Remember video game cheat codes? My son got a cheat code book from his cousin a few months back and he’s finding out just how awesome they are. Take your favorite video game or the hardest video game and the cheat code book gave you power you never thought you could have. Unlimited lives. More firepower. Skipping ahead several levels to defeat the last big boss. Honestly it made winning the game so much easier, and it was awesome! As I got older, I noticed something about cheat codes – there were more of them then just I knew about video games! Clearly all around me there were all kinds of “cheats” going on. And by cheats I mean people who had figured out how to get the things, act a certain way, and live the life I wanted. … [Read more...] about Unlock Your Financial Philosophy Cheat Codes
Lifestyle
I Have Cancer. Now What I Am Going to Do?
Two weeks ago I learned some pretty shocking news: I have cancer. What started out as a seemingly simple trip to the doctor to find out why my neck was feeling so constricted lately quickly escalated into an 8-night stay at the hospital full of scans, biopsies, and blood-work which ultimately concluded that I have Stage II Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Believe me – to say this has been quite a shock is to say the least. I’ll be turning 35 years old next month and this is something I would have never guessed I’d be dealing with at this stage of my life. I’ve always worked very, very hard to stay in stay in good shape, eat healthy, and keep things positive. However as I’m slowly understanding, sometimes life has its own unique set of … [Read more...] about I Have Cancer. Now What I Am Going to Do?
Recognizing the Important Aspects of Life
One of my favorite movies to watch during Christmas time is the old classic “A Christmas Carol”. Yes, I know. It’s about as cliché of a Christmas movie as they can possibly get. Pretty much everyone knows the story of bitter-old Ebenezer Scrooge and how he changes his miserable ways after a visit from 3 ghosts who show him how meaningless his life really is and convince him to change. I think most people will agree that the main point of the Dickens’s tale is that there is more to life than money. However as I’ve become older I’ve realized that the theme of money actually highlights several important aspects of life that have either became lost or forgotten when people watch the movie over the years. In the beginning of the … [Read more...] about Recognizing the Important Aspects of Life
Learn How to Manage Money Wisely By Doing This One Thing
A few months ago a coworker and I got talking about our company’s retirement plan and I could tell he needed some help understanding some of the fundamentals. So the next day I lent him a copy of one of one of my favorite books on finance in hopes that it would help him to manage his money better. However a few months later when I checked in with him he said he still had not read the book because he hadn’t found the time for it. “I don’t have time for that” – It’s one of the biggest illusions we fool ourselves into believing. We say it about exercising more, going back and getting that degree, spending more time with the people that matter, etc. Yet for many of us I’m willing to bet that if you really did an audit of what actually do … [Read more...] about Learn How to Manage Money Wisely By Doing This One Thing
How to Become Independently Wealthy … Outside Your Job
How does someone actually get rich? Should they make more money at their jobs by working harder? Should they take on longer hours and more responsibility … all in vain hopes of getting a better raise or bigger bonus? Is your job even really the only way how to become independently wealthy? In this post I want to dig a little deeper into what it takes to actually become “rich”. People who have made it – whether they are in the top 100 of Forbes or even people that you know in real life - more than likely didn’t get there by running the rat race and working themselves to death. While that might be the case for a small fraction of individuals, I think you can find in just about any good book or biography that the successful … [Read more...] about How to Become Independently Wealthy … Outside Your Job
Do Grades Really Matter? What Really Counts When It Comes to Your Career
I was an A-student back in school. I worked very hard to get them. I knew that they were my ticket to something bigger and greater. At least that’s what I used to believe – until I realized that the only things bigger and greater were the ones I found on my own. Don’t think that that’s true? Then how is it that you and your colleagues can all be so diverse in your backgrounds and academics, yet you all do the same job. You probably all get paid roughly about the same too. In some instances the people who did worse in school are the boss or actually make more than you do. If that’s so, then do grades really matter? What’s the point of killing yourself for a 4.0 grade point average or going to a good college if you’re all going … [Read more...] about Do Grades Really Matter? What Really Counts When It Comes to Your Career
Good Scary Movies to Watch this Halloween – 2014 Edition
I wanted to take this opportunity to break up our normal regimen of posts devoted to serious personal finance topics and dive into something far more entertaining: Good scary movies to watch this Halloween! If you’re like me and always looking for some good, cheap fun around Halloween-time, then there is nothing better than renting a couple of really scary movies from the Redbox or Netflix that will leave you scared to go to bed. This is the third edition of my “good scary movies” post. You can find my past horror movie picks from 2013 and 2012 at these links with reviews of some of my favorites like The Ring, Sinister, Insidious, Drag Me to Hell, Cabin in the Woods, Trick r’ Treat, Donnie Darko, etc. Here are my new additions for … [Read more...] about Good Scary Movies to Watch this Halloween – 2014 Edition
Stay Humble – You’re Still Just a Ditch-Digger
Sometimes I feel like all throughout my life I was lead by the media to believe I was going to be entitled. When I was a little boy I used to watch Scrooge McDuck swim through his giant money bin full of cash. When I was teenager I watched MTV’s The Real World and couldn’t wait to live in giant apartment with no job for 2-3 months. When I was an adult house hunting shows made me think that living in a beautiful, luxurious $300K home was completely normal. With messages like that, how is someone supposed to stay humble? By getting back to their roots every now and again. By serving those who need served. Helping My Dad with Building His Deck: The summer is not just a great time to be outside, but also a good time to … [Read more...] about Stay Humble – You’re Still Just a Ditch-Digger