What Does It Mean To Get Our Finances Back On Track?

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Goal: Get our finances back on track. Yep, that’s the goal, but what does that really mean? The thing I talk about most frequently is the $109,000 in credit card debt that my wife and I are paying off through the help of a debt management plan. While it is the biggest and most visible item, it’s not the only thing that needs to be done to repair the damage done by the thirteen years of over spending that left us at the edge of financial disaster. It’s completion, however, will unlock our ability to finally put into place the […] Read more »

Debt Collectors Harassing You?- Here’s What You Can Do

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debt collectors harassing

Dealing with overdue debt stinks. Dealing with a debt collector harassing you can be just plain scary. When you have debt that’s gone bad and been placed in a collection agency, it very easy to avoid the situation or even completely ignore it when you feel like there is no way you’ll be able to pay it. That’s why some debt collectors will resort to whatever it takes get your attention, even if it’s illegal.   Some Debt Collectors Do Crazy Things Most debt collection agencies are very professional and do their best to follow the rules on debt collection […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 1/17

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It’s been a rather exciting week in the Pizel household. First,  we closed on our mortgage refinance last Friday and now have our mortgage nicely wrapped up in one fixed rate loan.  More on that adventure in an upcoming staff post bia My Personal Finance Journey.  Watch my twitter feed for when it goes live, or check here in next week’s Shameless Self Promotion section.  🙂 This was the first full week implementing the home grown weight loss plan I cooked up using lessons learned from getting our finances back on track.  As per the info in the newly renamed […] Read more »

What We Learned About Finances Will Help us Lose Weight

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I’m not doing very well with my weight loss goal. As of last Friday, after over three months of effort I’ve lost a total of 1.1 pounds. I know the problem is that I struggle with eating too much. With the start of a new year, Vonnie also has made a commitment to be more healthy. We investigated several weight loss programs including Weight Watchers, which we have been a part of in the past and were very successful. We were literally putting our coats and shoes on to drive to a nearby center and enroll again when something stopped […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 1/10

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Vonnie and I are refinancing our mortgage, and we close today!  The interesting thing is, given how the process works we skip our January mortgage payment. With that extra cash, we may have the ability to finish off our debt management program at the end of January instead of a month later.  The downside is that it could take some serious penny pinching and all of our reserves.  We’re not sure what path we’re going to take yet,  but stay tuned here on EOD for how this developing scenario unfolds. 🙂 Now, let’s get those fists pumping! Posts That Make […] Read more »

How Much Do Your Teeth Cost You Each Year?

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One of the foundations of handling your finances successfully is to know where all your money goes, and what you spend it on. Our family just went through our beginning of the year round of teeth cleanings and checkups and as I sat in the chair wondering why it’s so freaking hard for the hygienist to prevent herself from poking me in the gums repeatedly (I HATE that), I also wondered just how much the maintenance of my our teeth costs us for a calendar year. So when I got home, I broke it down: Cleanings: Our family of four […] Read more »

I Don’t Want To Pay Off My Debt Anymore!

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Today’s post is courtesy of John Schmoll, who is the founder of Frugal Rules, a blog created to help people experience financial freedom through frugality. John is passionate about budgeting, saving and investing and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with others so they can avoid making some of the mistakes that he made. A veteran of the financial services industry, John has an MBA in Finance and experience as a licensed stockbroker. Now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you that I’m not thinking of giving up on paying off my debt. 🙂 Instead, I’m expressing the […] Read more »

Before You Start To Pay Off Debt….Do THIS

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The comment reminded me of myself four and a half years ago. A reader of a post featuring my get out of debt story asked for insight regarding how I handled unexpected expenses during my debt pay-off period. I’d like to say that I had done everything perfectly during my four and a half year quest to eliminate $109,000 of credit card debt, but there were plenty of bumps along the way. If I had to single out one thing as my biggest mistake, it would be not having an emergency fund in place from the very start. The importance […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 1/3

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I didn’t lose any weight this week, but I didn’t gain either.  Not bad for a week that featured New Year’s Eve AND my 40th birthday. I have some added incentive and motivation now, however.  I’ve teamed up with another blogger in a bit of a weight loss competition.  He’s going to announce on his blog tomorrow, so I’ll let him go first – then I’ll give more details next week and we’ll do some cross linking.  I’m sure you’ll all cheer me on to victory! Time to get down to our Friday business.  The new year is off to […] Read more »

How to pay $2,048 in debt before Thanksgiving by doubling-down

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Would you be interested in knowing how to pay off $2,048 in debt? We all know having a budget is important, but budgeting doesn’t work unless you do. That is why motivation, encouragement, and a vision to succeed is required when putting on the uniform as an Enemy Of Debt. Follow these three ideas to pay $2,048 in debt before carving your next Thanksgiving turkey.   The power of a post-it note Write your most urgent goal on a post-it note and stick it to your bathroom mirror. It doesn’t have to be prolific and it doesn’t have to be […] Read more »

My New Decade Resolution: Paying Off My Mortgage Early

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As another year comes to a close, people will reflect upon their successes and failures of the past year. They will also look forward to 2014 and set goals for what they hope to accomplish in the new year. Having turned 40 over the weekend, I’m taking a bigger picture approach. I started reflecting on my life in terms of decades. I spent my entire twenties and half of my thirties being financially irresponsible racking up $109,000 of credit card debt. The second half of my thirties was spent recovering, paying off that debt through the help of a debt […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/27

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Well, it’s finally arrived.  Tomorrow is my birthday. My 40th birthday. The 40th birthday is traditionally when a person gets all that “over the hill” bullshit.  The thing is, I don’t feel old.  I’m in great physical shape, I like to have my fun, AND we’re just over two months away from being done with our debt management program.  My 40th year on earth will be a new beginning, a new chapter of my life free from the shackles of debt and poor spending habits. For me, life really does begin at 40. Now, let’s get down to business.  Get […] Read more »

Why Cash Only Weekend Spending ROCKS!

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Hearing colorful language coming from our home office, my wife stormed in to find out what was going on. I was reconciling our checking account, and even though it had only been a few days since I had last done it, I couldn’t make the numbers come out right. Between Christmas shopping, and being out of town for extended family gatherings quite a few transactions had posted, and I was obviously making a mistake somewhere. The arithmetic error was quickly found and fixed, but in the process I found something that could not be corrected as easily. We had spent […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/20

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We’re leaving town for the weekend for our usual holiday tour of Minnesota, but will be back home for Christmas Eve and Day.  We’re getting together with our neighbors for Christmas Eve dinner, and have planned something special.  We’re all chipping in and having prime rib and king crab legs.   I’ve never made prime rib, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.  It’s going to cost each family a bit of funds, but it’s going to be an awesome meal, and Christmas Eve is  a special occasion.  This is the sort of splurging that I can get into. The only […] Read more »