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Hey!  Tess, from Money Done Right, contacted me to write a guest post.  Here are her top 7 tips on how to bad shopping habits.  I’ll offer my own thoughts in red on how I personally avoid making my own bad shopping habits.  7 Tips On How to Break Bad Shopping Habits: Tip #1:  BuyingRead more

The woman looked at me with a curious expression.  She asked, “Maybe you can help me with something I’ve always wanted to know… How do I know when I can retire?”   We had just finished an outdoor activity class with her.  During small talk afterward, I had told her I write a financial blogRead more

The best investment we have made this year isn’t even a financial investment.  Looking back on it, I can’t believe we didn’t invest in it sooner.  For 5 years we were being cheap, and we made a mistake.  This investment totally changed our lives and increased our happiness dramatically this winter.  Here it is:  Read more

It’s tax time!  Does the subject of, “How to file your own taxes?” make you cringe?   Every year I get mild-anxiety around this time when I start gathering all of the paperwork to do my taxes.  Will I owe money?  Will I get a refund?  Am I doing it right?  Doing your taxes can beRead more

I had an epiphany this week:  Our financial present and futures are created from all of the micro-and-macro financial decisions in our pasts.   From a personal perspective, as I look back on my life, it wasn’t one lucky break or genius skill that sent us skyrocketing toward being rich.  It was a routine setRead more

Last week, I had a reporter from WCCO, a major news station in the Twin Cities contact me about a potential interview.  The reporter’s name was Cristiane Cordero, and she wanted to interview me about the strategies I’ve used to save around $300,000 in six years.    Cristiane – a millenial herself – felt buggedRead more

I finally did it!  I posted a net-worth update!!!!  I hope to post these updates quarterly so you can follow along and grow your own net-worth with me.  So here’s my very first net-worth update for December 2018: I’ve wanted to publish a net-worth update for a long time, but I avoided writing one outRead more

To build wealth, you have to be a smart shopper.  Here are the 4 rules we follow that help us make smart purchases:   #1 Identify Needs Before You Need Them. #2 Target buying things when the price is the lowest. #3 Only make purchases that help you live your best life.  #4 Always payRead more

A friend to this blog, Financial Panther, wrote a cool article back in March that was a revelation to me and still has me thinking. It was titled: “Monetize Your Life.” The article was about how he learned how to make money from the simple things in life he naturally enjoyed doing throughout the day.Read more

Hello!  Amanda and I are up in the Upper Peninsula (The UP) of Michigan this week on a mini-road trip to see a new part of the country, hang with friends, and enjoy a wedding in Green Bay, WI on the way home.   We’ve never been to Michigan before, but so far it’s beenRead more