From time to time, we interview folks who are financially independent (FI) and owning their money. Today is an interview I did with my brother, who retired at 50 and is financially independent. A 60-something retired conservation officer, Mark lives with his wife in a quaint Wisconsin town surrounded by lakes, wildlife and forest. He …
Category: Money
10 Principles for Handling Money in Marriage
Some alarming statistics I came across recently got me thinking about how handling finances well within a marriage is so important. For example, according to Dr.Phil.com, money is the number one problem in marriages and the number one cause of divorce. Jeffrey Dew’s paper titled Bank on it: Thrifty Couples are the Happiest, claims that …
How to Start an Online Business on a Shoestring Budget
It was December 2000 and I was a pharmaceutical rep in a hotel room 300 miles from home. I was doing some Christmas shopping online when I saw it. The little box titled “Enter Coupon Code” that would change my career path forever. I had never heard of a coupon code before, and after some …
Money Management Tips for College Freshmen
The following article is a guest post from my college freshman brother, Ryan. He provides some great insight into how to manage your money on your own during your college years. When I was ready to start my freshman year of college this year, there were so many things that I was worried about. Where …
Mister Rogers and Money
One of my favorite tv shows growing up was Mr. Rogers. I remember watching the program after getting home from kindergarten and chomping on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich my mom had just made. There was something about his gentle demeanor and way with others that endeared him to so many – including myself. …
Six Benefits of Rolling Over Your 401k
This month I had on my list of monthly goals to rollover my 401k from an employer I left in 2011 to Vanguard. Last Friday I pulled the trigger after running into a number of hurdles that were preventing me from getting my 401k. These hurdles were: Spousal Consent Form – notarized letter with my …
What’s Your Biggest Financial Regret?
I had just gotten a new job and my car broke down. I felt like I needed to replace it quickly and was running out of options. I knew a fella from the golf course I frequented who worked at a car dealership. I ended up visiting him there – and quickly fell in love …
Does Money Make You Mean?
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. – 1 Timothy 6:10 In J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” – an interesting character named Gollum has a very scary obsession with the …
7 Potential Ways to Save Money as a Stay-at-home Mom
“Behind every good man is a better woman.” That is a saying I firmly believe after being married to my wife for 11 years now. After our first child was born in 2004 my wife and I decided to have my wife be a stay-at-home mom from that point on (or at least for one year). One …
Minimalism – How Owning Less Stuff Will Save You Money
In 2008, I first heard of this crazy concept called “Minimalism“. It was where people were purposely removing unneeded stuff from their lives, because they didn’t want their possessions weighing them down. “Who were these strange people?” From reading Unclutterer.com I’d came upon this way-of-life, which was completely contradictory to everything I’d been taught as an …