Question

Kyle and Linda are married with two children at home and a mortgage. Kyle’s net pay per year is $32,000 and Linda’s is $48,000. Their monthly expenses are $3,500.

Kyle and Linda each contribute 15% of their earnings to a retirement fund and they have $5,000 in savings. They also have a $100,000 life insurance policy on Kyle, but none on Linda.

As their financial advisor, what part of Kyle and Linda’s financial plan would you encourage them to work on and why?
a.
Their plan for managing income.
Their net cash flow is negative.
b.
Their plan for managing their liquidity.
They are not prepared for emergencies.
c.
Their plan for retirement.
They don’t contribute enough to meet their long term goals.
d.
Their plan for protecting their assets.
They should have life insurance on Linda.

Answer 1

b.

Their plan for managing their liquidity. With only $5,000 in savings and monthly expenses of $3,500, they have roughly 1.4 months of living expenses saved. They should build a 3–6 month emergency fund (about $10,500–$21,000) before focusing on other gaps.