Do Our Parents Money Decisions Define Us?

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From a young age I was given the ability to choose how I would spend my money. I was raised in a “typical” family unit with two hard working parents and a younger sibling. We weren’t rich, we weren’t poor we were considered middle class, I suppose. My dad worked long hours as a small business owner (he was a mechanic) and my mom worked part-time so she could take care of us. The family business was passed onto him by my grandfather who came to the states with nothing except the clothes on his back. Read more »

Finding the Right Balance in Order to Succeed

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Earlier this week, I submitted my article to Perkstreet Financial titled 6 Ways to Change Your Financial Math, Without a Calculator. It really digs into the psychological side of money and asserts that if you're struggling to turn things around by using math and book knowledge, you may be missing the bigger picture. I've said it before; just because you know what to do doesn't mean you will necessarily do it. I mentioned 6 things in the article that I think are far more important than math. They were attitude, behavior, contentment, balance, intensity, and diligence. My point was that by working on these 6 characteristics you might be much more likely to succeed financially. Read more »

Debt Free Checklist: Plan a Special Meeting

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Back in May I wrote a post called Your Debt Free Checklist, which listed steps you would take action on and complete to become debt free. I also mentioned in that post that I would break down each step on the list into a series of articles. This is the first post of that series and it covers setting up a special meeting with your spouse. Some have asked me why I haven’t left it open to anyone in a relationship. Why did I specifically mention “spouse”? That’s actually very simple. I know some people that aren’t married that combine […] Read more »

Reach Your Goals by Aligning Your Actions With Those Goals

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Last night I was taking a closer look at my goals and I realized something. My top two goals in 2011 are to lose weight and to save approximately $15,000 for our big emergency fund and a “newer” used car. As I was considering what I could do to make sure I do something every day that contributes to my success, I realized something. I have a blog, Enemy of Fat, just kind of hanging out in the enchanted land of blogger abandonment, all the while I’m writing for another blog I started called Inside C’ville. That blog does nothing […] Read more »

What’s Your Debt Free Plan? Get Organized!

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Photo Credit: banspy So it’s 2011 and you have decided to get out of debt. What next? Getting out of debt can be a very overwhelming undertaking especially when you have no idea where you actually stand. The truth, although sometimes ugly, shall set you free. Too many people — my former self included — simply avoid the truth and walk around ignoring the reality of their financial situations. I’ll just say what you probably already know. Ignoring reality doesn’t make it any less real and denial does more to hurt you than to help you. Once you’ve decided that […] Read more »

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2011

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Photo Credit: lululemon athletica Happy New Year everyone! I’ve gotten to somewhat of a late start this year as far as my resolutions are concerned. I have plenty to accomplish in 2011 though, so here’s what I am hoping to accomplish this year. Financial Save $10,000 Emergency Fund – In 2010 we had a few setbacks in the emergency fund department. Neither were bad things, just set backs. We ended up settling on our second mortgage which depleted our emergency fund by over $7,000. OUCH!! The other thing happened here recently where we decided to give a good portion of […] Read more »

Organize And Break Your Goals Down Into Actionable Steps

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Have you made a list of goals for 2010 yet? Most of you probably saw my very comprehensive list of resolutions that I posted on Friday. In fact, some of you may have cringed at such a long list. One of my good friends, and a subscriber, sent me this message in response to that post. “Drink more beer!” Haha! Now I just want to point out to all of you that this is a first for me too. I’ve made resolution after resolution, year after year, only to lose interest fairly quickly. It seems that most people, including myself, […] Read more »

My 2010 Comprehensive List Of New Years Resolutions

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What are your New Year Resolutions? It seems to be so easy to make resolutions but even easier to abandon them as the year passes by. My main goal for the year is to stay motivated to complete all of my resolutions for the year. I plan to do that by giving you a monthly update as to my progress on these goals below. Ultimate accountability! I would ask that you help me by keeping me accountable. You can do that by actively participating in the comments section of each “Resolution Tracker” update post. Thank you and I hope each […] Read more »