WGN-TV Show Notes Jan. 7, 2003

Martha writes: My husband and I have been married for 23 years and we have always had trouble with our finances. He retired last March and now we really are hurting for money. We both have part-time jobs but it is not nearly enough to pay all of our bills. We are two months behind on our mortgage payments and we are three months behind on our car loan. We are always in a mess with our money. What can we do?

I’m sorry that money has always been a difficult issue for you. I think you and your husband have a few difficult choices ahead. First, you and your husband can go back to work full time. Once you’ve retired, working doesn’t seem like what you might want to do, but I think you might have to. Next, you can sell your home and find somewhere less expensive to live. Finally, talk to your creditors. Tell them what’s happening. It’s better to work out a payment plan now, than after they take away your home and car and destroy your credit.

Finally, this year, we’re going to start something new. Every week, I’ll give you one of my money saving tips.

This week’s tip: Save your change. Start by emptying your pockets of change at the end of the week, dump your space change in a jar. After a few weeks, start saving your change plus a buck a day. if you do this every day, you’ll painlessly save more than $1,000 a year.

Jan. 7, 2003.