Whether you’re quivering helplessly at the foot of a massive mountain of debt or just having trouble getting moving on a modest sized pile there’s a weapon that will help you level it like the planes of west Texas. It’s called the “debt snowball,” and while there’s a good chance you’ve heard of it if you’re reading this article then I’m guessing you haven’t tried it. I used this method myself to pay off over $15K in car loans before I was married, and again to pay off $12K in car loans immediately after I was married. How List out... Continue reading

I recently learned about a cool time management concept from the blog Rock Your Day. It’s called “the living room principle,” and it goes something like this: You know how you don’t get around to cleaning up the house “because it will take too long,” but when someone calls and says they’re coming over now it miraculously gets done, really fast? - MoreTimeNow at RockYourDay Although intended to illustrate a powerful time management technique the living room principle also demonstrates the energy of focused efforts. This is exactly how you get out of debt. You focus on getting out of... Continue reading

Tell someone around the office tomorrow you got a great buy on a stock and they'll most certainly reply "how much was it?" Although that's exactly the wrong question to ask, our consumerist nature and media influence compel us to ask anyway. After reading this article I hope you'll reply, "What difference does it make?" To illustrate what I mean I'll use this simplistic example: Suppose I were to offer you a 2 year masters degree in business administration, an MBA. Aside from completing the coursework the only requirement is that you purchase the program from me for $10,000. What... Continue reading

If I described someone as "a slave to money" what would you think of them? Would you imagine someone toiling endlessly in the hot sun to put food on their table? Or perhaps the stingy guy in the corner office who ruined your weekend so Lumberg's stock would go up one quarter of a percent? What do you think of people striving to get more money? Are they slaves to money because of their desire for it and pursuit of it? Continue reading

Having a financial plan is powerful. I'm not just talking about having a general notion of what you're aiming for, but rather a specific written down plan of attack. Last week life came to visit the Bradleys to the tune of $7,000. Was it fun? Or course not! But as much as my stomach sank when I heard the total I was quickly reminded of how thankful I am we prepared for this day. Continue reading

No matter what your attitude toward debt, investing, saving, or giving it seems nearly everyone agrees that you need an emergency fund. It's often listed as the number one piece of financial advice given by the wealthy as the key to future success. Having an emergency fund will allow you to weather the financial storms that will inevitably come your way. It can protect you from having to liquidate assets or take on debt at inopportune times (which will cost you more than the original problem did to begin with!). Once you've got that emergency fund banked you can breath... Continue reading

When I tell people I run the operations for a web startup it typically conjures up an image of me working on a fancy laptop surrounded by brightly colored, oddly shaped desks. A web startup’s office should seem equally comfortable hosting a killer party as it does housing an all night crunch to meet a deadline. In reality however, I work in a cube similar to yours in a not so exciting office on a computer I purchased myself. A lot has changed in the startup world since the dot-com boom and bust and there’s a lot we can learn... Continue reading

Yesterday I had my first Airrosti visit to fix my high ankle sprain. Seventeen days prior I slipped on some ice in Colorado and landed directly on my heel. I went to a sports medicine doctor in Austin two days later who diagnosed it as a high ankle sprain and sentenced to wear a boot for 8 weeks. At this point I could stand without the boot on, but couldn't take any real steps and had minimal movement capabilities. At the beginning of my session the doctor had me do some basic exercises to benchmark my capabilities. I tried walking... Continue reading

Tomorrow I will begin Airrosti treatment on my ankle sprain. In short, Airrosti has demonstrated an extradorinaiy ability to rehabilitate shoulder, back, and other soft tissue injuries in a short amount of time. The treatment focuses on the fascial system which is responsible for organizing the materials in the body. One of it's many jobs is to shape muscles and keep them from tearing or herniating. When a soft tissue injury occurs the fascial system is distorted and is very slow to heal. Airrosti essentially puts things back where they're supposed to be. Sound made up? I'd have to agree... Continue reading

When I started using the envelope system to get out of debt years ago I struggled a lot. Conceptually the envelope system is very easy to grasp and use, however it was a lot harder for me to succeed with it in the real world. Challenges: Where do I put 6 envelopes full of cash??? This one applies mostly to the purseless guys out there and it was a significant challenge for me. I did all the work to budget, get the envelopes set up, and stuff them. Now I was faced with the challenge of transporting these envelopes plus... Continue reading

Well here it is. My new boot. Of course you want to hear the exciting story of what happened, and so I'll tell you... Recently we went to Colorado with some buddies for our annual winter vacation which was a blast. The weather was amazing and I did everything I wanted to do. In fact, here's a quick list of awesome things I did NOT hurt myself doing: Sledding down a steep hill onto an icy street Pushing a car out of the snow Learning how to land a 180 on skis Racing a ski-cross course (although I did have... Continue reading

My wife and I just returned from our annual vacation to Colorado with some friends for some winter fun. Although I've been debt free for several years vacationing always seems to bring back some money stresses for me. The Problem: With vacation coming up we start planning and saving so we can do the things we want. We estimate our expenses, make a budget for the trip, and set aside cash so we can do the things we want. So what in the world could be stressful about this system? Perhaps it's just my personality, but I like to keep... Continue reading

One of the keys to successful budgeting is sticking to the ammounts you budgeted (duh). Unfortunately this is easier said then done for most people. These days there are a multitude of websites, apps, and gadgets to track your spending and keep you organized. When it comes to results however, you just can't beat the tried and true envelope system! Here's how it works: Make your budget: Spend all of your money on paper on purpose at the beginning of the month. Stuff the Envelopes: Fund categories as many categories as practically possible with CASH. Withdraw the amount of money... Continue reading

In 1953 at Yale university they conducted a study on the graduating class. They discovered that only 3% of the graduating seniors had definite predetermined objectives. Twenty years later they did another survey of those same people, and of the 3% that had set those goals and committed them to paper and had made a commitment, they had accomplished more then the 97% who had not written it down. Despite this fact 97% of the American people have never committed their goals to paper. Why is this? Continue reading

If you spent any time studying personal finance, wealth building, or how to succeed with money you undoubtedly already know that budgeting is one of the keys. So why don't more people do it? While conceptually budgeting involves little more than addition and subtraction, the reality of making that plan work in the real world often results in failure and ultimately giving up on the process. Here are some of the best tips from my experience for making a budget WORK! Continue reading

After debating for months about whether or not CrossFit was a good fit for me I decided to try it. After three workouts with the class (and the three "Elements" intro workouts) I can definitely say I'm a FAN! The workouts are broken down into 4 sections and last about an hour. So far NONE of the sections have been anything close to boring or monotonous (one of my big problems with the gym and most cardio). Warmup: Each workout begins with a 10-ish minute warmup. Most of the exercises are designed to warm up your joints and muscles and... Continue reading

This likely isn't the first time you've heard it, but you need an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. It's pretty simple really: Cash, set aside in a separate account (money market or savings) that you never touch except for emergencies. This simple concept will have a huge impact on your financial future though! Here are the top characteristics of people who faithfully maintain an emergency fund: Peace! Having money set aside for a rainy day turns a significant set back into a minor inconvenience. Imagine the sinking feeling deep in your gut when your car won't start, or... Continue reading

If I told you I was a millionaire how would you picture me? I mean a multi-millionaire. A decamillionaire even. You'd probably envision me writing this post from a fancy office in my 6,000 square foot home with CNBC on in the background. You might speculate about my typical work day as a risk taking stock broker squeezing money out of thin air or perhaps producing hot new music tracks in my personal studio. Let me just stop you right there because I'm not a millionaire (not yet at least). It's interesting the way images that come to mind when... Continue reading

I started using TripIt to manage my travel itineraries about 6 months ago and could not be happier! It's awesome to be able quickly look up all the relevant information about my trip from my phone. It's neatly organized with helpful links for addresses (hotels), phone-numbers, flight numbers, and everything else you'd want to know. The best part is to make your itinerary you just forward you confirmation emails to [email protected] and they do the rest. Could not be easier. As more of my friends have started using TripIt it's become even MORE useful! In fact, I require anyone who... Continue reading

So you're finally giving this budget thing a real shot. Good for you! But, wait! Before using that spreadsheet or logging onto that helpful website, consider this: There is a lot more to successful budgeting than addition and subtraction. Spreadsheets and personal finance websites are not the right tool. At least not at first. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why in the world I would suggest doing anything other than utilize the speed and convenience of technology for successful budgeting. Personal finance is much more behavior than math. Using technology to run your budget will only get you so far... Continue reading

If you've read even a handful of personal finance articles over the past few months you've undoubtedly come across this headline already. You've heard plenty of tips about how to minimize the damages or adjust credit usage to life on the new frontier. What is shocking however is that I don't hear more people saying ENOUGH already! What would you do if you found out your cell phone company doubled your rates? Or if your local grocery store started charging you for each trip down an aisle? People have been outraged with much slighter changes, so why is it we're... Continue reading