I got a little annoyed last week, when it was suggested that for someone with only a high school diploma, they were limited to working at the checkout at Walmart. (This argument was used to explain why debt was needed by low income families to get by.) Believing this is ridiculous, and spreading it around for someone without a degree to hear, is irresponsible! This is America!! Imagine someone with only a high school diploma, hearing someone say this and believing it. Dreams can be crushed before they ever have a chance to germinate. This is why I am such […] Read more »
Debt Free Addicts Anonymous #2: Budgeting Tips Edition
Here Are 5 Links To Help You Have A Less Stressful Budget Experience Found on the Carnival of Personal Finance: Vacation Time Edition – hosted by Funny About Money Don’t Bust Your Budget: Remember Key Budget Items – written by Aryn over at Sound Money Matters. This is one of the biggest issues I have found that people struggle with when budgeting. It’s the very reason I made a place on my FREE budget for this kind of thing. Next month we have to renew our insurance, which ends up being about $300. Forgetting that is devastating to a […] Read more »
Motivation 101 – What You Believe, Is What You Achieve!
Dawn and I have been going back and forth for days now. I wanted to share with you the difference between her and I, mainly by pointing out why I think she is wrong in her thinking. Her thinking is how most people look at it, and what I am trying to do here at EOD is to show people that there is another way that provides more options. I believe that more options translates into a higher success rate. A lot of people limit themselves by not realizing their options. I think Dawn dwells on the problem instead of […] Read more »
Motivation 101 – Saving To Buy, Instead Of Buying To Slave!
Can You Buy A House, Have A Car, Or Go To College Without Debt? With a plan you can! It seems like every time I write an article like this I lose a few subscribers. That’s fine, I am fully aware that I will not please everyone. This would be too easy if I could, and frankly I like the challenge. For some reason people seem to get angry about someone (me) telling them that it is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE to live life without accepting the chains and bondage that come with debt. I could speculate all day long about why […] Read more »
Are You A Genuine, Or Conditional Giver?
This post is not only about becoming debt free, it’s also about charity and giving. This story triggered some questions for me, and I wanted to ask you what you thought about it. If you have ever watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition then you have seen many communities come together for families who needed some help. In 2006, “a Cincinnati home builder, a handful of Cynthiana contractors and everyone of that town’s subcontractors, churches, painters, drywallers, carpenters, restaurateurs and good-hearted others, to donate tons of materials, labor and time to help build a house for the Hassall family.“ Why Did […] Read more »
Getting Behind On Stuff
I was really hoping to be able to write a blog today. Normally, or at least since my 5 minutes of blogging fame, I would have already written my articles for up to two days in advance. However, other things have been keeping my busy. Last week we had family in from Florida, last night we went to a wedding, and today I was busy fighting weeds in my back yard with a weed eater, as well as finishing the installation of our floor upstairs. We are in the process of remodeling our house and getting rid of stuff that […] Read more »
“Sorry I Couldn’t Tip More, But I’m Broke”
A Little Background Information I work for tips, well at least for the moment anyway. I have been working at Papa John’s for going on 4 years, and it has been VERY good to me. I deliver in the UVA area so business is usually better than in other parts of Charlottesville. It’s flexible, EASY, and I have made some great money, especially when my wife was going through Nursing School. It has allowed me to spend lots of time with my little man, Isaac, over the years, and to me that is better than any monetary rewards. Here recently, […] Read more »
12 Steps To Debt Freedom
I am addicted to becoming and staying debt free! Are you addicted to becoming and staying debt free? If so, these are the principles and ideas that you would follow to achieve such a thing. You have probably heard about the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how they really help these folks cope from day to day. I just created 12 principles very loosely based on those of AA, with a debt free spin. I really just got the idea of where and how to list them, and then I just started thinking of all the things one […] Read more »
Are You A Super Saver?
Are You Looking For Ways To Save Some Money? We are! Here recently we took a trip to a neighboring city just for that reason. We jumped on the interstate, and headed about 30 miles west, to visit a store that has deeply discounted food. My wife loves going here but I have been a little hesitant because of the fact that some of the food is past the expiration date. I have always been a little finicky when it comes to this sort of thing, and that does include leftovers in the fridge past a few days old. You […] Read more »
Debt Free Addicts Anonymous #1: Super Savings Edition
6 Saving Money Articles To Help You Get Financially Fit! My number one goal here at EOD is to empower you when it comes to your finances. When you have knowledge, you have control! With that said, my plan is to give you some extra nutrition for your financial diet, from a variety of sources. Let’s face it, there are tons of great PF bloggers out there that you can benefit from, so go check them out, and learn as much as you can to help you in your new journey to financial fitness! Now go get some knowledge! Saving […] Read more »
Looking To Make Some Changes This Week
Time For Change! I am really hoping to make some changes to Enemy of Debt this coming week. The plan is to find a theme, free or paid for, that will make your visit to Enemy of Debt better, as well as make some other changes and additions. Time to put the navigation bar out of it’s misery! Finally!! Goals: Change Theme Create a list of links that will help you go to the articles that you most want to see, depending on your stage in the process. Put together a list of outside resources. (calculators, budget tools etc.) Those […] Read more »
A Destructive Mindset: Is This What You Believe Too?
Becoming Debt Free Is Priceless Indeed I was reading an article yesterday titled, Debt-Free: Priceless, and the one and only comment on this article blew me away! Seriously, the comment brought me to my knees, like kryptonite did Superman! Back to the ice cave! The article talked about what a Federal Bankruptcy Judge was doing to combat the destructive nature of credit card abuse, that possibly led people to his courtroom to declare themselves bankrupt. “John C. Ninfo II, a federal bankruptcy judge, has founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) Program, www.careprogram.us, a national initiative to teach high school […] Read more »
Some Bash Dave Ramsey, But Why?
Every so often, I run into a blog that bashes Dave Ramsey and what he teaches. If you are loaded with debt, and you don’t know who Dave Ramsey is, then maybe you should take this opportunity to get to know him. Don’t take my word for it, and especially do not take the haters word for it. Learn for yourself, and find out why Dave is actually changing people’s lives! You might be surprised at what you find out! Who Is Dave Ramsey? Dave has made it his mission to help people avoid, or get out of tough […] Read more »
Your Children Will Handle Money, The Way You Handle Money
Money Management In Public Schools? I recently read an article that talked about how Cincinnati Public Schools plan to start teaching money management classes, in grades K-12, starting in 2014. Now on the surface, this doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but I think that there is another way of looking at it. Personally, I believe that while teaching kids about money is important, I think that it is more important to know who’s ideas about money management are being taught. My objection isn’t that money management will be taught, it’s about what that will include. If they are just […] Read more »