Personal Responsibility | Enemy of Debt: Where Behavior Meets Reality

An Open Letter to My Debt

Written by Jana on January 27, 2012 · 8 Comments

Dear Debt, I’ve waited 5 years to say these words to you—good riddance. I know you’re thinking that this is some sort of joke and I’m really about to burst into a Green Day song, but I assure you I’m not. I’m legitimately, once and for all, saying good riddance. You have caused me enough grief, frustration and sadness for two lifetimes. And I couldn’t be happier that you’re gone. We started out as friends. You were a constant presence in my life. It was comforting to have you because it was a reminder of the good times we had. [...] Read more »

Tags: dear debt, Debt Elimination, Debt free, debt letter, Personal Responsibility

An Uncomfortable Conversation

Written by Travis on December 1, 2011 · 22 Comments

With me sitting on the edge of our bathtub, and my wife brushing her teeth as she prepared for bed we began a very serious budget discussion. We were on day three of a week long visit from our Kentucky friends and were burning through our discretionary funds at an alarming rate. We needed to reign in our spending, and ensure we kept ourselves on budget, or we were going to run out of money fast. The next day the four of us were planning on going shopping for the supplies needed for Thanksgiving Dinner. As a group, we had [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Budgeting, Money Management, Personal Responsibility

The Most Important Money Advice You Will Ever Receive

Written by Jessica on November 12, 2011 · 9 Comments

You do not need to buy a bunch of books from Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or David Bach to get this kind of advice. You don’t have to go to week long seminars to learn this powerful tool either. You don’t even have to leave your home. Look no further than this blog post and you will get the most valuable money advice you could ever need. The power of this strategy is amazing! It will teach your children a valuable lesson. It will save you thousands of dollars. It will help your marriage. It will even allow you to [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, debt, just say no, money, Personal Responsibility, Priorities, sacrifice, saving money

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

Why do so Many Americans Rely on Social Security?

Written by Brad Chaffee on September 9, 2011 · 29 Comments

As I checked up on Twitter Thursday morning I noticed that “social security” was a trending topic. Very rarely do you see a trending topic that has any real life value, so it was for this reason I decided to see what all the fuss was about. You don’t have to be Democrat or Republican to know that Social Security is bankrupt. This is a non-partisan issue, or at least it should be. Some seem to believe that reform is not only needed but necessary, while others think it should just be left alone. Regardless of which side you tend [...] Read more »

Tags: government, Independence, Personal Responsibility, priority, Retirement, self reliance, social security

Financial Lessons for the Kid in All of Us

Written by Travis on August 25, 2011 · 18 Comments

While gathering my things after a workout in the locker room of my health club, I noticed a little boy about 3 years old wanting to go look at the scale. Each time he wandered towards the scale, his dad would grab the boy and guide him back to the locker area. The man instructed the boy to stay by him as he finished getting dressed after swimming. The boy would stand near his father for a few seconds, then start walking back towards the scale. The father would again grab him, indicating that the boy could see the scale when he was done getting dressed. This repeated itself several times, each time the boy becoming more insistent that he wanted to see the scale, each time his dad becoming more firm that he stay next to him. Read more »

Tags: accountability, debt, Debt Elimination, Personal Responsibility

Becoming the Leader I Need To Be

Written by Travis on August 11, 2011 · 7 Comments

In my day job as a software engineer, I am a technical team leader responsible for ensuring that a team of 8 operates efficiently, completes work items on time, and with quality. My team respects both my technical and leadership abilities. There is chaos in the absence of strong leadership. I see that every day. Where weak, or even no leadership is present, projects flounder in failure until someone takes control of the situation and drives it to completion. The same thing applies at home: Parental: without strong parental leadership to instill a moral compass and discipline, children may lack [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Debt Elimination, family leadership, financial responsibility, financial responsiibility, leadership, Personal Responsibility

Where Debt Begins: The Disconnect Between Perception and Reality

Written by Paul Puckett on July 26, 2011 · 2 Comments

If you are like most people today, you have debt payments challenging your future and creating a drag on your ability to invest. In addition to the financial issues debt creates, it also affects how we feel about ourselves and how we look at the world around us. We may think to ourselves, “what’s wrong with me?” or “where did I go wrong?” To move past these feelings, it might be helpful to consider where it might have all started. Read more »

Tags: behaviors, debt, debt cycle, debt freedom, habits, mindset, money, perception, personal finance, Personal Responsibility, reality

Financial Planning for Retirement – Be Conservative, Responsible, Realistic, and be Successful

Written by Clair Schwan on June 1, 2011 · 6 Comments

Not long ago I had the good fortune to gain insight with respect to one family’s financial planning that was centered around retirement. This had been a young couple with children, with both the husband and wife having lived through the Great Depression and bleak economic times surrounding World War II. Talk about a life lesson in stretching a dollar! What struck me as unusual was the constant focus, from the very beginning, on retirement and taking care of their children. It was unusual in a very good way. This couple knew that the future was coming. They knew that [...] Read more »

Tags: Debt Elimination, financial characteristics, financial planning, finanical principles, Personal Responsibility, Retirement

Six Important Questions to Consider When Improving Your Finances

Written by Brad Chaffee on May 27, 2011 · 11 Comments

Are you sick and tired of struggling week to week, month to month? You probably know it doesn’t have to be that way but just haven’t quite figured out how to get the ball rolling. (or keep it rolling might be more accurate) Most of the time we tend to use techniques other broke people use whenever they want to break free. The problem is most people, especially broke people, haven’t a clue as to how to turn things around. We usually need a push in the right direction, from the right person. That certainly describes our old financial patterns [...] Read more »

Tags: Debt Elimination, financial future, Financial Independence, personal accountability, personal finance, Personal Responsibility

Does Taking Advice From An Expert Relieve You Of Responsibility?

Written by Brad Chaffee on April 30, 2010 · 23 Comments

Ever since I wrote My Beef With Rich Dad Poor Dad Author Robert Kiyosaki, I’ve been thinking. When it comes to taking advice from anyone, even if they are considered to be an expert, should we just do what they suggest without doing our own homework? I believe that we are still responsible for making sure that any advice that we follow is sound advice. Doctor’s are considered experts and you still hear people say “Did you get a second opinion?”. Being an expert doesn’t mean that you always have the right answers, it simply means that you should be [...] Read more »

Tags: buying a house, Personal Responsibility

Self-Reliance: A Thing Of The Past, Or A New Frontier?

Written by Brad Chaffee on September 18, 2009 · 11 Comments

As my readers know I am pretty big on personal responsibility. By staying away from the blame game that keeps us static, we should tap into our own abilities to resolve the most complex of problems. I believe that we have within us a tremendous ability to make things happen for ourselves. Today, there seems to be a growing effort to stifle those abilities, and I believe that is a big mistake. We have gone from a country of creativity and ingenuity to what seems to be one of entitlements and dependence. I am very happy to announce that I [...] Read more »

Tags: do it yourself, Personal Responsibility, self reliance

Government Reliance Vs. Personal Responsibility- Wait Or Create?

Written by Brad Chaffee on July 31, 2009 · 5 Comments

Now I have said this before, but I’ll say it again. This is not a political blog, and I intend to keep it that way. However, with so many things happening right now in Washington that a) involves money and debt, and b) involves you, I think it’s relevant. I want to compare Government reliance to personal responsibility. I think personal responsibility has more benefits, delivers greater success, and allows us to be more free in the process. I think Government reliance robs us of incentive, and keeps us inside the box where our options are limited. We all know [...] Read more »

Tags: credit, debt, Government Reliance, needs, Personal Responsibility, wants, Washington D.C.