Budgeting the Costs of Raising a Special Needs Child

about episode 232:

September 16, 2021

25 Likes
3 Comments
583 Views

Karen grew up in a small town to a middle-class family. She was a first-generation college graduate and worked throughout high school and college. She later took a job and began consulting in the tech world, which offered her a respectable salary. She got married and had two kids with her husband, but shortly after, her husband was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Not only that, her son was diagnosed with autism.

Karen grew up in a small town to a middle-class family. She was a first-generation college graduate and worked throughout high school and college. She later took a job and began consulting in the tech world, which offered her a respectable salary. She got married and had two kids with her husband, but shortly after, her husband was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Not only that, her son was diagnosed with autism.

Want More BiggerPockets Money?

The cost of raising a special needs child can largely vary when compared to those of an non-disabled child. Therapies, prescriptions, and special fittings for your house and car can be expensive, especially when you have a spouse who recently found themselves out of work. This type of story is one that Karen Ferrero is very familiar with.

Karen grew up in a small town to a middle-class family. She was a first-generation college graduate and worked throughout high school and college. She later took a job and began consulting in the tech world, which offered her a respectable salary. She got married and had two kids with her husband, but shortly after, her husband was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Not only that, her son was diagnosed with autism.

Now, Karen had to sell her house, find a new accessible one, take her son to therapy every day, and continue working her full-time job. This put her in a sizable debt hole, but through strategic debt payoff and intelligent investing, Karen has come out on top. She still has a very high-paying job, a loving family and some very, very profitable investment accounts for her children that she started decades ago.

~~~~
Join the BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bpmoney
~~~~
Get Tickets to BPCon 2021:
https://www.bpcon2021.com/
~~~~
Get in Contact with Karen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kferrero/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenferrero
~~~~
Navicore Debt Solutions:
https://navicoresolutions.org/
~~~~
BiggerPockets Interview with Chris Voss:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-podcast-260-ultimate-guide-negotiating-with-fbi-hostage-negotiator-chris-voss
~~~~
How to pay down BAD debt 👇
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/pay-off-debt-fast
~~~~
Follow Scott and Mindy on Instagram:
@scott_trench or https://www.instagram.com/scott_trench/
@mindyatbp or https://www.instagram.com/mindyatbp/

Episode 232

Show notes at: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow233
0:00 Intro
3:25 Karen’s Start with Money
6:17 Early Career Milestones
10:37 Unfortunate Circumstances Leading to BIG Changes
14:07 On the Brink of Bankruptcy
23:26 Advice to Her Younger Self
31:34 The Benefit of Insurance
33:17 After Paying Off the Debt
40:46 Why Use a Trust?
44:11 Costs Associated with Special Needs
53:45 Famous Four
57:55 Reviewing Many Financial Curveballs