What is Your Approach to Vacation Spending?

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  Hello everyone! Last week my family and I went to North Carolina for a short vacation. My wife has family in Florida that has been planning this Nags Head trip for about a year. When they first started planning, we were asked if we wanted to make the commitment which would of meant a down payment for the luxurious cottage a block from the beach. As most of you know, last year at this time, my wife and I were in the final stages of paying off our debt, so we could not make the commitment that was needed. […] Read more »

Why The Heck Do You Need Life Insurance Anyway?

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This is a guest post from Aaron at Clarifinancial. I was emailing with Brad last week when he suggested I write a guest post. “It would be nice to share with my readers the importance of getting life insurance to begin with,” he said. With that goal in mind, I’m going to try to tap into some of that Brad-passion to explain to you why the heck you need life insurance anyway. I normally ramble in some emotional deep-water metaphor type of stuff, so this will be different. Look, you make money, you own things, and (if you’re reading this […] Read more »

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Fundraiser is Ending

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Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I am ending the Big Brothers Big Sisters Fundraiser early. Today will be your last chance to buy an I’m Debt Free game or donate money without buying a game. If you buy a game, $10 of your purchase will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters. The original announcement. Click here to purchase the I’m Debt Free game! Email me at freedom {at} enemy of debt {dot}com if you are interested in donating money without buying the game. So far, including my $100, I will be giving BBBS $214.00! […] Read more »

Personal Finance for Beginners: A Lesson from Oseola McCarty

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So many people are intimidated by the concept of managing their money. It almost seems as if the very idea that we can be in control of our money is just a made up fairytale that only a few get lucky enough to take advantage of. Many believe that wealth is out of their reach and only something the top money earners get to experience. The myth is that you have to earn a lot to build wealth. I would like to introduce you to a woman who rejected that notion. Her name is Oseola McCarty, and she is a […] Read more »

Tips on Keeping Your Car Insurance Rate

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This is a guest post from the folks at 21st Century Insurance. We are all required to have auto insurance, so it’s nice to know what we need to do in order to keep ourselves from spending more money than we have to. My favorite tip is the last one, mainly because I know I am guilty of assuming. In fact, when my insurance is set to renew I plan on asking for a better rate! 😀 Keep your Car Insurance rate where it belongs. If you’re like many of us, car insurance represents a big chunk of your household […] Read more »

The Cold Hard Truth: Debt is STUPID and You Might Be Too!!

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Seriously…This is Where Behavior Meets Reality! Are you in debt up to your eyeballs and wondering how come you just can’t get ahead? This may surprise you since I do not know you, but I do know the answer. It’s real simple and really not a secret, especially here on Enemy of Debt. Wanna hear it? DEBT IS STUPID!! Plain and simple, and if you have debt then it could be said in all seriousness that you have been stupid too. The act of going into debt for ANYTHING is stupid, with the exception of mortgage and most of you […] Read more »

Your Interview With Local Psychologist Dr. Matthew Bowen Part 3

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Okay so here we are. The third and final installment of my interview with Dr. Matthew Bowen. I hope it helps answer some of your questions and inspires you to take a more in depth look into your financial behaviors. Be sure to check out part one, and part two if you haven’t already. Thanks! I have been working on this interview with my Psychology of Money and Wealth Professor, Matthew Bowen, PhD, to take a deeper look into why we misbehave the way we do with money. He graduated in Berkeley, California in 1986 and is a licensed psychologist. […] Read more »

Debt Free News From A Debt Free Reader #10

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Time again for another Debt Free Friday! This one comes from a friend of mine that I met on the FPU forums, and we’ve been friends ever since. In fact, she started out as one of my accountability buddies. We kept each other motivated throughout our debt free journeys. Golda has been an awesome friend to me during this time! Are you working on becoming debt free? Ever feel unmotivated to continue what you know you should in order to get your finances in order? Perhaps finding someone with the same goals and values as you would be beneficial. It […] Read more »

Life is Like a Budget?

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What if Forest Gump would have said, “Life is like a budget. if you have a plan you’ll have some idea of what you’re going to get“? Nothing is perfect, so I am not suggesting that just having a plan is enough. Plans go wrong, but that’s precisely what this post is about—treating your life like a budget when they do. Think of it like this. You have 24 hours in a day. In that 24 hour time you have to decide what you are doing and how long it will take you. If you spend more time on something […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Memorial Day Edition

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Happy Memorial Day everyone! Today we celebrate the lives of those who have fallen as well as those who sacrifice it all so that we may continue live free. God Bless those men and women who sacrifice(d) so much!! I saw on a comedy show rerun the other day where the comedian made a note of how we treat athletes and celebrities. We put them on a pedestal, and in some instances worship them like heroes. They get so much for free because of their status. This comedian earned a lot of respect in my book when he stated that […] Read more »

Enemy of Debt the Super Hero?

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PURE AWESOMENESS! Yesterday, Enemy of Debt was introduced to the comic strip world for the first time! Back in February, I sent the creator of the Personal Finance comics an email, suggesting an Enemy of Debt character. Every comic has a villain and since he writes for a credit card site, I thought Enemy of Debt would play the part nicely. He liked the idea, and even took it one step further by asking me to write up a storyline. Having never written anything like that before I was a bit nervous, but I jumped right on it. I submitted […] Read more »

Extreme Circumstances Call For Extreme Measures

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Have you ever considered someone to be a little too extreme when it comes to their money? Maybe they were too extreme in saving for their emergency fund, paying off their debt, or just never seemed to do anything fun at all. How’s your financial situation? You might be having fun, but are you prepared for that rainy day that will come? Are you the grasshopper or the ant? When we were paying off our debt we said no to almost everything. Nowadays we are a little more relaxed with how hardcore we are and how much we sacrifice on […] Read more »

Your Interview With Local Psychologist Dr. Matthew Bowen Part 2

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As many of you already know, a few weeks ago I published Your Interview With Local Psychologist Dr. Matthew Bowen Part 1. I told you that I received so many questions that I had to break the interview down into three parts. Here’s the second installment. I will be wrapping it up with part three either next week, or the week after. Stay tuned for that. I am doing an interview with my Psychology of Money and Wealth Professor, Matthew Bowen, PhD, to take a deeper look into why we misbehave the way we do with money. He graduated in […] Read more »

Your Financial Mindset Determines Your Ability To Handle Credit Cards

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Have you ever taken a position on credit cards one way or the other? I have, and to only say I was passionate about my position, would be an understatement. Just ask J. Money! I must start out by saying that some of you are going to feel as if I have lost my mind, and the rest of you are just going to be shocked completely about what I am about to say. Not because it doesn’t make sense, but because it is coming from ME. 😀 I am no longer the sworn enemy of credit cards. Yes, you […] Read more »