Back in the day when I was single, I was in the market for a car. The POS I paid $2,300 for shortly after coming back from living in Germany for two years didn't last long and after only a year I had already put over $1,000 in it to fix all its various problems. As I was talking to some friends at church about it, one of the guys I knew fairly well told me to come by the … [Read more...]
How Adversity and Success are Joined at the Hip
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about feeling helpless about our debt situation. Things certainly haven't really panned out the way I had planned them two years ago when I was just starting my final semester in college. We've been constantly plagued by medical bills we can't pay, and I've been left wanting when it comes to the usefulness of my college degree in helping me … [Read more...]
Declare Your Financial Independence
Friday is a pretty special day for us Americans. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress—a pretty bold statement for a bunch of revolutionaries who thought it would be cool to take on one of the vastest kingdoms in the world. Led by General George Washington, the Americans defied all odds to throw off, among other things, the financial … [Read more...]
Your Greatest Asset
When I was working in financial planning, the beginning was very insurance-heavy as I was studying like crazy and trying to become certified to sell securities as well. For many people, insurance is a taboo topic, even for personal finance bloggers. My experience taught me a lot about different kinds of insurance, but I spent most of my time with life and disability … [Read more...]
5 Lessons from Classic Christmas Movies
I read an article the other day by Dave Ramsey about financial lessons from classic Christmas movies, and it was so ridiculously stupid that I just had to rewrite the whole thing for him. If you want to read it, you’re welcome to here. But if you’d like to take the needle off the “debt is dumb” broken record and focus on other important lessons in life, feel free to enjoy my … [Read more...]