Will the Renovation Derail Us?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger

Episode: Will the Renovation Derail Us?
Date: August 6, 2026
Host: Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
Guest: Marie from Pennsylvania
Producer/Co-host: Mark

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Marie and her husband—both teachers with a young daughter—who are considering a major home renovation. They seek Jill’s guidance on whether financing this $350,000 project is wise given their financial position, career paths, side incomes, current savings, and competing priorities. The discussion delves into the real-life tradeoffs of big financial decisions, risk management, and keeping eyes open when chasing big life goals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Guest Background: The Family and Their Financial Situation

• Marie (41): Teaches at a private school; salary ~$80,000/year
• Husband (44): Public school teacher; salary ~$110,000/year
• Combined Income: ~$220,000/year, plus side hustles
• Single Child: 7-year-old daughter attends Marie’s school (partial tuition discount) (03:10–03:52)

Notable Quote (Jill, 09:10):

"You guys are making 220 grand a year, which is amazing. I know that you feel middle class, but that's because you're living, like, you know, in a somewhat higher cost of living area."

Side Hustles:

• Marie: Private teaching ($10,000/year)
• Husband: Music gigs and private teaching ($20,000/year) (08:05–08:28)
• Both operate LLCs for their side incomes

Retirement & Benefits:

• Multiple 403(b)s and Roth accounts; not consolidated (09:36–10:44)
• Husband has solid pension trajectory; Marie’s pension is murky due to years split between states (04:25–07:34)
• Both have term life insurance—Jill highlights the need to upgrade coverage and eliminate whole life policy (10:55–12:28)

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2. The House and Renovation Plans

• Current Home Value: ~$600,000 with $275,000 left on a 2.5% mortgage (13:19–13:32)
• Planned Renovation: $350,000—would nearly double the house size (13:45–13:55)
• Financing Challenge: Only eligible for ~$200,000 via standard HELOC
• Exploring Alternatives: Considering a "post-renovation value" HELOC from a broker, which could increase borrowing to $400,000 (14:08–14:49)

Notable Quote (Jill, 14:47):

"I've never heard of that. That's interesting...I'm like nervous. I don't want to give you like advice like, do or not do it."

Concerns & Cash Flow

• Emergency fund: Only $10,000 (12:47–13:00)
• Little non-retirement savings or investments (12:41)
• Cash flow is tight; already paying architects with cash that would otherwise go to savings (17:43–17:58)

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3. Jill's Financial Guidance and Tough Love

On Taking the Risk Now vs. Waiting

• Jill expresses concern about jumping into the project with thin reserves and what she perceives as a risky new loan product.
• Recommends saving up to $50,000 in emergency funds before starting (19:03–20:07).

Notable Quote (Jill, 19:05):

"I'm very worried that when you say you're gonna be tight...There's only 10 grand in that emergency reserve fund. Everything else is retirement. And so I'm a little bit nervous about taking on a project like this without having a little more of a nest egg saved up."

• Encourages exploring family help—possibly an early inheritance from the in-laws as a "backstop" if things get tough (22:07–23:01)

On Life Insurance & Advisors

• Both partners need at least $1 million in term coverage
• Advises Marie to "get rid of" the whole life insurance and their financial advisor, roll over old retirement accounts to a discount brokerage for consolidated planning (24:15–24:25)

On The Real Monthly Cost

• Renovation financing (HELOC or fixed-rate loan) would raise monthly outflows by ~$2,300 ($350,000 at 7% over 30 years) (30:07–31:23)

Notable Quote (Jill, 31:23):

"I think it's doable, but I don't think it's a slam dunk. That's all."

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4. Real Talk: Living for Today vs. Financial Prudence

• Marie admits the family prioritizes experiences—e.g., spending big to attend the Olympics—even when it means fewer savings (26:18–26:33)
• Jill affirms that balancing joy and risk is key, but cautions:

"We just want to make sure you're not biting off something that puts you in a bad situation." (27:19)

• If the in-laws could offer a safety net, that would tilt the decision (27:33)
• Jill is clear: "If you are in it and you're doing it, I just want you to understand, like, we're going in. Eyes open." (28:11)

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5. Other Practical Steps: Estate Planning

• Marie has not yet completed a will or guardianship documentation.
• Jill: "You need to get a will, a power of attorney and a healthcare proxy. That's what you need." (29:08–29:15)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• Private School Tuition Mix-up:
  Marie (03:43): "It's 6,500 a month."
  Jill (03:52, laughing): "600!" [Relief]
  Mark: "That's much better than 6,500, which, I mean, that would be a lot."
• On Hesitating to Ask Family for Help:
  Jill (22:07): "We've been talking about this...if there was going to be some money that's available, now would be the time..."
• Jill on Being a Dream Crusher:
  Jill (23:01): "I can sometimes be a dream maker and sometimes a dream crusher. It just depends."
• Marie on Life Philosophy:
  Marie (26:33): "We would have savings, but we wouldn't be happy."

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Important Timestamps

• 01:04: Start of caller segment, Jill introduces Marie
• 03:10: Guest family background
• 08:05: Side hustle income explained
• 13:19: House value, mortgage, and interest rate
• 13:45: Renovation plan and cost
• 14:08–14:49: Discussion of unconventional HELOC option
• 17:16–19:05: Jill's concerns about cash flow and emergency savings
• 24:15–24:25: Life insurance and financial advisor advice
• 30:07–31:23: Real talk on monthly renovation cost
• 29:08: Estate planning advice

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Conclusion & Takeaways

• Marie and her husband are in a solid income position, but have limited liquid savings and are considering a major financial leap with their renovation.
• Jill urges caution, recommends robust contingency planning (larger emergency fund, improved insurance, and estate docs), and suggests exploring safer or delayed paths.
• The couple’s "live for the moment" philosophy is respected, but Jill stresses being clear-eyed about risk.
• This episode is a relatable, open-hearted look at the tension between aspiration and financial prudence.

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Summary Table

| Topic | Details | Timestamp | |------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Family Profile | Dual teachers, 1 child, $220k income plus side hustles | 03:10–08:28 | | Retirement Savings | Multiple 403(b)s, Roths, pension complexities | 09:36–10:44 | | Home Value/Mortgage | $600k value, $275k at 2.5% mortgage | 13:19–13:32 | | Renovation Plan/Cost | $350k budget, double house size | 13:45–13:55 | | HELOC/Financing Discussion | Exploring "post-renovation value" HELOC, concerns about new products | 14:08–14:49 | | Emergency Fund | Only $10k saved | 12:47–13:00 | | Monthly Project Payment | ~$2,300 more/month at current rates | 30:07–31:23 | | Jill’s Recommendation | Save more first, increase insurance, consolidate accounts, estate plan | 19:05–29:15 | | Philosophical Moment | Balancing joy vs. prudence, "eyes open" approach | 26:33, 28:11 |

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If you’re contemplating a big leap—like a major home reno—this episode offers invaluable real-world advice on balancing dreams, risk, and long-term security, all delivered in Jill’s trademark, straightforward style.

Transcript

[Marie]

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[Jill]

to the Jill on Money Show. It's Thursday, August 6th and we are here trying to help you navigate your financial journey, wherever you are on that journey. So for many of you, you might hear the show and you really like, oh my God, all these people are retiring. It's okay, you can come on if you're young, you can come on if you're thinking about something different. Maybe you're mid career and you're trying to make a decision about how you can be happier. Maybe you don't like the career you chose, maybe it's time for a different direction. But you got to make this work with your money. And so if that's you and you want some assistance, we'd love to help you out. All you need to do is go to our website, jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note and if you'd like to come on the air on this program, you just check the box and you'll see an audio box. Check that. If you would like to join us on our other program, it's called Money moves. It's a YouTube show and it means you have to show your face on camera or Mark. I do want to start experimenting with putting people on with our little logo in front of it. So either way, get in touch with us. We really would love to hear from you and love to talk you through whatever's going on while you're on the website. Don't forget, sign up for the free weekly newsletter. Okay, let's get started. Let us talk to Marie from Pennsylvania. Welcome to the program. What can we do for you?

[Marie]

Hi, Jill. Hi, Mark. So we are looking to expand our house and find a way to pay for it. I think we're a different means than your Usual guests. I would consider us very middle class. And our finances will fit that too. I'm a lawyer listener, so I listen a lot, but yes. So the main thing is trying to figure out how to pay for this addition that we're doing.

[Jill]

Okay, so let's get. First of all, all you have to do is just come on the air if you want to like, talk through anything, no matter how much or how little you have. So we're cool with that. Marie, tell us some of the facts. You have a we. So tell us. Who's the we?

[Marie]

Me and my husband. He is 44, I'm 41, and we have a seven year old daughter.

[Jill]

Okay. And seven year old daughter in public school.

[Marie]

Actually, I teach at a private school.

[Mark]

Oh.

[Marie]

Comes with me. And free because 75 remittance.

[Mark]

What do you mean?

[Jill]

If you teach there, they should give it for free. That's baloney.

[Marie]

It's. It's kind of like what all the private schools do. They do this same thing.

[Jill]

Oh, man, I gotta tell you something. That sounds like collusion. How much is it out of pocket

[Marie]

for you, for her tuition? It's 6500amonth.

[Jill]

Not a month, 650.

[Marie]

600.

[Jill]

Oh, my God.

[Marie]

Yikes.

[Jill]

You really caught our, you caught our attention there.

[Marie]

A month.

[Mark]

Okay.

[Jill]

That's much better than 6,500, which, I mean, that would be a lot. Okay, so. And you'll. You think she'll stay there? Is this straight through high school, you

[Marie]

think that is the hope? I just finished my first year there and she absolutely loved it. And she just finished kindergarten, so she's going in the first grade. So. Yeah, I gotta make this job last for years.

[Mark]

Don't screw it up.

[Jill]

Yeah, really, the pressure's on, Marie. But when you teach in a private school, do you get a pension or not?

[Marie]

No. So I, I burned out of the public school system. Yes. I think I'm actually a good example of. When you talk about people finding something else they can do longer to stay in their job. Tell me a good example of that. I did three years in a public school in Delaware, and then I did six years in one public school in pa and then two years in a sense, second. So I am in this weird limbo of you need 10 years to be vested to get a pension. Yeah, but I can buy years from Delaware.

[Jill]

Oh, yeah. Okay, well, wait, we're going to talk about that in a second. I want to hear about that because maybe we'll do it right now. So you can buy. How many years can we Buy. We need to get you 10. So did you say you had six then in Delaware?

[Marie]

I have three in Delaware and, like a little over eight in Pennsylvania.

[Jill]

And so you can only buy in in the Delaware, not in the Pennsylvania.

[Marie]

So you want the Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania pensions better.

[Jill]

Okay, let's do that.

[Marie]

It might have to do with just, like, which one you taught in last. Yeah, they also don't let you do that until you hit retirement age.

[Mark]

What?

[Marie]

Yes. Their hope is basically that you'll come back. So. Yeah, which is actually not off the table. I could do 12 years in this school with my daughter and, you know, find a magical school district that I can go back to for two years and get my full pension and PA without having to.

[Jill]

All right, I'm not counting on this right now, but okay, I agree, I agree. I'm leaving these pensions on the table. Whatever. You're happy now. How much do you earn as a teacher in this fancy private school?

[Marie]

My salary is about 80,000 a year.

[Jill]

Wow, that's great.

[Marie]

Pennsylvania is pretty good, and they gave me a lot of years of experience.

[Jill]

Amazing. Okay, your husband also a teacher or not?

[Marie]

Yes, he is also a teacher. He is more the breadwinner. He's still in a public school and he's in a really good spot.

[Jill]

So how much does he earn?

[Marie]

He is probably like 110.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Marie]

Both have side income.

[Jill]

Oh, hold on. Wait a second. 20. So he's in the public schools. How many years does he have into the public school system?

[Marie]

16.

[Jill]

Okay, 16 in. And he's gonna. You think he's gonna stick it out for, like, at least 20, 30?

[Marie]

We are hoping for 25 years total, at minimum.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Marie]

And yeah, and I've looked at the calculations on are like, you know, trying to look at what pensions would be. So I do have some roundabout numbers. Okay, let's say 25 and I was to get my 10.

[Jill]

What would his 25 be?

[Marie]

If I think it's about 6,500amonth.

[Jill]

There's our 6,500amonth coming back keeps coming back to haunt me. Okay. And if you went back for your two years of purgatory in Pennsylvania and you got 10 years in, what would yours be?

[Marie]

I think about a thousand.

[Jill]

Okay. Really? I'm not making myself crazy about this, truly. You're not going to worry about that. Okay. I mean, it's nice, but I just like, you cannot make that be the thing. Okay, but you also have side hustle income.

[Marie]

Tell us more about side hustle income. But we also have other Retirement plans, too.

[Jill]

So what do you mean?

[Marie]

We have. We've always contributed to other Roths on top.

[Jill]

All right, hold on. Let's wait a second. I want to hear about the income first. Do my. Give me your side hustle. You and then the husbands.

[Marie]

Okay, so I teach privately on the side.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Marie]

So that equals to, let's say, about 10,000 a year.

[Jill]

Great. Fabulous. And that just comes in as self employment income. Right? You declare everything good. Okay.

[Marie]

We both have LLCs.

[Jill]

Great. Okay. And what about his side hustle?

[Marie]

I'm going to just say double on his.

[Jill]

Okay, so 20 for him.

[Marie]

Yep. Private. And he's also. He's a working musician. He's a musician first, teacher second.

[Mark]

Really?

[Jill]

What is his. What is his genre?

[Marie]

Well, so he specializes in vintage keyboards. So.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Marie]

Hammond organ.

[Jill]

That's a little esoteric, man. Like, is cool.

[Marie]

It's fun.

[Jill]

Is he playing like 70s rock? So you need an organ?

[Marie]

Yeah, well, yes, it's some. Some of that. Something's older than that, too. Like Grant Greene.

[Jill]

Wow.

[Marie]

Is the original of it, but it's like soul, funk, jazz is what they call it. And Dig it is instrumental. And they play weekly, if not more than more than once a week.

[Jill]

That's so cool. I love that. Okay, so you guys are making 220 grand a year, which is amazing. I know that you feel middle class, but that's because you're living, like, you know, in a somewhat higher cost of living area. I mean, 220, in some areas you'd be living large. You know that you're living in a. You got high costs. Okay, so let's get into this. Let's dive now deeper into savings for retirement. You said you have some retirement accounts. What do you have?

[Marie]

Four three Bs. So.

[Jill]

Yep.

[Marie]

After tax, right? Yep, yep. Except for my new retirement with my new job. He has an extra roth that's about 53,500. I have a Delaware Roth that's almost 17,000.

[Jill]

That's so very good, because the Roth, Senator Roth came from the state of Delaware, so it's very perfect. I like that. Yes. Okay. Give you a little factoid every now and then. Okay. You got your Delaware Roth, his Roth, and what was the 403B? What was that number?

[Marie]

Well, they're all four or three B's.

[Jill]

Okay, gotcha.

[Marie]

And then there's one that's kind of my other two. My two PA public schools, it's got 36,000 in it. And then my new school in one year. So most of this is traditional because I had to. And they have really good match. So that's like, you know, I lose a pension, but the match is seven

[Jill]

and a half percent. Okay, great.

[Marie]

So most of that is. There's 10,000 in that in this first year. And most of that is that. And then I put like $50 a paycheck into Roth.

[Jill]

Okay, but is there any way that we can consolidate all these old 403bs?

[Marie]

I would love to talk about that. I kind of work with a financial advisor from one of them.

[Jill]

All right, so you work with an advisor. Ish. But not. You don't love them.

[Marie]

I, we got life insurance through them a while back and I'm term life insurance. Yes. Mine is regular term, but his is cash value, like whole life cash value. It feels expensive for him being in very good health.

[Jill]

Okay, okay, we're going to get rid of this. We're going to get rid of, we're getting rid of advisor. Okay, just going to tell you that right now. Okay, we're going to get to your question. Remember your question mark. Have you gotten, have you forgotten that we're doing an addition for them? But. Okay, let me get to this.

[Marie]

Well, I was looking at both. I was really curious about getting your information.

[Jill]

All right, so your term life insurance, how much is the amount of that?

[Marie]

It's only 250,000.

[Jill]

Okay. And his, what's his face value of his policy?

[Marie]

The same 250.

[Jill]

But his is like some stupid, like universal life or whole life or adjustable life or some nonsense.

[Marie]

I try to figure it out and I couldn't, but I.

[Jill]

Well, you know why? Because you need like, you need to have like a degree in insurance ease. Okay, so that's your life insurance cash value.

[Marie]

Now it's like 3300.

[Jill]

It's a hole that you, you fill up over years and years and years. Okay, when did he buy that policy?

[Marie]

I'm gonna say it's like, it's probably about five or six years.

[Jill]

Okay, good, because we'll admit there's a penalty to get out of it, but we'll get out of it. Okay. Now, any more kids or not?

[Marie]

No.

[Jill]

Done. Okay, so now let's talk about the house.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Jill]

Oh, wait, do you have any investment accounts, like brokerage accounts or anything like that?

[Marie]

No.

[Jill]

Okay. And cash in the account, like just money bank something.

[Marie]

So we have a small, we have a small emergency savings that I just got up to 10,000. It's trying to be left, you know, leaving at some point add to it, but it's in a High yield savings account.

[Jill]

Good.

[Marie]

We have a high yield saving savings account for my daughter. I'm not convinced on the, the retirement. Was it 529?

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Marie]

Yeah, we really are like kind of hoping she goes international.

[Jill]

Okay, so you're light on emergency reserves. Let's talk about the house. What's the house worth?

[Marie]

About 600,000.

[Jill]

Okay. And what is the outstanding mortgage amount?

[Marie]

275.

[Jill]

Oh, great. Okay. And what's the interest rate?

[Marie]

2.5.

[Jill]

Oh, gosh, that is great. Okay, so you're not moving, you're staying where you are?

[Marie]

Nope. We love it here.

[Jill]

Great. How much do we have to spend to get the house in shape so you can, you know, be there forever and not kill each other?

[Marie]

The budget we're looking at right now is 350.

[Jill]

Oh, okay. What do you get for 350 in your area?

[Marie]

We are basically doubling the house.

[Jill]

Oh, okay. That's great. Okay, so how have you found this process? I mean, interest rates are high. So home equity line of credit is that we're talking about or a construction loan? What do we think?

[Marie]

So from what I see, we could only get a little under 200,000 with a traditional helix. So I've been doing, I'm a planner and I had a lot of research and I found a brokerage that's called Renaify and basically they can. They find what's the small banks called that are local.

[Jill]

Like local banks. How about that?

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Savings and loans.

[Marie]

Yes. So they can find a, a small bag that will give you a post renovation value helix.

[Jill]

Oh, okay.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Jill]

I never heard of that. That's interesting.

[Marie]

It's. I've talked to the people a couple times. They're like, it's a, they've created this product and it's for people like us who have this really low interest rate and don't want a construction loan that I'm going to roll my mortgage into and lose that.

[Jill]

Right. I'm going to have to. So when we get off the air, I'm going to give you the name of someone else just to talk through that because I have never heard of this and I'm like nervous. So I don't want to give you like advice like do or not do it. But let's keep talking it through because I want legit.

[Marie]

It's very like, I've done a lot of research on it. Okay. Totally fine with talking to whoever you.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So you. So tell me how, what is the, like, how does this work? It's like essentially they're saying, all right, you're going to have a million dollar house, so your HELOC that will extend to you will be more like 400 grand instead of 200. Is that about right?

[Marie]

Yes.

[Jill]

What's the mechanism working like? So you sign up and they say, okay, you're going to do this. Okay, what is the interest rate?

[Marie]

So I think it's the same as what you would see with mortgages now,

[Jill]

like 7% or six and a half. Seven, whatever. Okay. Okay. And you've run. Because you're. You, you've run the numbers and you can afford that for 400, 350, 400,000. I've only. I always round up a little bit just because these projects tend to cost more. How would this loan work? Is it only you get charged the interest on the amount that you withdraw at a time?

[Marie]

It's just like a traditional helix. Yeah.

[Jill]

Okay, so then that's fine. I don't know. There's probably going to be the. Okay, the cost of it is usually like the origination fee. Right. Which would be based on what? The actual total amount of the home equity line of credit available to you. Right. So the, the, the only reason why I usually say take as much as they'll give you, which, you know, 400 would be great. You don't have to spend it. It's just. But it will cost you more, I think, in the origination fee. So there is that, but it's not that much more. I would do 400, I think, because I think if you go over that, you're going to not be happy anyway because then all of a sudden, like, the cost of it will be too much for you to manage. Then you'll be like, oh, actually we have to like work so much harder in our side hustle income. But if you run the numbers and at the, you know, at 400 grand out or 350 or 400 grand out, plus what you currently have and all your other spending, you're telling me you've run the numbers and it works, right?

[Marie]

It's like, I feel like it's tight.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Marie]

We're not. I'm like, I'm like, it's kind of like that's.

[Jill]

How would you. Okay, so let me ask you something. The way to do this really is to, is to do it all in one shot, right? Like, you can't do it like, oh, let me do 200 and then see how we're doing. And oh no, you gotta do it in one shot. So here's my question. Right now, with your cash flow, how much money are you saving?

[Marie]

It depends. So we get, like, I could do. So we already started paying for things for the house. So we already have an architect.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Marie]

And like, we're paying the fees for the architect. Where that would be normally going into. Could be going into savings.

[Jill]

Okay, but what if you didn't do. If you put the project on ice for a little bit. Yeah. What's your actual cash flow right now?

[Marie]

So our spending is about. I'm going to take out what we've been putting in for, like the renovation and say, yeah, 10,000.

[Jill]

Okay. Okay. So it's 10 grand a month, 120 a year. You have 220 of income. You're putting money into retirement accounts. You're paying for your life. Like, I get all that. So what happens if you don't do this construction, like this year? Like, is it. Is this house livable right now?

[Marie]

Yeah, it is. But it's just when we bought the house, we went, we love the location, we love the yard. Someday soon. Or make the house what we really want it to be.

[Jill]

Okay. Mark, how would you feel if I were going to snuff out Marie's dream and tell her that they actually need to save some of this money for this project to pay for it out of cash flow? Mark, would Marie hang up right now?

[Mark]

She may. How much money do you want them to save?

[Jill]

I don't know, because I'm worried that this. I'm very worried that when you say you're gonna be tight, that there is, like, there's not a lot of extra money right now. There's only 10 grand in that emergency reserve fund. Everything else is retirement. And so I'm a little bit nervous about taking on a project like this without having a little more of a nest egg saved up.

[Mark]

And we don't want you to stop saving for retirement.

[Jill]

Correct?

[Marie]

Correct. That would never happen.

[Jill]

It sounds like I'm not gonna really convince her. Ideally, let me tell you, ideally. And then you can do what you want. Okay. Ide you to have 50 grand that is safe and in your emergency reserve fund before you even start this project. I really would. Now, that said, if you're like, no way, Jill, we're not doing it. Okay, so then what I think I would try to do is if this is a $350,000 project, you would get a $400,000 post renovation HELOC loan.

[Marie]

And.

[Jill]

And you would be very careful about how you dribble the money out and spend the money and at the end of the day, you run the numbers and you're like, it's tight. And so that may be, you know, that might be a time where you say, well, like, we love our house, but we both have to, like, kick up our side hustle income. Like we have. We're. We need another.

[Marie]

Right.

[Jill]

We're just going to have to deal with that because that's the way that we're going to be able to manage all of this, because that.

[Marie]

This year. So that we can bump up like that, that savings number you're talking about.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Marie]

Into the paying for the house.

[Jill]

Yeah. I mean, I just really. I mean, do you have any wealthy relatives who can help you? Yeah, this is. That's my first laugh of this time. This is good. No wealthy parents to help?

[Marie]

Not really, no.

[Jill]

Do they. Are you going to have to take care of any parents or just, we got to worry about your daughter?

[Marie]

I think that they have some things. Are you.

[Jill]

Are you like one of these shy gals who's like, my parents have something, and then we find out your parents have, like, $3 million and they can't be with us?

[Marie]

No, no, no, no.

[Jill]

Shoot, shoot. That's what I wanted.

[Marie]

No, no, no. My. My husband's side is a little more, I don't know, a whole lot of the finance. I know my. My pet family, my parents, we're super lucky and have all our parents.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Marie]

And they're about between 67 and 71. Three out of four are still working, but I don't think it's a huge nest.

[Jill]

Right. It's not like they're sitting on a bunch of money. You could say, can you. I need to borrow 100 grand to start this project?

[Marie]

No. I was kind of wondering if there might be that on my husband's side.

[Jill]

But, yeah, he's. Is he unwilling to ask because he's a wimp?

[Marie]

I think he could ask, and I

[Jill]

think, like, he has to have a sense of this. Like, I'm not going to have him go do this unless he's like, I know my parents have some money. Do you know what I mean? Like, silly.

[Marie]

I would say that we don't know.

[Mark]

This is like the perfect situation where, you know, you'd rather get the inheritance now than later.

[Jill]

Exactly. Right. This is what I mean. We've been talking about this on our other show on Money Moves that, like, if there was going to be some money that's available, now would be the time for him to have that. And. But, like, if he doesn't have that kind of relationship with them and this is gonna be a big deal. Then like, let's not make Thanksgiving uncomfortable.

[Mark]

Like really tell them to write a song about it. Put it in song form.

[Jill]

Yeah, exactly. There's just like sort of like a tenor of a very low melodic build which turns into something that. The very end. He then puts a lyric to Could I please have 100 grand?

[Marie]

That actually was basically his proposal.

[Jill]

Yeah, I like that. That's good. I love that. Okay, so all the facts that you have given us are very interesting. Mark, do you want to go ahead and do this project right now?

[Mark]

I mean, I hate putting someone under the gun like that right now? Life is pretty good. It's pretty comfortable life. There's no real struggle. I hate putting someone under the. Under the gun like this. Going to be a lot of pressure. And I don't like living under pressure.

[Jill]

Well, that's us, right? And I know, I know, Marie, are you and your husband in a place where you feel like you wanna do this and that's it and you're willing to take the risk? There is risk in this plan because as Mark said, you will be living under a certain amount of pressure that you're not under right now. Right. You're very. You got a good situation. If you wanted to delay this for a year or even two years where you could like kind of line things up a little bit better, you, you see that you like your job, maybe you start to make a little bit more money on the side, that would work better. If you are going to do this, you have risk. That's kind of what we're saying. Before you even do this, can you just do a couple of things for me? Cause you guys need to think this through. You both need term life insurance of a lot more money than 250. So he needs to get out of his crap policy and get a million dollars. You both need a million dollars of term life insurance. Don't get rid of yours. Because you could maybe just get 750 for you. I'm not so worried about your retirement, by the way. I'm just, this is all like in general, I'm just sort of saying your cash flow right now is what's at risk. So anyway, let me get back to the term. So a million dollars of term life insurance, you know, 20 year term life insurance that gets you to. Your kid is through college, all good. The current policy he has, you probably are just going to blow out of. You probably should just get rid of this financial advisor. I Think that it would make sense for you guys to probably take all of my old retirement money, roll it into one account, and I would do it at either, like, a Fidelity or a Schwab, where I could roll it all in and get a little financial planning on the side. Because you'll be able to get that. Cause you'll have enough money in one place. Place. They have these different robo advisors that are available, and they might be able to play with some of these numbers. If you didn't do this big project, your. Your life is awesome, right? You're, like, on track. He's going to have a good pension. You got the game plan with your daughter getting through school, you know, it's all good. This project is a huge undertaking, and it's a huge financial undertaking. And if you guys decide to do it, I do think it's probably worth it to have a conversation with his family if they have some money to see if there's, like, a backstop. If, like, the crap hits the fan. I want there to be a backstop somewhere. And if that's the backstop, that's great. I'm fine with that. But otherwise, we are cautious on your behalf. How about that? Are you also cautious?

[Marie]

So I think yes, to a point. Because what it is, is that we still want to live and still do our. What we do. And I think instead of, like, having this nest egg, we kind of go from, like, experience to experience. Like, we had a big financial hit where we all went to the Olympics.

[Jill]

I love that. I love that, though. That's cool.

[Marie]

That was, like, really big. It was really. That was. That was quite a, like, financial. So if I would have saved that money, we would have saved savings or. Yeah, we didn't do this addition. We would have savings, but we wouldn't be happy. Like, it's okay.

[Jill]

I'm with you. I'm with you, sister. Like, I am mislive for the moment, too. I just want you to know I'm okay with that. As long as you understand the risk. That's. That's really where I live. Okay. That I want you is I try to help. I mean, Mark and I. You've listened to the show long enough where we're like, spend your money while you have it. Do the things you want to do. We. We just want to make sure you're not biting off something that puts you in a bad situation. That's really. That's all that we're trying to point out. It does not mean that you can't do it. Maybe you're going to do it and it's going to be amazing and Mark and I are going to come visit. It's going to be fantastic. But I would be remiss if I did not actually get you to a place to understand that there is risk in this decision. Okay? That's all, that's all I'm saying. And again, it might work out great. It probably will. I mean, half the time I give this kind of advice, I'm thinking to myself, I'm such a buzzkill. But it's not really that I do, like, you're close, that's all. And again, if your in laws were like, hey, you know what, here's 100 grand, get started, I would feel a lot better about it if you know what I mean? Like if all of a sudden it was like, hey, you know What? We got 100 grand, we can save 50 and now we can do a traditional HELOC and we're good. Like, I'd feel a little better about that, right? There's a reason why some of these rules exist in terms of like, I know this is a different product, that's new, but there are real rules that exist to kind of keep people out of trouble. And that's what I want to make sure you guys do. But again, if you are in it and you're doing it, I just want you to understand, like, we're going in. Eyes open. Jill. Also, before I do my last thing about. So let me just not end on a total downer. Let's talk about, have you done your estate planning? See, I mentioned death even in the middle of a construction project.

[Marie]

So I, I was actually waiting to talk to you about what to do. To do that. I was, could have done it literally in the last week or two, but I was like, let me just, let's

[Jill]

just talk to Jill and Mark. What do we got? You need to get a will, a power of attorney and a healthcare proxy. That's what you need. Now most of your assets are pass. Would pass by contract, right? Your retirement assets, but a house would not. And you have a kid. So who's like, if you and your husband are like doing something together and something bad happened, where does a kid go? That's your biggest decision? Mark, are you willing to take Marie's seven year old daughter? It'd be so nice. Perfect age for Theo.

[Mark]

Yeah, I have my own 7 year old. I'm good.

[Jill]

You're good? You're all set. You got one. One is enough. Okay, so that's the decision you need to make.

[Marie]

All right.

[Jill]

How are you feeling? Okay. Marie? Sure. No, not too much. I'm such a. What did you think was gonna happen in this call?

[Marie]

I thought we might talk about like, like the numbers of, of what we'd be looking at that we would need to be paying monthly if we did.

[Jill]

Yeah, we're not gonna do that.

[Marie]

Okay.

[Jill]

We're not gonna do that because I'm not sure, like, okay, the numbers. I mean, like, you, you don't need me to do that. You are going to be able to run those numbers. You're a spreadsheet queen, right? You're going to be able to say, okay, 350,000 at 6.5 or 7% is going to add. You know, Mark, you want to run it 600 home equity line of credit is interest only, but let's run it as if it were. Let's look at a 350,000 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 7%, mark.

[Mark]

It's about $2,300.

[Jill]

So an extra 20 $300 a month on your cash flow.

[Marie]

That's what I was. I had 2200.

[Jill]

So they look at that. Okay, so, you know, you could afford it. Sure, right. You know you can, but you can see how it's kind of skinny. It gets you. It's close. And the reason why I'm telling you to do it as 2300 as a fixed rate is that oftentimes a home equity line of credit is an interest only. But then you'll have it forever.

[Marie]

Right?

[Jill]

Right. So you don't want that forever. We want that paid off. So, you know, for you guys having, you know, to clear 27 or 28 grand, which is what we're talking about, right, you need to earn about 45 ish. So you can see how your cash flow is going to just sort of get dwindled away. And so if you make 220 and you're, you know, you're currently spending a certain amount, now we're adding another 2,300. It's a lot. And so it's, again, I think it's doable, but I don't think it's a slam dunk. That's all.

[Marie]

That's basically where I started.

[Jill]

Okay, that's good. So that's good. Then we're on the same page. So that's, that's what I would say. And I. And you're going to get your estate documents done, you're going to get term life insurance. Just go online, go to, you know, our one of our sponsors policy genius or somebody go get that and then fire that guy and we'll get that. Get out of that old whole life policy. All right, well listen, good luck to you and we wish you all the best and stay in touch. And if you are like Marie and her husband, then you're looking at a new big project and you want to know whether or not it can work. I can sometimes be a dream maker and sometimes a dream crusher. It just depends. Please go to jillonmoney.com I feel bad about Marie. I want it to be like perfect, but it's not quite there yet. Anyway, go to jillonmoney.com Click the Contact Us button, write us a note and if you want to come on the air, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Don't forget you can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcast. You could leave us a rating and review. Wherever you listen, of course. Lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you tomorrow. When a child faces a serious medical challenge, a children's hospital quickly becomes a family's entire world. Whether they're helping a child recover from a sudden injury or helping them manage a long term condition, these hospitals provide an irreplaceable community resource. Children's Miracle Network is dedicated to supporting this specialized care by securing the crucial funds these medical centers depend on daily. Children's Miracle Network is a leading charity impacting the health of all kids. They raise funds for 170 children's hospitals across the United States and Canada, protecting healthcare access for millions of families. Their fundraising network brings together corporate partners, local grassroots programs, and everyday donors like you and me. Your donation directly empowers your hometown hospital to use those resources exactly where they are needed most. Wherever you see the Children's Miracle Network balloon, you're helping a local child receive care. Visit cmn.org today to learn more and make a donation to your local children's hospital.

[Mark]

Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker. Here's what I've learned in midlife. Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what this new series on for the Love is all about. The sacred yes. It's choosing delight, rest and pleasure on purpose. Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else. Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to for the Love. Wherever you get your podcasts.