Waiting For An Emergency Will Cost You Money

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I looked down at the dashboard and noticed all the lights on the dash were flickering. Suddenly the radio cut out, and turned back on. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest when it happened a second time. When the radio came back on again, it was accompanied by a “ding” and several warning lights on the dash board which remained illuminated. Not exactly something you want to happen while driving in rush hour traffic. We carefully drove to my brother-in-law’s house, as we discussed our course of action. We knew the battery was due to be replaced, […] Read more »

4 Tips to Sweet Talk Your Partner About Money

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I love my husband.  That is a fact, but it is also a mantra that I repeat to myself before we sit down to discuss anything about household finances. No matter how innocuous the discussion may be, it typically causes one or both of us a bit of tension.  It should come as no surprise that the number one reason for divorce reported last year was money problems. In our first five years of marriage financial discussions were a battle ground.  Nobody escaped unharmed and we discovered that we had VERY different perspectives about managing money.  We also happened to […] Read more »

Four Years of Growth and Change

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Yesterday was the four year anniversary of our first payment to our debt management program. When a person takes on a long and difficult task, many times it seems that in some ways the time passes in the blink of an eye. I tell you the truth that in this instance, that is not the case. It seems as if we have been fighting our way out of debt forever. Each of these 48 months have been a challenge. Most have been victories, some of them have not. But the constant in all of this is that we have always […] Read more »

A Taste of Financial Freedom

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On Saturday Vonnie turned the big 4-0.  Forty is the age where people question their place in life, reflect upon what they have or haven’t accomplished, and question their mortality. In other words, their 40th birthday can leave a person feeling old. I wanted to give my wife a day of fun that would make her feel special, and help ease her way into her fifth decade on planet earth. The night before her birthday I told Vonnie that she better get some rest because she was in for a very busy day. She started to ask questions, but I […] Read more »

Save Money by Being Your Own Florist? Yes You Can!

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What’s the key to a successful marriage? That’s a loaded question, and quite honestly I think the answer is unique to each couple. But if I had to give one generality that I think could possibly apply to everyone, I would advise people to listen to their partner. I’m not referring to giving a nod and throwing in an agreeable statement every time there’s a pause in your partner’s voice. I mean really listen to what they’re saying. The amazing thing is, your significant other will actually tell you what they want. About a month ago, my daughter had her […] Read more »

Who Says You Can’t Rock a Tool Belt with Heels?

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Tool belt and heels

When it comes to home repairs or pulling off DIY projects, it’s the ladies in my family rocking the tool belt.  Despite being a card carrying Daddy’s girl, I did not grow up with the kind of father who owned lots of power tools or worked around the house fixing things each weekend.  However, I do have a mother who currently owns a band saw and thinks instructions manuals are for babies. I am a hardcore DIY’er.  I have a list longer than the square footage of my house full of home improvement projects. My loving and supportive (and manly, […] Read more »

My Wife Doesn’t Stop…..Until She Gets What She Wants

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When my wife gets her mind set on a mission, her tenacity at achieving a goal is unparalleled.  This is true in every facet of life, including those times when she feels that she has been overcharged, or not getting what was promised to her. I got to see my fiery wife in action again this weekend. Back in our free spending days we had a subscription to Sirius/XM radio. We had purchased a detachable faceplate unit that fit into a mounting plate in our car, or on a portable radio that we commonly use outside. The $15 a month […] Read more »

In Finances, Fitness and Life, Together We Stand, Divided We Fail

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Over the weekend Vonnie and I watched the movie “This is 40″ with a group of friends.   I won’t give away many of the details of the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet, but the plot revolves around the fact that the two main characters are about to reach that milestone age of 40. The movie focuses on the changes that go on in people’s lives as they move into middle age, and their reaction to those changes.  I cannot confirm or deny that both Vonnie and I may or may not be reaching this milestone age […] Read more »

Financial Peace Will Save My Marriage

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Peace. It’s a word that’s been stuck my head. It all started with a post I read last week in which the author described how budgeting brought peace to her marriage. The title stirred something inside me.  A simple, but powerful word, that for some reason seemed to continuously pop into my mind over the weekend. Friday evening we were trying to decide what to do for dinner. None of the options left on our meal planning list sounded very good to the family. In a moment of frustration as my stomach growled, I suggested we go out to eat. […] Read more »

Our Story: An Interview on Talk Credit Radio

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About three months ago, I was honored to be a guest on Gerri Detweiler’s Talk Credit Radio program.  I was thrilled to share Vonnie and I’s debt story and answer Gerri’s questions regarding  how it has changed our lives forever.  She has been generous enough to provide me with a link to audio streaming of the interview, and I wanted to share it with The EOD Nation.  Click on the picture of Vonnie and I below to hear the interview.                 I’d love to hear your thoughts on the interview, or answer any […] Read more »

Kids, We’re In Debt

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Preface: My wife and I were discussing various financial subjects over dinner one evening last week when  Tori, our ten year old daughter, blurted out, “I remember when mom told us we were in debt.”   After she told us the story from her perspective, I asked her if she would be willing to write me a blog post about it.  Immediately after dinner she sat down in front of the computer, and began typing away.  The following is the story of our journey out of debt through the eyes of our daughter. Three years and four months ago my mom […] Read more »

My 8 Step Plan to Resolve Financial Conflict and be a Super Hero Husband

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My wife is a “Go big, or don’t do it at all” kind of person.   We once had a Valentine’s Day themed Pampered Chef party which included tables in our living room set with tablecloths, centerpieces, and a full dinner. While we were planning the party, we had several disagreements regarding how elaborate it should be.  It even became a joke of sorts between us as every time we disagreed, she would utter the phrase, “Don’t you see my vision?”  We had a huge turnout, and earned a ton of product credit from the sales. Taking into account the […] Read more »

Done Living Paycheck to Paycheck? It’s Up to Us!

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Vonnie and I had made quick work of reviewing and revising our spending plan for the remainder of the month, so we started work on our finances for the first half of November. “I think we should put something in savings,” she said. I was caught off guard and surprised when Vonnie said these words. Not because she said them, but because I knew it was possible. For so many years, it has been so different. We’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for our entire marriage, and up until we enrolled in our debt management plan we supplemented our income […] Read more »

Overspending, Failure to Track Expenses, and A $100 Loan Equals….Success?

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Trying to recover from overspending during the first half of July, Vonnie and I planned our spending  for the rest of the month with only bare bones funds available.  We even sat the kids down and explained to them exactly what was going on, so that they would have realistic expectations in regards to family activities for the remainder of the month. We had a plan that looked great on paper, and we were confident we could execute it successfully. And then real life happened. The first weekend was supposed to be one of those “enjoy what we have at […] Read more »