How I Paid Off Over $50,000 Of Credit Card Debt + MORE

Every other Friday, there’s a happy hour at a nearby bar. I have managed not to go because I rather go workout straight after work on Friday. But last week, I convinced myself to go, in order, to network with my fellow peers. I forgo on the alcohol and order water. Especially since I was planning, and actually did go to Boot camp afterwards…

Have you ever lent money to a friend or family member? If you have, did he/she pay you back? If they didn’t pay you back did that experience leave a bad taste in your mouth?
A few years ago I lent some money to a friend. The friend was having some financial problems (through no fault of her own) and needed a little cash to keep afloat…

The National Bank, Oamaru, built 1871: a prostyle Palladian portico on a neoclassical facade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last week, I got an email from US Bank. I had been a happy customer of their free checking account for the past three years. But it seems it was not to be. In a few weeks, I will be their customer no longer…

I was listening to the radio on my drive home (in my paid off car, of course) just last week and heard an interesting advertisement for a contest the radio station was running. If you called in at a certain time you could win a chance to win (not straight out winning) a trip to Germany, a trip to Orlando or $500 cash…

Since August 2012, I have been writing on Debt Roundup about many different topics.  They have all surrounded money and debt, because that is what I am passionate about.  I have provided this information because I wanted to help those that are in the same situation that I was once in.  I also wanted to show others that people make mistakes and that I am very much human…

Ah, passwords. In a world that relies more and more on computers and other automated systems to run just about everything from our bank and stock market accounts to our phones and cars, it’s increasingly important to control access to everything around us, particularly our property and our money…

I can still remember sitting in a finance class in 10th grade (my only one) and hearing about compound interest for the first time.  The illustrations the teacher showed blew my mind.  I was thinking, “That little amount of money can turn into that much money just by investing?!”.  Since then I have been told many times how time is your biggest friend when it comes to investing and every time I imagine how much money I could have by the time I want to retire…

When I first started investing in 1993, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) had just been introduced. They were not, however, a popular or widely known option. Instead, my options were primarily mutual funds or individual stocks. When ETFs were first introduced, they seemed pointless to me.
We were told they were a cross between mutual funds and individual stocks…

Do you hate getting stung with bank fees and charges as much as I do? It seems criminal to me some of the fees that banks employ to steal your money. Unfortunately there is a chronic lack of competition in the banking sector (at least in Australia) and this is the price that we end up paying.

Recently one of the banks that I have an account with migrated my bank account to a new type of account without much warning, and for some reason it was unable to make external bank transfers…

Several months back I wrote a post about whether or not Employers Care About Their Employees Anymore and it created a nice little discussion about the state of the working place and what that might mean for us as individuals. As an aside, as I was researching this post, when I did some Google searching for today’s topic nearly all the articles I saw were related to Obamacare and what businesses may do in the upcoming months…

Now that summer is here, the shorts are out of the closet, sandals are back on the shoe rack, and my fleece coat is taking a break for a couple of months.  While this season does mean I’ll have to shave me legs more than once a month and keep toenails painted, there are some things I just can’t believe women and some men do to look good…

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I wasn’t happy as I walked into Applebees to purchase a $50 gift card. A well liked member of the staff at the elementary school where Vonnie worked was leaving and her coworkers had come up with the idea to have everyone pitch in and get a gift card as a going away present…

There comes a time when you have no choice but to purchase a new car. Whether you are simply tired of your old car or have to replace it because it keeps breaking down, a new vehicle is the best (and sometimes, only) solution. Before you go to a dealership and start looking at what … Continue Reading »

… and other lies we tell ourselves
Preface by J. L. Moneyseed: Mrs. Moneyseed and I have just returned from our week away from Real Life, where we were basking in the sun in beautiful Orlando, Florida. Well, actually we spent most of the time inside since the weather was more like a monsoon than the tropical climate we were hoping for…

Hey everyone! Happy Monday. I hope you all had an awesome weekend. I still can’t believe that it’s June. The year is just flying by.
We didn’t do a whole ton this weekend, just did a lot of relaxing and some side hustle work.
This week I have Thursday off and we are taking our engagement photos…

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is a the largest publicly traded oil company in the world, operating in over 200 countries.  It has three major business segments.  One, oil and natural gas exploration and production (64% of earnings). Two, refining and marketing (28%).  Three, chemical manufacture and distribution (8%)…

Good morning Dinks. I don`t know about you, but I spend a lot of money on food. When I was younger and financially irresponsible I used to spend a lot of money eating out in restaurants and buying take-out food. Now that I am older and more mature and I learned how to budget I spend a lot of money when shopping at the grocery store…