Don’t Stink. Budget!

StinkyGarbage

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 »

An Idiots Guide to Investing

stock market

“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 »

Lessons for Investors from Irene

Irene and a KFC Cup

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 »

Book Excerpt – Investiphobia: Overcome Your Deepest Investment Fears

Investiphobia Front Cover

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 »

Changing Your Behavior Requires A Paradigm Shift

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 »

Is It A Boy Or A Girl?

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 »

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

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 »

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

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 »