Financial Fix Ups
Digging their way out
It's been almost a year since three Twin Cities families in debt opened their homes and balance sheets to Star Tribune readers.
Holly Lesmeister, despite $64,000 in credit card and student loan debt, was spending her free time enjoying food and wine at the city's hottest restaurants and scouring store racks for her favorite designers.
Single mom Malinda Erickson was struggling with her tendency to blow her budget when she's down, leaving discount stores with a cart full of goods when she only needed a few groceries.
And Graham and Tracy Benson, with their seventh child on the way, could barely pay their $32,000 in credit card bills on top of medical bills, a home equity loan, and feeding their family.
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Financial Fix-up: Meet The Families
About This Series
Money talk is taboo. Surveys show Americans would rather discuss sex than finances.
Kara McGuire: Our lesson from the Fix-Ups? LetÂ’s start a money club
Want in? Send an e-mail to fixup@startribune.com with your name and reason for wanting to join. Details are still being worked out, but expect lots of free advice and support.
More from this series:
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Reader Q&A
Readers asked Financial Fix-Ups experts Tara McCarthy and Echo Huang their own financial questions about credit card debt, finding a financial advisor and switching from two incomes to one. Kara McGuire, personal finance columnist and author of the series, shared her two cents on one or two as well. -
Refund rescues: The Ericksons
Tax season can bring dread for many Americans. But for the three families participating in the Star Tribune's "Financial Fix-Ups" series, tax time brings opportunity. -
Refund rescues: Holly Lesmeister
Tax season can bring dread for many Americans. But for the three families participating in the Star Tribune's "Financial Fix-Ups" series, tax time brings opportunity. -
Refund rescues: The Bensons
Tax season can bring dread for many Americans. But for the three families participating in the Star Tribune's "Financial Fix-Ups" series, tax time brings opportunity. -
Gift-giving time pressures those paying off debt
Two of the three families in debt are making progress. Heading into the holidays, they turn to budgets and cash to keep on track. -
Changing feelings to change habits
After years of overspending, a single mom vows to change her money beliefs and behaviors once and for all. -
Budgeting means less for fun and fashion
Holly Lesmeister, 30, gets a budget from her new financial adviser. The party's over. -
A family faces facts about income, costs
They acknowledge the depth of their debt, but can they dig themselves out? -
A step forward, then back
Malinda Erickson, 35, wants to get out of credit card debt, teach her daughters better spending habits and most of all, she wants peace of mind. -
An Uptown lifestyle built on credit cards
Holly Lesmeister, 30, wants to get out of $64,000 in debt and be able to buy a condo. -
Medical bills and lost income leave family on the edge
Graham Benson, 41, and Tracy Benson, 42, have medical debt that's built up that they want to get out from under and find a way to have their income match their expenses. -
Borrowing more, just to keep up
Americans increasingly are using home equity loans and credit cards to maintain their standard of living. -
Gift-giving time pressures those paying off debt - The Ericksons
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Dealing with their debts
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Back to bad habits
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Gift-giving time pressures those paying off debt - Holly Lesmeister
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Little time, a lot of debt
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New business, new priorities
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Gift-giving time pressures those paying off debt - The Bensons