Habits Save Her From Stress of Debt

February 28, 2008
BY AMY BALDWIN
The Charlotte Observer

Lynette White is not a rich woman, but people trying to build wealth could learn a valuable lesson from her.

She's a saver.

She sacrificed and set goals and saved up some money to buy her first house in 2002 in northwest Charlotte. White, 45, doesn't shop on credit. She owns everything inside her house. She's still saving -- for short-term and longer-term wants and needs. Her success was mentioned at a recent Charlotte Saves luncheon. The nonprofit agency helped White get started saving.

"I just believe in saving for what I want and not having any stress (from debts)," she said. White said that every day her job as a case worker assistant at Crisis Assistance Ministry reinforces in her mind the need to to do whatever you can to take care of yourself and pay your bills. Crisis Assistance helps people in financial crisis become more self sufficient.

"We're accountable to our own actions," she said. "You never know when something in your house is going to break -- or your car."

White said she often talks to her four sons -- two of them still at home -- about the value of saving money, paying bills on time and building good credit.

Given the sluggish economic landscape, more Americans could use some of White's discipline and a little cushion, some funds to tap when their car breaks down or their work hours are cut.

But in a nation that runs on instant material gratification, where consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, many Americans burn through what they make and then some. There is little to no extra cash to tap when times are tough. The Commerce Department reported in January that the personal savings rate for December accounted for 0.2 percent of disposable income. And that was an improvement from a savings rate that was slightly negative in November.

How does White tackle saving?

For starters, she said she lives within her means. She doesn't go out to eat much. She takes her lunch to work. She shops sales and coupons. She recently was saving a little extra to buy new cookware, which she won't get until she has the $0 and there's a sale.

White has two credit cards but said she uses them only for true emergencies -- like if her car needs new tires -- and then pays them off immediately.

She also socks away a set dollar amount -- she won't say how much -- from each paycheck into her savings account. And since her employer introduced a 401(k) plan late last year, White has been saving a percentage -- again, she's private about how much -- into an account for her retirement.

Asked how much she has saved for that, White said just this, "I am comfortable. I can say that."

Amy Baldwin is a columnist for The Charlotte Observer.  Email her at: abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com.

Copyright 2008, Charlotte Observer.