5 Reasons People May Overspend With Credit Cards

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Staying out of debt is as easy as spending less than you earn. Sounds simple, right? If it’s so simple, why do so many people find themselves over their heads in debt? Sometimes life just happens. An unexpected catastrophe, or medical emergency and you’ve got enough debt racked up for a lifetime. In other cases people just consistently overspend, and find themselves waking up one day saying, “How did I get here?” Having paid off over $109,000 in credit card debt, I know a little something about the latter situation. So how do people get into such a situation? Why […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/20

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Next week is Memorial Day weekend, which also happens to be when Vonnie and I host an annual party.  It’s kind of a big deal, and takes quite a bit of planning…….and money.  We have a budget, but as we start to get closer to the date we tend to go into “screw tracking our spending, let’s just get through this.”  I’m hopeful not to do that this year. I’ve got all kinds of lists made with estimated prices.  Hopefully we can execute on those lists, and stay on budget! Now, get those fists in the air, it’s time for […] Read more »

Is Professional Carpet Cleaning Worth the Cost?

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As we reach the 12 year mark since we built our home, we find things are starting to show signs of wear, and a possible need for replacement. On the top of that list is the carpeting. With two cats and two children that have grown up within the walls of the house, there are spots in every room and the stairs were a disaster. We clean the main rooms of our home once a year on average using a carpet cleaner we purchased at Walmart. It does a decent job, but it won’t get out really tough stains, and […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/13

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My daughter is getting confirmed this weekend, so we’re having the carpets in our main living areas cleaned today.   I’m spending the morning moving furniture around so we can get the most carpet cleaned possible in each of the selected rooms.  We had looked into replacing all the carpet in our home, but that was more money than we were willing to spend right now.  Hopefully spending a little money on having the carpet cleaned will allow us to put off the major expense of replacement for a little while.   Fist pump for clean carpets and my favorite posts […] Read more »

4 Steps To Have Your Luggage Checked For Free

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I’m a big fan of convenience while traveling by air. My preference would be to check my luggage, and walk onto the airplane with nothing but my laptop bag. I wouldn’t have to try to find a place for a carry on, nor would I have to retrieve it through a sea of people trying to do the exact same thing in a very cramped space. That being said, it’s ridiculous to have to pay to check a bag. Almost every major airline does it. Obviously they’re doing it to raise revenue, but it’s like saying, “Thanks for using our […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/6

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My daughter gets confirmed next week, so we’re in paint, clean, organize, plan mode.  The biggest question at the moment is, will I have the time to throw something on the smoker to serve at her open house celebration, or will we go with the standard ham and turkey buns? Decisions, decisions…….while I contemplate that, check out my favorite posts of the week! Fist pump for confirmations, and the best posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Get Rich with a Frugal Lifestyle from Couple Money 5 Signs You’re In Debt Denial from Stefanie O’Connell 5 Statistics […] Read more »

DIY Interior Painting: How It’s Done, and How Much You Can Save

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Do It Yourself projects are a great way to save money, if you’re willing to put in a little sweat equity. Last week my father and I did exactly that by painting a living room in my home. If you’ve never painted a room before, the proposition of doing so may be a bit frightening. But as with most projects, it’s all about getting a little education about how to go about doing it. Since we’re all about helping each other save money here at Enemy Of Debt, I’m going to share the process of how I painted my living […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday – I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/29

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Our house was built 12 years ago, and there’s some rooms that have never been repainted, including a lower level living room.  I’m taking today off, and my dad is staying with me for a few days to give it a nice fresh coat of paint.  I’m not the most skilled painter, but my dad is very experienced.  I’m looking forward to spending some time with my dad, picking up some great painting tips, and saving some money by doing the painting ourselves. Fist pump for a fresh coat of paint, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That […] Read more »

How Are You Wasting Your Money?

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I like to re-evaluate all our expenses every couple of months to make sure we’re getting the most value for our money. Priorities and interest change over time, and therefore how we choose our money will change over time. Weeding out those monthly expenses that don’t add any enjoyment or use to our life will free up funds for activities that do. I went through one of these exercises over the weekend, and found several monthly expenses that we will should discuss whether continuing them is in our best interests: Magazine Subscription I had a subscription to Runner’s World for […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/22

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May is going to be a busy, busy month. We’ve got a trip to Austin, Texas planned for a gaming tournament my son wants to go to.  Our daughter is getting confirmed, and we have our annual Memorial Weekend party.  So, I’m very much looking forward to the next couple of weekends of not doing much both physically AND monetarily. Fist pump for a quiet weekend, and exciting May, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Escaping the 30-Year Mortgage Trap from Club Thrifty 6 Ways to Save at the Grocery Store Without Coupons […] Read more »

What A New Cell Phone Will Teach My Son About Personal Finance

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No contract cell phone options have been around for awhile. A few years ago we actually switched to a no contract plan with AT&T which significantly reduced our cell phone bill because the four phones in my family were all considered paid in full. We enjoyed the lower cell phone bill for about six months, then we all upgraded our phones. When we upgrade our phones, our monthly bill went up significantly. The bill went up significantly because monthly payments for the phones were now included in our overall bill. I kept my eye on the date where the phones […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/15

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Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday.  Since she turned 14, and it was the 14th of the month, it’s apparently called her golden birthday.  I had never heard of this until I met my wife, but I guess it’s a thing.  My wife planned a surprise party for her, having all her friends meet at Olive Garden (my daughter’s favorite restaurant). I brought her there under the impression it would just be a few family members.  She was very much surprised.  My daughter had been vocally worried that we were going to try to throw something together for her birthday at […] Read more »

Driving Vs. Flying – How Much Did We Save?

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My son and I were walking from the beach to our rental home while on vacation in Florida. We were discussing our travel plans home as the next day we were to begin the multiple day drive back to Minnesota. “So, it’s cheaper to drive than it is to fly, right?” he asked. Without hesitation I stated it was much cheaper for our family to drive. I didn’t doubt my answer, but I wondered just how much money we were saving. I decided to do the research and find out. Traveling By Car   Fuel: Our family van averages 25mpg […] Read more »

Friday Fist Pump: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/8

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A week ago the Pizel family was driving across the country from Minnesota to Florida.  Today, we begin our way back.  It’s been a great vacation.  We spent countless hours at the beach as well as in the pool at our vacation home.  I’ve maintained my workouts, gone jet-skiing, and gone on a dolphin boat cruise. PLUS, We’ve saved a ton of money by cooking most of our own meals. But I’m ready to go home.  More than ready.  As soon as I hit “publish” on this post, we’ll be packing up the van and heading north.  Hopefully I’ll bring […] Read more »