to $50, but uses the excess to pay for his older son’s cellphone bill.
Advice: Get life insurance and an estate plan.
How he responded: McKinley purchased a term life insurance policy for $50,000 and is in the process of drafting a will.
Advice: Consider a 529 plan to save for his youngest son’s education, and investigate grants and scholarships for his older son.
How he responded: He contributes $50 a month to his youngest son’s 529 plan, as does the child’s mother.
Advice: Monitor credit annually.
How he responded: “I went to BBB.org and found Identity Guard. It’s worth the $15 a month. There were a couple of things on my report, which I contacted the credit bureau about and they took it off.†He’s not sure if his credit score has improved, though, because he never checks his score.
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