As a teacher, I really enjoy my job. It allows me to help shape the lives of countless teenagers. It also helps to keep me young as I learn about the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of teenagers. Although I enjoy my job, I don't want to be forced to work forever. In other words, I want to have the option of retiring early. Perhaps this means that I do part time work or maybe I'll actually stop working completely. Maybe I´ll even continue to work full time. But no matter what, I want to have the option of leaving full time employment by the time I am 50 years old.…
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Set a Huge Goal
I have always thought that the acronym SMART was a pretty good way to set goals. To me, it makes sense that goals are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. However, one thing I always questioned about this acronym were the Achievable and Realistic parts of SMART. First, Achievable and Realistic basically mean the exact same thing. For something to be Achievable, it also needs to be Realistic. But even more important, sometimes it makes sense to set a goal that is, at first glance, unachievable and unrealistic. Sometimes, just the simple act of setting and thinking about this goal will cause us to achieve it.
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How to Use Balance Transfers to Pay Off Debt
Guess what? If you want to pay off debt, I have a really great guide that will help you. In this guide, it will tell you that getting out of debt involves a ton of hard work. There is no magic pill that will automatically get you out of debt. Balance transfers are NOT a magic pill that will get you out of debt automatically. However ... if you have high interest credit card debt, balance transfers can be a great way to help get out of debt. I've even used them to make sure that I was paying low interest rates as I got rid of over $400,000 in…
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The Ultimate Guide to Getting Out of Debt
Being in debt to a bank, credit union, or another person is one of the main things that holds so many people back financially. Instead of working for ourselves, we spend hundreds of hours every year working to make someone else wealthy. How demoralizing is that? Instead of making money that will help us live a comfortable life, we are making money that we have to instantly give to a bank. Have you ever noticed that banks have the nicest real estate in every major city? They are able to buy those fancy buildings because of all the interest that you and I have paid to them over the years.…
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Be Smart Now and Rich Later: How Teens Can Win with Money
As a high school teacher who talks openly about money and investments with my students, I am often asked about money. Even for the student who doesn’t want to pay attention in math class, they often get excited when we start talking about money. However, even though every one of my students wants to have money when they are older, many of them feel that investing takes too long. Many of them want to become rich now … not when they are in their 40s, 50s, or even 60s. And every single one of my students doesn’t want to hear about things that they can do when they turn 30.…
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My 6 Financial Mentors
No matter how good we are at something, there was a point in our lives when we weren’t as knowledgeable or good as we are now. In order to get better, we often had a mentor or a guru that has advised us and helped us to be better. In youth sports or academics, our mentors were probably our parents, coaches, and teachers. Not only did they teach about a sport or a certain subject, but they also pushed us to be the best version of ourselves when we were out on the field or in the classroom. Mentors are extremely important to have. For me, I have always had…
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3 Huge Mistakes I Made With Money
Currently, I feel that my wife and I do a pretty good job with our money. We invest in index funds for our retirement, we are close to paying off our house, and we have paid off all of our non-mortgage debt. We are even working together with our money to budget for our goals, values, and dreams. Aren’t we just perfect with our money? Of course not! Although we do a great job with many financial things, there are many things that we can do better. Sometimes we blow through our budget or argue about how money should be spent. Other times, we don’t even talk about money and try…
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Is Buying a Home With Cash a Good Idea?
The biggest home in my town is currently in the process of being built. It is set on 3-4 acres of one of the best pieces of property in the town, with a beautiful view of a river and of Canada. As you can see by the picture, this home will be quite spectacular when it is finally complete. The only issue with this home, is that it has been under construction for about 4 years, which means that the owners have probably invested over three million dollars into the property without actually being able to live in it. As I have watched this home get constructed, I was always…
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Life Before Budget vs. Dave Ramsey
Over the past 20-25 years, Dave Ramsey has always stood as a powerful voice against debt. Using his radio show and consistent teachings, he has helped millions of people gain control of their money and stay out of debt. To me, he is a financial hero because of all the people that he has helped. Even this humble blogger and my family have traveled down to the Dave Ramsey Show studios in Nashville, Tennessee to scream, "I'M DEBT FREE," after we paid off all of our consumer debt. We certainly are fans of Dave Ramsey. One of the things that I love the most about Dave Ramsey is that he…
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Saying Goodbye to $383,530 in Debt
Just 7 years ago, my family and I had a HUGE amount of debt! Although we had modest salaries, we made decisions that led to us to accrue $442,500 worth of debt! As debt guru, Dave Ramsey, says, we were "up to our eyeballs in debt!" Being in this much debt was very difficult. Although most of it was low-interest and "good" debt, we certainly didn't feel very good about it. After all, we were paying around $40 per day in interest payments. Since my wife and I were making under $40 per hour at our jobs, the first 1-2 hours of each day went to paying interest. Whether the…
