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Debt Free at 33!

Goal: debt free by age 33.  Catchy slogan.  Very simple, right?  Not so much.  If you are striving to be debt free in your life, chances are you are very much like me.  More than one night I've been sitting in my office at 2 AM, sleeves rolled up, coffee buzzed and eyes struggling to make the numbers on the computer, paper and whiteboard makeup. I've been carefully planning my money for sometime now.  I'm not going to lie.  It stresses me out.  I'm worried about not being able to support the family I will have one day.  I'm worried about debts and interest.  I'm worried about the future of social security.  All this and more can get me worked up in a sweaty minute over the future of the American dollar. Try to stay focused.  I've found it helps to concentrate on a specific goal and ignore the other emotions.  Lay your debts and balances out on a linear timeline.  Not what's doable, but what you wish you could do f...
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Here's Your Change!

2017 was a big year financially for me.  Change was inevitable but I had been procrastinating for some time.  I was relatively conservative with my money over the last few years in all but one category: food!  Those that know me are aware that I love good food.  Not married and no kids, I didn't have the discipline to buckle down on my eating out before this year.  Breakfast consisted of diners for bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes and coffee.  Lunches were places I hit up with the guys from work like Mexican restaurants, Five Guys, establishments with wings and burgers.  Dinner was usually a Fatz Café, Applebee's, J Peters or Coopers that offered steaks, potatoes, macaroni, steamed vegetables and dinner rolls. I purchased a home in June of this year and quickly saw my accounts draining.  So I went back for a 12 month analysis of my food spending.  On a conservative month, I was spending no less than $1,000 a month on food.  Most mont...
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Choosing Your Home

It's a huge debate in modern society whether renting or buying is best.  Endless financial experts bomb you with statistics and financials supporting or debunking each method.  Today's savvy spender is just looking for a reasonable answer.  What about a compromise? Over the course of the past 3 years, I started and edited endless spreadsheets depicting outcomes based on a wide range of scenarios.  RV living, building a mini-warehouse, a livable garage, renting, building new and buying a fixer-upper were among the possibilities.  I wanted to find a suitable option that wouldn't have me married to a mortgage or endlessly in debt.  And so, I began a research project on debt.  A recent publication estimated a person in the US to pay $279,002.00 in lifetime interest.  Credit card interest, mortgage interest, and more piled on and on.  That's not to include costs of insurance for your health, home and even your money (If you have enough to warran...
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