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Now I'm in the same boat. My husband is partially disabled, and I am the primary breadwinner. I am doing well, but I do have to put money aside to pay the contribution for our health plan. I can't bring myself to take it out of my savings, so I opened a special savings account. Every time I go to the doctor's and acquire an obligation, I put $8 or $10 into that account. I just can't bear the idea of taking the money out of regular savings in one lump sum. Is there a better way? — Reader, via e-mail DEAR READER: You are doing what a century ago might have been called "coffee-can economics." People had a bunch of coffee cans on the shelf, and they would put in a quarter for the heating bill, 50 cents for the rent, etc. When the bill came due, the amount of money would be in the coffee can. In today's more complex world, I'm not sure what you are doing is really necessary. But if it works for you, what difference does it make? It sounds to me like you have a good handle on things, and if "coffee-can" economics makes you comfortable, go for it. Advertisement DEAR BRUCE: I'm almost 41. If I put $4,000 into a Roth IRA every year for the next 25 years, would you be able to give me a ballpark figure on how much we would have for retirement or a formula so that we can figure it out? — M.B., via e-mail DEAR M.B.: It is difficult to forecast how quickly your money will grow given the fact we don't know the rate of return. What you can do for each year is to divide whatever rate of return you think you're going to receive — 6 percent, 8 percent, 12 percent and so on — into 72. This will tell you how many years it will take for those dollars to double. You can do this each year for not only the former deposits but the current deposits and, at the end of your calculation, you will have some idea what you will have. Understand the more optimistic you are with the interest rate, the higher the number will be. If performance does not meet your expectations, then, of course, the number will drop dramatically. At very best, this is only a guesstimate and should be treated as such. DEAR BRUCE: I need a new car. I just don't have the cash to buy one. I recently refinanced my house at 6.75 percent for $55,000. The house is worth about $280,000. I'd get a home-equity loan or a car loan and sell off some stock, but I prefer to hang onto it as it is undervalued. I could also refinance the house, but I would have to pay closing costs again. Is there anything, other than comparing interest rates, I should take into account? Some car ads say 0 percent interest rates for the first six months, but I can't be sure I could pay off the loan in that short period of time. — K.C., via e-mail DEAR K.C.: Taking a look at those 0 percent interest loans, you should be aware that the majority of people who go and apply for one walk out having done it a different way. If you pay cash for a car, you may get a rebate up to as much as $4,000, which is essentially the amount you have forgiven in interest given a 0 percent rate. In other words, there is no free lunch. If you feel that the interest deductibility is significant in your case, by all means consider a home-equity loan since that is a loan on the property and, unlike the automobile loan, is still deductible. Your goal is to have the least amount of money leaving your pocket. That could be a cash sale of securities, direct loan from a finance company or the home-equity loan. You have to put a pencil to the arithmetic; there are no shortcuts that I know of. Send your questions to: Smart Money, P.O. Box 503, Elfers, FL, 34680. E-mail to: [email protected]. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. 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