Who Says You Can’t Rock a Tool Belt with Heels?

Written by on · 14 Comments
Tool belt and heels

When it comes to home repairs or pulling off DIY projects, it’s the ladies in my family rocking the tool belt.  Despite being a card carrying Daddy’s girl, I did not grow up with the kind of father who owned lots of power tools or worked around the house fixing things each weekend.  However, I do have a mother who currently owns a band saw and thinks instructions manuals are for babies. I am a hardcore DIY’er.  I have a list longer than the square footage of my house full of home improvement projects. My loving and supportive (and manly, [...] Read more »

The Winds Of Debt Only Blow In One Direction

Written by on · 13 Comments
Wind

A windy day was in the forecast with gusts up to 40mph. I didn’t care, I was going for my run. The wind smacked me in the face almost immediately as I started off down the street. I tucked my head down, turned the volume up on my iPod, and cut through the wind for the first half of my run. Every step was a struggle, the end of each block a victory. I was grateful when I reached that familiar street corner that represented the half way point of my run. I smiled as I turned the corner, knowing [...] Read more »

Encouragement is a Key to Personal Financial Success

Written by on · 4 Comments

Where do our lessons in personal finance come from, I mean, besides the school of hard knocks? Did someone show us how to balance a checkbook or properly use a credit card? Did we have a teacher or mentor, or did we learn mostly by example? However we learned about handling money in a responsible manner, I'd be willing to bet that encouragement played an important role. Encouragement is important in just about everything we do. Without it, we're less likely to maintain interest and be successful. So, encouragement in the personal finance arena is especially important. Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 05/10

Written by on · 16 Comments

My son Tristan is getting confirmed in two weeks, so Vonnie and I are dedicating this weekend to a full out cleaning blitz.  I’m actually excited about it because our home could use a good top to bottom cleaning.    It may sound strange for me to be excited about cleaning, but you have to remember I’m a guy that obsessively straightens the shoes by the front door when we have guests over.  Having a picked up, neat and tidy, clean home just puts my state of being into a peaceful place. With all that cleaning going on, we won’t be [...] Read more »

Buying a Home- Is it a Good Investment?

Written by on · 8 Comments
Buying a Home Is it a Good Investment

Most people have been told at some point that buying a home is a good investment.  We’ve heard from our parents, the media, relatives, and real estate pros that buying a house is a good investment that will help you to secure your financial future. We’re told that investing in a home that appreciates over time will help you secure your golden years by paying it off in your younger years and leaving you without a house payment when your older.  It also provides you with a large chunk of money once you sell it and downsize to a smaller [...] Read more »

I’m NOT Paying More Than You Quoted Me!

Written by on · 36 Comments
Tori

Saturday was a day that my daughter has been looking forward to all school year. It was picture day for her dance class, and Tori and two of her closest friends were very excited to finally put on this year’s dance recital costume.  In the past we have made this day a special event by getting her hair done, and letting her put on a little bit of makeup. Most years we’ve paid to have her hair done, but the price to do that can be quite expensive even for a young girl. Vonnie had called around to get the [...] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 05/03

Written by on · 14 Comments

It’s been a crazy weather week here in Minnesota.  On Tuesday we were outside in shorts and t-shirts enjoying 75 degree weather at my son’s baseball practice.  Yesterday I had to throw on my winter jacket and boots to shovel 13.5 inches of snow that got dumped on us from the largest snow storm ever to hit Minnesota in May. On the financial front,  my freelancing income got a boost in April as I picked a few new pieces of work.   Extra income is always good, and provides some additional breathing room in our financial picture! Time to give out [...] Read more »

Be Honest with Yourself First

Written by on · 5 Comments
The truth can hurt, but it can also help!

“The lies we tell other people are nothing to the lies we tell ourselves.” ― Derek Landy Self-deception is nothing new for human beings. Researchers have been studying why we lie for decades and the reasons run the gamut from self-preservation to biological imperative. Lying to yourself can be a useful tool if you are attempting to overcome a psychological obstacle or maybe psyching yourself into a stronger performance. Where things seem to take negative turn is when you lie to escape accountability or hide serious issues from yourself. Personal finance is one area where people seem to lie to themselves [...] Read more »

My Wife Doesn’t Stop…..Until She Gets What She Wants

Written by on · 24 Comments
Phone

When my wife gets her mind set on a mission, her tenacity at achieving a goal is unparalleled.  This is true in every facet of life, including those times when she feels that she has been overcharged, or not getting what was promised to her. I got to see my fiery wife in action again this weekend. Back in our free spending days we had a subscription to Sirius/XM radio. We had purchased a detachable faceplate unit that fit into a mounting plate in our car, or on a portable radio that we commonly use outside. The $15 a month [...] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 04/26

Written by on · 5 Comments

Our finances feel very strange at the moment.  We’re 4 days from payday, and we’re not trying to stretch every dollar trying to make it until the next infusion of income – which was the standard method of operation for so many years.    We have our budgeted amounts for groceries, gas, and allowance for the kids plus our own weekend entertainment fund.  Did I mention we have a baby emergency fund too?   That’s the power of sitting down and having twice a week budget discussions with Vonnie, making a detailed spending plan, and most importantly actually sticking to it. I [...] Read more »

In Finances, Fitness and Life, Together We Stand, Divided We Fail

Written by on · 20 Comments
teamwork

Over the weekend Vonnie and I watched the movie “This is 40″ with a group of friends.   I won’t give away many of the details of the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet, but the plot revolves around the fact that the two main characters are about to reach that milestone age of 40. The movie focuses on the changes that go on in people’s lives as they move into middle age, and their reaction to those changes.  I cannot confirm or deny that both Vonnie and I may or may not be reaching this milestone age [...] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 04/19

Written by on · 12 Comments

Uffda, it’s been a busy week!  For those of you not familiar with “uffda” it’s a Norwegian phrase, but I think you get the idea of what it means and it sums up my week pretty darned well.  One of the very cool things that happened this week was that I increased my flat bench press maximum weight during my strength training routines…..twice. That never happens.  Never. On Monday, I lifted 275lbs for the first time.  Yesterday I pushed 280.  I was super excited as this  is by far the strongest I’ve ever been.  I literally leaped off the bench [...] Read more »

Personal Finance Fortifies my Faith in Humanity

Written by on · 11 Comments
I know what humanity is capable of

As a nation we were just rocked by yet another senseless and heartbreaking tragedy. Monday’s bombing in Boston left most of us shaken and emotionally bereft. Acts of domestic terrorism are becoming increasingly common for this country. This latest terrible event has left many of us with a diminished sense of security and a lingering question about the state of humanity. I too feel angry and along with that anger, a deep sadness for the changes that will come as a result of yet another violent act. BUT…I have not lost my faith in humanity, not yet. I see daily [...] Read more »

Online Coupon Sites That Will Save You Money

Written by on · 6 Comments
Coupon

Over the last few months I’ve been making an effort to use coupons to help save on groceries, household items, and other essentials of life. It’s obviously one of those things that you get out of it as much as you put into it. It takes time to dig through the local ads as well as websites to find coupons that match the products that my family actually uses. Through my quest for using coupons experience (say that fast 10 times!) I’ve found a handful of websites on which I have been able to find useful coupons that can genuinely [...] Read more »