Full-time financial planning: Jennifer Bishop juggles working, earning an advanced degree, and caring for a parent

Black Enterprise, April, 2005 by Sheryl Nance Nash

JENNIFER ANNE BISHOP IS A WOMAN who believes in preparation. The 31-year-old policy analyst has a bachelor's in sociology from Cornell University, a master's in public health from Columbia University, and she's currently studying for her Ph.D. qualifying exams while completing independent study toward her doctorate dissertation in public health. She's on track to receive her doctorate from Harvard University in 2007.

Pursuing her education has come with a hefty price tag--about $100,000 in student loans. But Bishop is already seeing her efforts pay off in the $75,000 salary she earns working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By the time she walks away with her Ph.D., she will be able to command at least a six-figure salary.

Bishop moved from Boston to the Washington, D.C., area last summer when her father passed away. She needed to be closer to her 65-year-old mother. Bishop's mother suffered a brain aneurysm years ago that left her unable to work and in need of some caretaking. Bishop's father was her mother's primary care giver, and now that responsibility rests with Bishop, her brothers Neal and Peter, and Peter's fiancee, Felicia.

In order to accommodate her mother, Bishop bought an unfurnished three-bedroom condominium in Burke, Virginia, in November, taking on a $283,000 mortgage. Bishop's mother is presently living with Peter in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Bishop visits them at least once a week.

Bishop is her mother's power-of-attorney and she also contributes about $400 each quarter toward her mother's needs-whatever isn't covered by her mother's Social Security benefits. Bishop used to live in a studio apartment, so she has had to deplete her savings and use credit cards to furnish her new place. There will be additional expenses this summer when she completes one of her father's final requests: He wanted his ashes spread in the family's Barbados homeland.

Bishop's savings are down to $1,000 and she has about $2,000 in a checking account. In addition to her student loan debt, she owes $6,500 on her 2001 Nissan Sentra and $8,000 on a few credit cards. When she left Boston, Bishop used up the $4,000 she had in a retirement plan with her previous employer. She had a scholarship that covered tuition but hadn't yet begun receiving a $7,000-per-semester stipend, which she will lose in May because she earns such a good salary.

Bishop's father worked a number of jobs, but he never found fulfillment in his work. Instead, he spent his money. "He left quite a bit of debt," Bishop says. "I don't want to [do that.]" To that end, she's willing to curb her penchant for Cole Haan shoes, and she recently joined her employer's retirement plan and is putting away 1% el her salary.

Bishop is looking forward to rebuilding her savings and hopes to stash $500 to $600 a month. But six months after she graduates, she'll have to begin paying back her student loans. "I have a lot of student loan debt hanging over my head," says Bishop. "But I'm going to be OK. I'm growing in my profession and my earning potential is only going to improve."

Financial Snapshot:
Jennifer Anne Bishop

HOUSEHOLD INCOME

Gross Income                 $75,000

ASSETS

Checking                      $2,000
Savings                        1,000
Stocks                           100
401(k)                           300
Value of Home                278,000
Total                       $281,400

LIABILITIES

Mortgage                    $283,000
2001 Nissan Sentra             6,500
Student Loans                100,000
Credit Card Debt               8,000
Total                       $397,500

NET WORTH                  -$116,100

THE ADVICE

Walt L. Clark, president and CEO of Clark Capital Financial (www.darkcapital.net) in Columbia, Mary land, offered his advice to help Bishop sort out the complexities of her situation.

Manage debt smartly. Bishop has low balances on several credit cards with high interest rates. Clark says he normally would have Bishop explore establishing a home equity line of credit to consolidate some of her debt, but she recently purchased her home, so it has not yet accumulated enough equity for her to do that. Clark recommends that Bishop monitor home sale prices in her area over the next six to 12 months, then explore the option of a home equity line of credit if her home has significantly increased in value. And "the interest on the home equity loan [would be] tax deductible," says Clark.

If she doesn't qualify for a home equity loan after a year, it may make sense to wait until she has to start repaying her student loans before she applies for one, says Clark. She could then use some of the loan proceeds, plus some of her savings, to take a bite out of her debt. The interest on her student loans is tax deductible as well.

But for now, Clark recommends that Bishop use her $2,000 in contest winnings, along with some of her savings, to lessen her credit card debt.

Get serious about saving. Clark would like to see Bishop raise her 401(k) contribution to at least 10%, with a goal of reaching the maximum contribution over time. "If she has concerns about how much it will affect her pay, she can contact the administrator of the plan and ask them to send her a contribution breakdown for each percent increase to the maximum," says Clark. The employee retirement plan also offers many benefits, such as a reduced tax rate, tax deferred saving, company matching incentives, and borrowing privileges.