Family’s Five-Year Frugality = 2009 PACE Award
After a five-year struggle to become debt-free (except for a mortgage), the Hillebrandt family – Russell, Kandy, twin daughters Heidi and Holly, and son Joey – of New Richmond, Wis., met their goal. They paid off their credit card balances (about $89,000 to start) and $17,00 due a family member.
Their efforts have paid off – they are the recipients of the “Professional Achievement and Counseling Excellence (PACE) 2009 Graduate Client of the Year Award.” The award “recognizes the hard work and commitment they demonstrated in repaying their debts, and their willingness to become effective managers of their money and change their lifestyle.”
The mounting debt occurred slowly. The family were not big spenders – although they did buy many items, including clothing, “new”, and kept giving 10 percent of their income (tithing) to their church. Medical expenses – diabetes, miscarriages – contributed to the problem.
How, then, did the Hillebrandts get out of debt? It wasn’t easy. They began with a “a five-year debt management plan” developed with the help of a credit counseling service. “While the schedule was daunting, the Hildebrandts signed on.”
To make the plan succeed, they cut out “discretionary spending. Kandy began buying generic food and frequenting thrift stores for clothing purchases. They stopped exchanging Christmas and birthday gifts …”
For a while they had only one car but made progress on the debt reduction. “If the money wasn’t available, they simply did without.”
The birth of their third child, Joey, now 3, meant more expenses but his mother, Kandy, says, “The joy he brought to a negative, grinding situation was the light we needed.”
What do they tell others? “Get out of debt,” Kandy says. “It’s a chokehold.”
Press, On The Hook for Unpaid Taxes
A former top executive at Chrysler can’t pay his bills!
“Jim Press, who briefly ran Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. operations and spent 37 years with the Japanese automaker before joining Chrysler as one of its three top executives in 2007, is facing claims of more than $1.35 million for unpaid federal taxes and a personal loan.”
“The 62-year-old auto executive … may be one of the highest profile victims of Detroit’s collapse.”
In my opinion, Press is not a victim because he could foresee his financial fiasco. Casualty, yes – victim, no!
The monetary meltdown was the result of his ignoring a basic budgeting lesson – NEVER count on bonuses to supplement your income. “Press blamed the elimination of bonuses at Chrysler for his failure to pay back the personal loan.”
Prudent people don’t spend more than what’s shown on their paycheck(s) – the net income (what ‘s left over after taxes, Social Security deductions, etc., are taken out).
Pres and his wife “purchased a multimillion-dollar, 6,900-square-foot luxury home in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham in June 2008, taking out a $2.2 million mortgage with ING Bank, records show.
“The couple, who have put the six-bedroom mansion up for sale at $3.15 million, now face a tax lien against the property for just over $947,000 related to unpaid income taxes for 2007, according to a filing in late August.”
In Press’ interview last year with the New York Times (actual date unknown), he said, “in reference to the string on his wrist: ‘This is actually from my wife’s grandfather. It reminds you that in life, you just need enough to get along. What’s important in life isn’t what you have, but how you live.’”
Perhaps Press should have tried to follow that principle.
In my opinion, someone that fiscally irresponsible was not fit to be a top executive anywhere.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090918/bs_nm/us_chrysler_press