Quarter 1: Happy New Year! This was our first real quarter at hitting up the ultimate goals of paying off the rest of my student loans, staying out of debt, and saving for the future. With those three goals in mind, let’s see how we fared: Student Loans: What a fantastic first quarter. We had […]
As there are really no sacred cows when you are rethinking your finances, let’s take a look at a few ways to rethink the most expensive time of year: A change in mindset: As alluded to in the previous post, getting away from the consumerism and clutter of the season requires a change in thinking. […]
Over the years, the “Holiday Season” had become more empty, stressful, and exhausting than it should be. Couple that with the confusing messages this can send to your children about greed, materialism, and empty religiosity and it’s enough to make even the most devout turn into a Scrooge. In an effort to fight this cultural tide […]
We are on the cusp of something great. My student loans have been a monkey on my back for 15 years. I went through various periods of grief. Denial. Anger. Indifference. But that balance remained My student loans have been a monkey on my back for 15 years. I went through various periods of grief: […]
Walking up the stairs I heard the soft, gentle voice of my three-year-old daughter “Wait here Daddy, I have a gift for you.” I sat down midflight with great expectation. This was a new stage for my daughter, I had never seen her do this before. I heard her rummaging around downstairs, and not too much […]
As we continue down the path of financial overhaul, my wife and I have come to realize two major fallacies in our thinking that has consistently gotten us into financial trouble (and maybe other trouble too, but let’s stick to the finances for this one): Entitlement and Magical Thinking. Entitlement The first “nice” car my […]
We have been attending our little Anglican church for about a year now. With a three-year-old and a five-year-old in tow, it is difficult to make connections after service. If they are not overly cranky from their little stomachs asking for lunch, they are usually pretty amped up from sitting in service and ready to stretch […]
“All the important things in life are invisible.” -Fred Rogers In our world of keeping up with the neighbors, ever changing fashion, constantly outpacing technology, and ever competative fields it is very easy to be swept up in it all. We seem to have a knack on placing value in things that really […]
Growing up in the 1980’s/1990’s in Southern California, it was frowned upon to ride your bike to work. People who did that were thought to be a little off or looked down on for not being able to afford a car (at least in the circles I grew up around). It just wasn’t (and probably […]
My wife and I can usually gauge the items in an estate sale from the driveway. How was the house kept up? What neighborhood is it in, and on what street? What kind of car is in the driveway for sale? It’s a bit like judging a book by its cover. Once inside, you clamor […]
