Good morning everyone! It’s Monday and I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Some of you who follow me closely know I am ending the summer semester in my public speaking class today. In fact, I have to squeeze together a persuasive speech to give to my class tonight. Usually I am in the final stages of writing my speech, but this one is different. I was hit with a curve ball when I got extremely sick over the weekend. I work weekends, and didn’t want to call out of work, so the time I spent at home was where […] Read more »
Public Service Announcement: Cash For Clunkers Equals Debt For Suckers
Poooof!! And The Government Said Let There Be…Three Billion Dollars! Now this is just getting silly! This post is about DEBT! The Cash For Clunkers program has been, or is in the process of being revitalized. Yep, that’s right. Two billion dollars out of thin air, or maybe I should say, out of your children’s children’s front pocket. Debt is dumb and so is this ridiculous program! Let me see if I understand this correctly. The Government taxes you into servitude, creates a program in which you are said to receive FREE money by giving you up to $4,500 in […] Read more »
Government Reliance Vs. Personal Responsibility- Wait Or Create?
Now I have said this before, but I’ll say it again. This is not a political blog, and I intend to keep it that way. However, with so many things happening right now in Washington that a) involves money and debt, and b) involves you, I think it’s relevant. I want to compare Government reliance to personal responsibility. I think personal responsibility has more benefits, delivers greater success, and allows us to be more free in the process. I think Government reliance robs us of incentive, and keeps us inside the box where our options are limited. We all know […] Read more »
Hope Is The Dream Of A Soul Awake
“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” As some of my most loyal readers know, I eat, sleep, bath, and drink personal finance. It’s sometimes all I talk about, definitely all I think about, and I seriously love blogging about it! I absolutely NEVER EVER pass up an opportunity to discuss with someone the benefits of debt freedom. My co-workers and friends, even the ones that aren’t completely on board, seem to know deep […] Read more »
The Debt Snowball – Do It Your Way!
The Debt Snowball There are so many ways you can pay off your debt. Of all the methods out there, the one I like the most is the one Dave Ramsey teaches. The debt snowball is the second baby step in the Total Money Makeover. You generally start your debt snowball once you have saved AT LEAST $1,000 for your baby emergency fund. The idea is to give yourself a buffer so that as you are paying off your debt, you will be able to handle life’s little problems without having to borrow money in the process. Dave’s Snowball method […] Read more »
Is It A Boy Or A Girl?
That Is The Question! I have not announced this here on EOD yet, but thought that today would be the best time to do so. Alana and I are having another baby, due to arrive on October 26th to be exact. I am very excited about this and today we find out whether we are having a boy or a girl. I LOVE BEING A DAD, it is the best gift EVER! What Do I Hope We Are Having? Honestly it really doesn’t matter to me. Either way I will be excited just the same. I do hope that my […] Read more »
An Inconvenient Myth: The Marketing Effect
This is a guest post by, well…we’ll just call him Mr. Joe for privacy reasons. Mr. Joe is a jack-of-all-trades, and writing happens to be one of the many. He’s been my mentor, and a very influential part of who I have become over the last 5 or so years. When he asked me if he could write a guest post for EOD, I was honored, and considered it a privilege. Perhaps after reading this you will want to see more from Mr. Joe, because it is indeed a wonderful piece. De-mythologizing the Language of Debt You can use […] 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 »
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 »
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 »
Got Credit Cards? Here’s Another Reason To Say Goodbye!
There are some that are so adamant about the fact that credit card companies are NOT bad, and do NOT take advantage of consumers. I disagree, and I think that an article I came across from dailyfinance.com proves otherwise. For the minority that have the discipline to not carry a balance, you will be okay, but for the rest of you who use credit cards to subsidize your income, you might want to consider cutting the cord! The article states that, “credit card companies are insisting upon exercising their right to abuse their customers in the name of higher […] Read more »
Motivation 101 – YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
Are You Motivated? Chances are, you often feel overwhelmed with your financial situation, and like most, you want to do something about it. There are many things that keep us from doing what we know we should do. Time constraints, lack of energy, procrastination, depression, and even addictions to name a few. One that people rarely consider is negativity from the people around them. People will rain on your parade in a second once you start talking about quitting something they too are doing. Whether it be shopping, smoking, going on a diet, exercising, or changing your financial habits, people […] Read more »
As Seen On CNN.com
An Unusual Day In The Life Of A Part Time Blogger Well let me start by saying, WOW!!! Today was an extraordinary day for me. Two weeks ago I was contacted through my website by Jim Kavanagh, a writer for CNN.com. When I woke up this morning I had no idea what I was in for. Kavanagh wrote a terrific story called, Walking Away From Credit Cards, which highlighted the fact that some people have chosen to say NO to credit cards. I was quoted as saying, “Credit card debt is our biggest hindrance in being able to take care […] Read more »