Change | Enemy of Debt: Where Behavior Meets Reality

P90X Your Finances this Year

Written by Suzanne Cramer on January 5, 2012 · 5 Comments

Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you have heard of the P90X workout system and its charismatic fitness guru, Tony Horton. On January 1, 2012 I started the P90X system and have embraced both the diet and exercise requirements, hoping to take my health and fitness to the next level. I don’t know about all of you but I need a regimented diet and exercise plan to have any chance of staying on track. In fact last year I completely fell off the wagon and gained 30 pounds! I made 2 resolutions for 2012: Get healthy [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Behavior, budget, Change, debt, determination, financial planning, pay off debt, personal finance, saving money, savings

Changing My Money Mind in 2012

Written by Suzanne Cramer on December 22, 2011 · 10 Comments

It’s that time of year when we all vow to change our ways and resolve to go on a diet, quit smoking, or get out of debt. How many of us actually have a plan in place to make our resolutions a reality? Unfortunately most of us don’t and this is why we are doomed to fail before we even start. Yes, money is necessary to support our lifestyle, but do we let it determine how we live our lives? The fact is many of us do. We allow ourselves to live up to or above our means which often [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Behavior, budget, Change, credit cards, Debt Elimination, Emergencies, goals, pay off debt, personal finance, saving money

To Be or Not To Be…That is the Question

Written by Suzanne Cramer on November 24, 2011 · 2 Comments

Thankful that is…today is Thanksgiving a time to spend with loved ones and reflect on what you are thankful for. It has been a tough year for my family and some days I didn’t feel so thankful, but today I have a renewed attitude of thankfulness and realize just how lucky I am to have my health, my family, and the support of communities like this one. Unexpected Gifts of Thanks Sometimes we are dealt a bad hand and just need to make the best of less than perfect situations. Divorce. On April 5th of this year my divorce was [...] Read more »

Tags: budget, Change, debt, Debt free, determination, Economy, goals, pay off debt, personal finance, savings

Should you “Occupy Wall Street”?

Written by Paul Puckett on October 11, 2011 · 14 Comments

You may be aware of a growing social protest movement that began on Wall Street a few weeks ago. According to their website: “Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.” And now this protest is metastasizing and spreading to 25 [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Change, Economy, Investing, Personal Responsibility, Priorities

Eliminating Debt is Like Fixing a Car – Persistence Pays Off!

Written by Travis on October 6, 2011 · 13 Comments

I hate cars. Let me be more specific: I hate the fact that I know very little about cars. So little in fact that someone could completely make something up, I’d believe it was a real problem, and pay through the nose to fix it. So, when the check engine light began to blink on and off in my car while it felt like it was about to stall, I knew that I was the one that was in for a ride. I wrote a previous post in the CareOne community about the problems we’ve been having with the car, [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, Debt Elimination, Personal Responsibility

Don’t Stink. Budget!

Written by Travis on September 8, 2011 · 11 Comments

If you’re a regular reader of Our Journey to Zero, you know I’ve been on a serious fitness kick now for over 8 months. Getting in shape is all about getting in the habit of exercising. Now that I’m in the habit of exercising, it feels wrong to not work out every day. It just feels like something is missing. Recently I skipped two days in a row for probably the first time this year. I was downright cranky. There are a lot of people who want to get in shape and lose weight. So why don’t they? They say [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Budgeting, Change, life

An Idiots Guide to Investing

Written by Paul Puckett on September 6, 2011 · 1 Comment

“You’re an idiot!” She said this to me in response to overhearing me discuss the theme of my book, Investiphobia: Overcome Your Deepest Investment Fears with a friend on the deck at Starbucks. At least she waited until my friend was gone to make her observation. So, I asked her why she believes I am an “idiot” and had a reasonable discussion despite her comment. Surprisingly, she based her conclusion on two observations she made relating to the purpose of my book and it’s message. She said if my purpose is to help people overcome and eliminate their fears, I’m [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, Investing, money, personal finance

Lessons for Investors from Irene

Written by Paul Puckett on August 30, 2011 · 3 Comments

Millions of Americans were affected by Irene, whether it was a hurricane or a tropical storm. The debate, for many, seems to center on whether reporters and forecasters “over-hyped” the strength of the storm as it approached the East Coast. The answers to that debate are not relevant but there is one lesson we can learn from the experience of forecasters as they plotted the probable track and strength of Irene. At a very basic level, there are two parts to forecasting hurricanes. The first is performed by computers and this generates a variety of possible tracks and levels of [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Change, determination, Emergencies, hurricane irene, Investing, money, personal finance, Priorities

Book Excerpt – Investiphobia: Overcome Your Deepest Investment Fears

Written by Paul Puckett on August 16, 2011 · Leave a Comment

The Fear of Thinking Long-Term “When you obsess over how your investment is doing from day-to-day or week-to-week, you could be more tempted to tinker with it instead of sticking to your long-term diversified plan. Not to mention, you’ll probably lose sleep.” Erin Burt, Kiplinger.com, March 13, 2008 “Asset allocation, not stock-picking, not sector funds, not guessing the direction of the Dow Jones averages, is the key to financial success.” Jim Cramer, Intro to The Little Book that Saves Your Assets, by David Darst One of the most popular investment shows on TV is the Jim Cramer show, Mad [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, Investing, life, Money Management, personal finance

Changing Your Behavior Requires A Paradigm Shift

Written by Brad Chaffee on September 2, 2009 · 5 Comments

What Is A Paradigm Shift? As defined, is ¹) a fundamental change in approach or assumptions, and ²) the acceptance by a majority of a changed belief, attitude, or way of doing things. What if your way of thinking changed completely? Would your behaviors change as well? People are afraid of change, but change for the better should be nothing to fear! Change is growth and maturity, because if you are not changing you are not learning. Learn to change and you will be amazed at what you can do! Become a butterfly! Check out these four articles from four [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, frugal dad, Inspiration, marc and angel hack life, Motivation, my super charged life, paradigm shift, Wisdom, zen habits

Is It A Boy Or A Girl?

Written by Brad Chaffee on June 15, 2009 · 10 Comments

That Is The Question! I have not announced this here on EOD yet, but thought that today would be the best time to do so. Alana and I are having another baby, due to arrive on October 26th to be exact. I am very excited about this and today we find out whether we are having a boy or a girl. I LOVE BEING A DAD, it is the best gift EVER! What Do I Hope We Are Having? Honestly it really doesn’t matter to me. Either way I will be excited just the same. I do hope that my [...] Read more »

Tags: Behavior, Change, Choices, debt, determination, Personal Responsibility, Priorities, sacrifice

Motivation 101 – What You Believe, Is What You Achieve!

Written by Brad Chaffee on June 4, 2009 · 14 Comments

Dawn and I have been going back and forth for days now. I wanted to share with you the difference between her and I, mainly by pointing out why I think she is wrong in her thinking. Her thinking is how most people look at it, and what I am trying to do here at EOD is to show people that there is another way that provides more options. I believe that more options translates into a higher success rate. A lot of people limit themselves by not realizing their options. I think Dawn dwells on the problem instead of [...] Read more »

Tags: Change, Choices, credit, debt, Giving, life, money, Renting, Risk, success

Motivation 101 – Saving To Buy, Instead Of Buying To Slave!

Written by Brad Chaffee on June 3, 2009 · 6 Comments

Can You Buy A House, Have A Car, Or Go To College Without Debt? With a plan you can! It seems like every time I write an article like this I lose a few subscribers. That’s fine, I am fully aware that I will not please everyone. This would be too easy if I could, and frankly I like the challenge. For some reason people seem to get angry about someone (me) telling them that it is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE to live life without accepting the chains and bondage that come with debt. I could speculate all day long about why [...] Read more »

Tags: cards, Cars, Change, credit, debt, Freedom, life, Mortgage, Peace, sacrifice, truth

12 Steps To Debt Freedom

Written by Brad Chaffee on May 27, 2009 · 59 Comments

I am addicted to becoming and staying debt free! Are you addicted to becoming and staying debt free? If so, these are the principles and ideas that you would follow to achieve such a thing. You have probably heard about the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how they really help these folks cope from day to day. I just created 12 principles very loosely based on those of AA, with a debt free spin. I really just got the idea of where and how to list them, and then I just started thinking of all the things one [...] Read more »

Tags: 12 steps, Behavior, Budgeting, Change, Contentment, debt, Debt free, decisions, determination, Diligence, frugal, Frugality, money, savings