Hi there Mustachians,
I have a sister and brother-in-law whom I adore, but who just can't seem to get on top of things financially. They have 4 kids (ages 10, 7, 5, and 2), live in a 4 bdrm/2 bath house (worth $180k, payment is ~$950/month), and they have virtually no net worth.
Sister met BIL as he was finishing a master's in TESOL (he got his undergrad in Chinese), and he spent 3 years overseas teaching English, where they pretty much broke even. Wanting to be able to support a big family, he went to law school, racked up $225k (borrowed from my parents), and has taken the bar at least 3 times and failed (just found out about failing the bar this last July a few days ago). BIL is smart, but has never been a great test taker. He is totally heartbroken.
When he failed the bar the first time, he lost his post-grad law job and has been selling insurance (particularly whole life) ever since (for the last 3+ years). The pay is poor and extremely variable--often not enough to make ends meet. I'm not surprised, though, since I don't believe in whole life insurance at all. He is turning 40 this year, and my sis is turning 36, but in the thick of being a mom (she doesn't have a very marketable set of skills other than teaching piano).
I HATE to see them suffer like this. They are the kind of people that will give you the shirt off of their backs, so it sucks to see them hurting/stressed so much financially.
What would you guys do? Retake the bar in a few months? It would be a shame to "waste" that law school degree, but it also takes a whole lot of time to study that could be put to more productive ends. Anyone else been through this?