Brittney Franklin, 27, is currently working on her Orthodontics residency at Temple. Her income is based on student loans which she uses for tuition and all other costs of living.
Her short term financial goals include finishing school. Long term, she intends to pay off student loans, start saving for retirement, and eventually buy a home.
Two areas she identified where she might be spending too much are clothing and groceries. She prefers brands of clothing that tend to be more expensive, and admits that her taste in food can be "extravagant." In both cases, she's willing to pay more money for higher quality products.
Brittney is extremely organized and disciplined when it comes to budgeting. She establishes her total budget at the beginning of the year by subtracting her fixed monthly costs (rent, car insurance, etc.) and then dividing what's left into categories for food, clothing, travel, etc. She uses Quicken and online banking from Wachovia, although she doesn't take advantage of any integration capabilities between the two products. She also uses a credit card for purchases for the sole purpose of maintaining good credit.
Brittney made an interesting comment during our interview; she expressed that she doesn't normally discuss financial matters with her friends. Many people retain a similar layer of privacy where money is concerned, and it might be interesting to consider how financial decisions are different than other decisions in our lives as a result.
No comments:
Post a Comment