Every person out there has different income levels, different debt levels, different retirement accounts at work, different stress levels, different risk tolerances, and so on. All those issues matter.Thats why its personal finance.

Lets look at two people, Bob and Charlotte. Each of them has only one outstanding debt, a $100,000 mortgage with a 3.75% interest rate that has 28 years to go.

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

Bob is single and doesnt enjoy dating, so he plans on remaining single for the rest of his life. He wants to retire early so he can get involved with managing the local food pantry, where he works part time right now. He is fully funding a Roth IRA and contributing 20% a year to his 401(k), but he still has extra money each month because he lives simply. He doesnt really enjoy taking risks and he strongly desires having debt freedom as a personal goal as soon as possible.

Charlotte is married with four children. She and her husband love to go on family trips and plan to keep on traveling as long as they are both healthy.She contributes some to retirement enough to get her employers match but she intends to stick with her wonderful career until she cant do the work any more. Charlotte was thrilled to get a mortgage with such a low rate because it meant she has a bit of extra money free to help her children enjoy extracurricular activities and help her parents out as they struggle with retirement. Charlottes biggest focus in life is bringing up her children well.

Bob and Charlotte are facing the same debt situation, but are living very different lives. If I were giving these two people advice, Id tell Bob to pay down his mortgage quickly and tell Charlotte to make minimum payments for now.

Personal finance is rarely black and white. Every person out there has different income levels, different debt levels, different retirement accounts at work, different stress levels, different risk tolerances, different personal and professional goals, different levels of family support, and so on.

All of those issues matter. Thats why its personal finance.

Right now, in my life, I am closer to Charlottes situation. We have similar goals in that we want to raise our children well, and we both have multiple children and a spouse. However, I dont really enjoy travel all that much and feel more like Bob when it comes to retirement in that Id rather be careful with my money now and retire a bit earlier.

My closest friends are either single or married without kids. They have different income levels, different goals, and different risk tolerances. Some of them are like Bob. Others are like Charlotte. Most of them really arent like either one of them. Every time I talk with my friends about money, Im fascinated to find how everyone is doing something different, but everyone has sensible reasons for doing what theyre doing.

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Personal finance: It's rarely black and white