Jeff and Mary Douglas, a couple in their mid-30s, have two children - Paul age 6...

Transcribed Image Text:

Jeff and Mary Douglas, a couple in their mid-30s, have two children - Paul age 6 and Marcy age 7. The Douglas' do not have substantial assets and have not yet reached their peak earning years. Jeff is a general manager of a jewelry manufacturer in Providence, RI while Mary teaches at the local elementary school in the town of Tiverton, RI. The family needs both incomes to meet their normal living expenses and to meet unforeseen emergency purchases. Their cash flow situation is tight, and they have had difficulty growing a "nest egg" through savings and investing. Jeff and Mary have discussed the needs of their two children who are typical, healthy, and active kids. They have discussed trying to have Mary stay at home, be with the kids more and run the household but her income is very much needed, and she also wants a career and doesn't want to put her teaching job on hold to be a stay-at-home mother. Jeff also wants (and needs) to work and his job often requires long days - beyond the 9-5 grind. Now that both children are in school there is no day care need and Mary's job schedule matches nicely with the children's schedule, so she not only wants to continue to work but is thinking about completing a graduate degree. Currently, Mary can take most of the summer off from teaching (when the children are home on vacation) and so she enjoys a great deal of flexibility in the summer and spends quite a bit of time with the children in the summer. Jeff is the breadwinner of the family, but Mary's contribution is also very significant. Jeff earns about 65% of the total household income with Mary earning the remainder. By completing a graduate degree, Mary could increase her salary by at least 20% but she would need to commit to a continuing education program at either Providence College or University of Rhode Island. Although their net worth is not substantial, they have big dreams and aspirations. Their personal financial objectives relate to goals for a high standard of living. They want to help their children go to good colleges, a goal that they share with their own parents (the grandparents who want to help fund that dream). Jeff and Mary want to accumulate significant assets that allow for a comfortable retirement. Both are in excellent health and have family histories of long-life expectancies. Their retirements (at age 65 or so) could be a period of 20 or more years. Current Financial Information They own their home which they purchased two years ago for $285,000. Their town (Rumford, Rhode Island) tax office has assessed the home value at $200,000. Recently, Mary hired a certified real estate appraiser to prepare a home appraisal and his appraised value was $300,000 (the real estate appraiser based her opinion of value on recent sales of comparable homes in similar neighborhoods and considered current construction costs and land value.) While surfing the web. Mary noticed that their home is listed on Zillow.com with a "Zestimate" of $350,000. Zestimates are powered by an algorithm. Mary knows that the variables of the valuation system, including analysis of hone exterior and interior and traditional real estate facts and figures images, can be inaccurate and may need updating, however Mary logs into Zillow often to see how the system is valuing one of the families largest and most important asset. Jeff and Mary Douglas, a couple in their mid-30s, have two children - Paul age 6 and Marcy age 7. The Douglas' do not have substantial assets and have not yet reached their peak earning years. Jeff is a general manager of a jewelry manufacturer in Providence, RI while Mary teaches at the local elementary school in the town of Tiverton, RI. The family needs both incomes to meet their normal living expenses and to meet unforeseen emergency purchases. Their cash flow situation is tight, and they have had difficulty growing a "nest egg" through savings and investing. Jeff and Mary have discussed the needs of their two children who are typical, healthy, and active kids. They have discussed trying to have Mary stay at home, be with the kids more and run the household but her income is very much needed, and she also wants a career and doesn't want to put her teaching job on hold to be a stay-at-home mother. Jeff also wants (and needs) to work and his job often requires long days - beyond the 9-5 grind. Now that both children are in school there is no day care need and Mary's job schedule matches nicely with the children's schedule, so she not only wants to continue to work but is thinking about completing a graduate degree. Currently, Mary can take most of the summer off from teaching (when the children are home on vacation) and so she enjoys a great deal of flexibility in the summer and spends quite a bit of time with the children in the summer. Jeff is the breadwinner of the family, but Mary's contribution is also very significant. Jeff earns about 65% of the total household income with Mary earning the remainder. By completing a graduate degree, Mary could increase her salary by at least 20% but she would need to commit to a continuing education program at either Providence College or University of Rhode Island. Although their net worth is not substantial, they have big dreams and aspirations. Their personal financial objectives relate to goals for a high standard of living. They want to help their children go to good colleges, a goal that they share with their own parents (the grandparents who want to help fund that dream). Jeff and Mary want to accumulate significant assets that allow for a comfortable retirement. Both are in excellent health and have family histories of long-life expectancies. Their retirements (at age 65 or so) could be a period of 20 or more years. Current Financial Information They own their home which they purchased two years ago for $285,000. Their town (Rumford, Rhode Island) tax office has assessed the home value at $200,000. Recently, Mary hired a certified real estate appraiser to prepare a home appraisal and his appraised value was $300,000 (the real estate appraiser based her opinion of value on recent sales of comparable homes in similar neighborhoods and considered current construction costs and land value.) While surfing the web. Mary noticed that their home is listed on Zillow.com with a "Zestimate" of $350,000. Zestimates are powered by an algorithm. Mary knows that the variables of the valuation system, including analysis of hone exterior and interior and traditional real estate facts and figures images, can be inaccurate and may need updating, however Mary logs into Zillow often to see how the system is valuing one of the families largest and most important asset.