Question

Mariah is single and has a monthly disposable income of $3,200. Her monthly cash outflow is approximately $2,800. Mariah includes contributions to a retirement plan and money for investments as part of her cash outflow. She has car insurance and a life insurance policy. Mariah has saved $15,000, but wishes to use $10,000 for a down payment on a house. She has also purchased furnishings for a house, which she has in the spare bedroom of her apartment. Mariah hires a financial planner to examine her money management, and he determines that her plan needs work. What part of Mariah’s financial plan would he encourage her to work on and why?
a.
Her plan for managing income. Her net cash flow is negative.
b.
Her plan for managing her liquidity. She is spending all of her savings on her down payment.
c.
Her plan for retirement. She does not have a retirement plan set up.
d.
Her plan for protecting her assets. In case of an emergency, she should have renters insurance for her apartment.

Answer 1

b.

Her liquidity needs are the concern. Using $10,000 of her $15,000 savings for a down payment would leave only $5,000 in liquid reserves — well under the commonly recommended 3–6 months of living expenses (3 months of her ~$2,800 monthly outflow is ≈ $8,400). She does have retirement contributions and insurance, so the immediate weakness is maintaining an adequate emergency/liquidity cushion before committing most savings to a down payment.