No Effort, No Results

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A little over a year ago my mom had major back surgery.  Over the years her spine had become so twisted that it was squishing her internal organs in a way that was extremely uncomfortable, and would only get worse.  Titanium rods were attached to her spine using large screws in hopes that it would force her spine to be straightened, improve her posture, and resolve some breathing and pain issues she had been dealing with for years.  She is in her mid to late 60’s and the doctors advised that if she was going to have surgery the time […] 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 »

Are You the Next Pawn Star?

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One of my favorite shows to watch is Pawn Stars on the history channel. Watching episodes of this popular TV show has become somewhat of an event at our house. The show is educational, fascinating and largely about making money, what’s not to love? Long before banks, ATMS and check-cashing services, there were pawn shops. Pawning was the leading form of consumer credit in the United States until the 1950s, and pawn shops are still helping everyday people get by when they need to. The premise of Pawn Stars is a multigenerational family; The Harrison’s running a pawn shop in […] Read more »

What Kind Of People Live Without Credit Cards?

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Businesses have stopped taking checks, and we’re constantly being bombarded with offers for credit cards that offer low introductory interest rates and rewards point programs of some sort. Some experts even tell us jumping on the credit bandwagon to build up a healthy credit score is a necessity. It seems as if we are being pushed towards swiping a card to make our purchases. But is it possible to ignore all of this and live a credit card free life? My friend Brad Chaffee, founder of this site, is dedicated to living a credit free, cash only lifestyle. While he […] Read more »

Short Term Sacrifice For Long Term Gain

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One of the biggest lessons we learned while getting out of debt was that sacrifice was critical to our success. And by success I don’t mean paying off our final debt before we die, I mean paying off our debt as fast as we could SO WE COULD LIVE…NOW! Think about that for a second. People spend money on things they want now (instant gratification), but isn’t that what I was getting by paying down my debt as fast as I could? I was instantly gratified each time I paid down my debt. And now we are definitely living although […] Read more »

It Takes Two To Make a Budget Succeed

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Couples argue. Vonnie and I are no different. After a week vacation in Kentucky and the following weekend out of town for my class reunion, we needed to do a serious budget scrub. I knew we had exceeded our original budget for both activities, and I began to outline just how much. I  hadn’t done a good job of keeping track of, or communicating to my wife during that two week period as to when the over spending had occurred, and by how much. I just kept thinking to myself, we don’t have anything planned the second half of the […] Read more »

Razor Customer Support Rocks!

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Standing in the kitchen, we told our daughter, Tori, she was only getting one present for her birthday. She looked a little confused as we handed her a small, flat, rectangular present that was very light. She opened it up and screamed in delight as she realized it was the picture cut from the packing box of the Razor electric scooter she had been coveting ever since her friends in the neighborhood had gotten one a year earlier.  We had not intended to purchase such an expensive birthday present, but it was something Tori really wanted. So, we sacrificed a […] Read more »

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try AGAIN!

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Are you a debt-hating maniac like I am? Are you successfully working your way out of debt so that you can live a less stressful and more financially productive life? If you’ve been reading this blog for any time at all then you probably know I believe more than anything in your ability to eliminate the debt from your life. Keep chopping away at your debt and one day you will reap the rewarding benefits of that freedom. Unfortunately, some people never find their stride. They’ve tried everything they possibly could, yet getting out of debt seems so unreachable to […] Read more »

What Will You Sacrifice for Freedom?

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C-H-A-N-G-E. People hate it! People hate having to change anything, sometimes regardless of the benefits that lie ahead. Change is uncomfortable and sometimes a little scary. The fear of having to face something unfamiliar can often paralyze us into inaction. Sometimes change is forced upon us and sometimes the choice is our own to make. So whether we like it or not, change is a very big part of who we are. We may as well embrace it. In terms of personal finance, change is constant. And when it comes to debt change can save you from financial destruction. Nobody […] Read more »

Getting Out of Debt is About Challenging Yourself

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There are a lot of things that go into getting out of debt. You’ve got to spend less than you make, put some effort into tracking your income and expenses, and perhaps the most important thing is to change your financial behavior. With that said, something I find to be extremely helpful is taking myself out of my comfort zone in the name of reaching my goals. This can be a hard thing to do but challenging yourself to do what you don’t want to or think you can’t do is great for finding out who you really are. I […] Read more »

The Not-So-Pretty Story of Paying Off My Debt

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Hundreds of people emailed, commented, tweeted and direct messaged me after this post asking to hear more of my story. The number one question: How did you do it? How did you pay off $571,817.68 in less than 3 years? The answer to paying off debt is pretty simple. Stop using credit. Earn more than you spend. Use the extra earnings to pay off debt. It’s not romantic. It’s not complicated. It’s actually very straight forward. I, however, do not typically do things the easy or simple way. In hindsight, I can see that the first year of my “debt […] Read more »

No Restaurants in November 2011 – Do You Have a Checklist?

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Hello guys and gals! So here we are two weeks after starting my “insane” challenge of avoiding restaurants for the entire month of November. I’m excited to see where each of you are and how you’ve managed to do so far. It’s been fun no? LOL I have done perfectly so far but surprisingly had a hard time last week. It wasn’t even because I “wanted” to eat out. It was more of what I referred to in my last post where I talked about not planning meals and being out and about around meal time. Needless to say I […] Read more »

The Most Important Money Advice You Will Ever Receive

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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 »

Take a Step Back…Put your Financial Behavior in Check

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Debt is sometimes inevitable, unavoidable, and well a fact of life for many. No matter what your stage of life you may be faced with financial issues. Life can take its toll on your finances; unemployment, an unexpected illness, divorce or a death in the family can send you into a financial tailspin. But sometimes financial issues stem from a cause deeper than the unexpected; the way you think about money. To snap out of bad financial habits it may require some lifestyle and behavioral changes. 10 Financial Principles Dr. Bernard Poduska, author of For Love or Money writes about […] Read more »