Find Your Financial Forever Pace

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The fact that the weather app on my phone said the outside temperature was in the mid thirties was reinforced by the water dripping from the roof of my house. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, and I was stretching out for my first long run outside in months. Nine miles to be exact. The first few miles are always the hardest. Even though I thoroughly stretch out before I start, it always seems to take a few miles before everything gets loosened up. During my run on Saturday it took about 4 miles, at which point something […] Read more »

Travel Hacking with Credit Cards is a Dangerous Trap

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Here he goes again. That crazy Steve Stewart is about to start a ruckus and make people get very angry by telling it like it is. You see, I’m the killjoy that’s about to take away all your fun. I’m the grandpa who isn’t into “hip” things. I’m the old man who says you should do things the old-fashioned way. But I’m going to speak the truth, and the truth can set you free (debt free, that is):   Travel Hacking with credit cards is a dangerous trap Travel hacking has been around for years, but it is growing in […] Read more »

Change Your Perspective, Change Your Life

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I’m always the first one of our family to throw back the covers and climb out of bed on weekend mornings. My goal is always to get up, get to the gym, and get home before anyone else even thinks of getting up. One such Saturday morning I was composing a note to leave on the kitchen counter as I was preparing to head out to the gym. My wife likes to know what time I left so she knows approximately when to expect me back home. So, I ripped a piece of paper out of a notebook and wrote […] Read more »

Debt Is A Temporary Condition – How Long It Lasts is Up To You!

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Today’s post is my contribution to the #DebtIsNotForever movement started by Jackie Beck over at The Debt Myth. You can participate as well by taking a picture of your “Why” you want to get out of debt, or why you’re working to get out of debt right now and posting it to her Facebook page. Check out this link for more details – Jackie is also hosting a giveaway for all that participate in the movement, and publicly take a stand against debt. Will you stand with us? Pain is temporary. It may last for a minute, or an hour, […] Read more »

Budgets make me feel inadequate, but made me rich

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Last year I recorded a show about the 7 Common Denominators of the Wealthy. It was then I realized there were many commonalities related to having – and operating on – a household budget. With so many wealthy habits tied to being on a budget, why is it that most people don’t do one? It is because budgets makes us feel inadequate. It certainly has made me feel inadequate. Tell me if you’ve felt the same way before too. Budgeting makes me feel inadequate Think back to the last time you created a budget. How did that make you feel? […] Read more »

Motivational Monday: Three Steps To Achieve Your Financial Goals

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A few months ago, I caught a link to a motivational video filled with inspirational quotes. I still watch the video almost every morning as I prepare to take on the world for the day. It centers my thoughts on what I am going to do that particular day to help me make positive progress towards the goals I am trying to accomplish. After several weeks of listening to this video, I wanted to find out who the voices in the video were. With the help of Google, I was able to determine one of the people featured was a […] Read more »

Warning: Shopping Without A List Is Hazardous To Your Budget

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My love of lists is almost legendary, my daily activities driven from them. I have different lists for different parts of my day: Things needing to be done at work, written on my office white board Personal life todo list written in a notebook on the kitchen counter Blogging todo list written in a notebook on my computer desk My lists help me not only remember things that need to be done, but also to prioritize them. My wife sometimes makes fun of me because of my lists, but she understands the importance I place on them. I commonly find […] Read more »

Instant Gratification Here, There, and Everywhere

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I felt myself becoming more agitated as I sat at the stoplight waiting for the light to turn green. I was on my way to the gym, and was anxious to get started. The light was seemingly taking forever, so I decided to figure out how long the light was red.  I was sure it would be a ridiculous amount of time. I remember that I had started a new track as I pulled up to the intersection so I would easily be able to calculate how long I was sitting there. After what seemed like an excruciating eternity the […] Read more »

A Black Friday Deal you WON’T believe!

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Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day is filled with family and board games along with tons of turkey and stuffing (I love stuffing). I should be entering receipts into YNAB right now. I usually check our bank account for my wife’s deposits at the same time but when I signed on to online banking I saw this: They are using the holidays as an excuse to sell you money Look, I understand if you don’t have enough money to purchase all the Christmas gifts you’d like to. Maybe you will borrow money to buy gifts this year, I’m […] Read more »

What Your Credit Score REALLY Means

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I’m currently enrolled in a credit monitoring service, getting periodic updates about inquiries into my credit, and small changes up or down in my FICO score.   When we charged something on our American Express, I was notified of a balance change. When we applied for a consolidation loan, I was notified of the inquiry and of a slight decrease in my score. Everything made sense, until I read a notification that landed in my inbox last week. My FICO score had increased by 24 points, and I couldn’t believe the reason why. A few weeks ago, my wife was in […] Read more »

Why You Should Walk Away From Free Offers

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Today’s post is from Douglas Goldstein, the host of the Goldstein on Gelt Show, as well as the author of  Rich as a King.  Please give a warm EOD nation welcome to Douglas! When you go shopping and you see a sign saying, “1+1 Buy one and get one free!” what do you do? Many consumers don’t stop to ask themselves if they need or want this product. The satisfaction that they gain from getting “the other one free” compels them to take up this seemingly generous offer even if they don’t need both of the items in question. But […] Read more »

My Apologies To Gazelle Intensity

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  I’ve never identified with the concept of gazelle intensity. My interpretation of it has always been one of extreme frugality, living with no frills for an extended period of time in order to throw as much money as possible towards debt and/or retirement. It always seemed to me that kind of perspective would have people essentially get zero enjoyment out of life while they pay off debt, or save for retirement. I always thought there had to be some kind of balance. I never understood why someone would purposefully and completely deprive themselves of everything. But over the weekend, […] Read more »

Save Money, and Your Credit Using FICO Score Watch

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Please note that a commercial relationship exists between our site and FICO® that could include FICO providing us with product and other forms of payment. The views of the author(s) herein do not necessarily reflect the views of FICO. FICO is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act, and does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” credit records, credit history or credit ratings. I logged into the myFICO website, and within a few clicks I was staring at my current financial state […] Read more »

Sunday Afternoon #LaundryBliss With Purex Laundry Detergent

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Laundry was on my mind as I was running errands last Sunday morning, because I knew I was out of laundry detergent. I stopped by Target just as they unlocked the doors, and surveyed the laundry detergent aisle for the best deal. I found a bottle of Purex laundry detergent boasting 10% more product than usual, advertising the potential of washing 90 loads for a cost of $7.99. That’s less than 9 cents per load! As I was standing in the checkout lane, anxious to get started with the day’s work, I thought about how I could have purchased my […] Read more »