What A Blizzard Taught Me About Retirement Planning

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As I write this, I’m looking out the window watching it snow heavily.  A major winter storm is affecting southern Minnesota. The weather forecasters have us pegged for somewhere between 8 and 12 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon, with strong winds resulting in near blizzard conditions. This winter storm has been in the forecast for the last week, and people went into complete panic mode to prepare. The grocery stores have been packed with people purchasing enough food to be trapped inside their homes for a month. Shovels, ice melt products, snow blowers and outdoor clothing have been flying […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 12/25

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Merry Christmas, EOD Nation!  The Pizel family just completed the opening of gifts, and the kids are off trying on clothes, playing new games, and texting their friends sharing what was under the tree.  I hope you got everything you wanted this year, including some quality time with your family and friends. Fist Pump for Christmas!!! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 16 Cheap Ways to Ring in the New Year from Young Adult Money 7 Reasons Why You Can’t Get Out of Debt from The Frugal Farmer Financially Stressed? Give Yourself This Gift from I Heart Budgets The Other […] Read more »

I Got Promoted! Now, What Should We Do With My Salary Increase?

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I’ve been very purposeful with my efforts over the last few years in my primary career as a software engineer. I’ve volunteered for roles, and taken advantage of opportunities that I felt would help further my career. Specifically, I’ve been aiming to be promoted to the next level. My efforts have finally come to fruition, as last Wednesday my manager informed me that I have been promoted. As you can imagine, I was extremely excited to hear the news that I have been promoted to Senior Software Engineer. My title promotion comes with a significant salary increase. Whenever our family’s […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/18

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With one week to go until Christmas, I’d put our shopping at about 50% complete.  I sat down and ordered everything  I could online at the beginning of the week, and the packages are starting to roll in.  Vonnie and I will be finishing the rest over the weekend, and then next week is a short work week.  Two days of work, then I’m off until January 4th.  To add to that awesomeness, my birthday is the 28th.  Anyone want to take a guess at how old you think I am??? Fist pump for holidays, vacation, birthdays AND my favorite […] Read more »

Should I Save and Invest or Pay Off Debt?

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Ever since the recession a few years ago, many Americans have become adept savers. Like the Depression of the 1920s, the feeling of financial insecurity left consumers with an almost irreversible fear of experiencing that kind of stress and instability again. However, along with the need to save and invest came the need to pay down debt, as Americans had a record amount of personal debt. These opposing forces led to a dilemma – should you save or pay off debt? Or for some who didn’t want to earn a meager 0.05% from their savings account, should I invest or […] Read more »

How I Saved 45% and Got Free Yoga Pants At Lane Bryant

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I had been shopping with my wife for nearly four hours when we walked through the doors of Lane Bryant. She was looking for some new clothes, but was encountering some trouble finding what she was looking for. Within a few minutes of walking in the door, she found several things she wanted to try on. When she looked at the prices, however, she thought they were a little more than she was willing to spend. I pointed at a sign advertising a “Buy One, Get One 50% Off” sale. The smile returned to her face and she excitedly headed […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/11

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I can’t believe how late we are with our Christmas present shopping.  I’ve really put the screws to my kids for ideas of things they want…I mean we have some good ideas tucked away, but we need some help since both my kids are teenagers and their wants are locked deeply inside their “my parents just don’t get me,” brains.  I was able to get my son to deliver a wish list last night, and to be honest I was REALLY excited. Remember my hope that I could do much of my shopping online?   EVERYTHING on his list would need […] Read more »

Nobody Likes Being Reminded Of Their Mistakes

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A high school science teacher from Iowa ate nothing but McDonald’s for six months. Maybe you’ve heard this story before, or maybe you’re thinking this was another one of those attempts to show the public the evils of fast food. If you fall into the later category, you might be surprised to learn that the man lost about 60 pounds, lost 21 inches off his chest, waist, and hips, and significantly lowered his cholesterol. The caveat here is that while he did eat fast food for every meal for 6 months, he also stuck to a 2000 calories a day […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/4

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With Thanksgiving now in the rear view mirror, it’s time to dive into Christmas hook, line, and sinker.   The holiday spirit hasn’t quite got a hold of me yet, but we have our neighborhood Christmas party tonight….so maybe that will kick the “Bah, humbug” right out of me.  I do know that it’s time to seriously evaluate our Christmas budget.  We’ve got presents to buy and not a lot of time.  In a perfect world, I’d just sit in front of my computer and order everything online, then just wait for the packages to be delivered to my door. […] Read more »

Can You Use Expired Kohls Cash?

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My wife and I drove to Kohls on Black Friday to look for some long sleeved shirts for our son. He needed a winter wardrobe refresh (darn teenagers grow like weeds) and the shirts were advertised at 75% off. We made sure we had the coupon we got in the mail for an additional 15% off, as well as a $20 Kohls Cash coupon we had received a few weeks ago from buying a new Keurig coffee maker. On our drive to Kohls, my wife noticed that the Kohls Cash had expired. My wife shook her head in disbelief. This […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/28

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Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Fist Pump Friday!  Alright, so I admit that the Thanksgiving holiday threw my schedule for for a loop and thus I’m a day late with my usual fist pumping. I also have a confession to make:  I went shopping on Black Friday.  Not the crazy, stand in line for hours to buy a low quality, cheap TV kind of shopping.  There were a handful of things that we found in the ads that were good deals that we wanted so Vonnie and I went around to a small number of stores looking for […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/20

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Next week is Thanksgiving (Whoohoo!), and then comes the official  beginning of the holiday shopping season.  I choose not to participate in Black Friday.  The last couple of years I wouldn’t have even if I wanted to – I just couldn’t find anything in the ads that were worth my time and energy.  BUT, I know a lot of people do partake in Black Friday shopping in almost traditional like manner.  If you do, do your research and be armed with price and value comparisons to make sure you get the most for your money.  Our friends over at The […] Read more »

The Dangers Of Swiping A Card

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If you’re a regular reader here on Enemy Of Debt, you know that I’m a firm believer that cash is king. I’d much rather throw down some greenbacks than swipe a card. Every reason that I love paying for things with cash was reinforced by a situation with my daughter that occurred over the weekend. As I waded through my email, I noticed three email receipts from Apple for purchases made through iTunes. I hadn’t made any purchases during the week, so I was interested to see what had been bought, and by who. The agreement with my kids is […] Read more »