What do the numbers 61, 65 and 73 have in common? You might guess they are the home run records set during various Major League Baseball seasons by Roger Maris (1961), Mark McGwire (1999) and Barry Bonds (2001) respectively. However, for our purposes here those numbers represent peoples ages. Specifically, the age they may be looking at to mark the beginning of their retirement. In fact, we could also put in numbers like 55, 50 or even younger as even people at those ages are asking could I or should I retire early. Let’s just get this out of the way right at the beginning – clearly a person c ..read more

Lets assume that you’ve finally decided getting out of debt is a priority. You know that saving money in the monthly budget by cutting expenses is a key component to the debt payoff process. But where do you start? What is the best place to start chopping away at your budget? The Headache Factor Equation will help you determine which spending categories to cut first. Not all categories are created equal. For some expenses, you can find money savings quickly. Others are going to take a little more time and effort. Some budget cuts will be easy to endure while others might lead to some family ..read more

Let’s face it – men need encouragement. We try to act tough like we can handle everything on our own. But if we are honest, we need to be lifted up just like anyone else. So it’s a good thing there are many encouraging Bible verses for men from which we can draw inspiration. The Bible is full of encouragement to all people. There are so many stories and verses that give us inspiration, strength and comfort in our time of need. But are there verses that speak a little more directly to men and our issues? I think so. Men have challenges that women don’t face on the same scale or level of intensi ..read more

“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” – Matthew 22:21 Like you, my tax paperwork is due to be filed by April 15th. There is no doubt that doing the tax return is no fun to fill out every year. It has become a much easier task though since my wife became a CPA. Talking about taxes sets our blood to a boil. We despise the fact that we work so hard only to see so much money taken from each paycheck. “Isn’t there a way to avoid it?” we ask. That question should raise alarm bells for everyone. While certain maneuvers with money are legal, m ..read more

It’s hard enough to deal with the topic of our own death let alone what will happen to our possessions once we pass away. Setting up a family inheritance can get complex and technical. That’s why most people don’t deal with it. The aftermath of what we do could lead to a potential mess as this 2012 article from Fox News demonstrates: “Heirs of a wealthy New York art dealer were left a $65 million sculpture [named “Canyon”]…The bequest comes with a $29 million tax bill, but since the piece includes a stuffed eagle, it can’t be sold…federal law makes it a crime to possess, transport, sell or oth ..read more

Weeks ago, at the beginning of November, stores already had Christmas decorations on display. I know those stores are just trying to get the most out of Christmas season. But it’s too early at that point for me to think about Christmas. For me, December 1st officially starts my holidays. That’s because I know that in the 31 days of December, my family will attempt to cram more into each 24-hour period than is usually desired. For me, the annual cramming revolves around two specific lists – my December To-Do List and my Present Wish List. The To-Do List for December is very important. It’s fill ..read more

I believe the Bible when it says, “He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). Spiritual and emotional blessings come when we give to others, especially those in challenging life situations. And this time of year I can think of nothing better to give to than Operation Christmas Child.  Can you imagine living in a world with no Christmas? What does that look like? There are no kids eager to wake you up at 7:00 am. No smiles when a gift is received. No feelings of being special. And no comforting thoughts that someone cares for you. Wha ..read more

Yes, I know. What a strange thing to write about during the week of Thanksgiving. There are so many more important things to be thankful for. Certainly family, friends, freedom and prosperity, health and faith all rank near the top of thankfulness for me. But over the past ten years of writing, I have managed to carve out this tiny space of the web for myself. My intent was never to become THE place for finance advice and make a living from this site. Others are doing that much better than I ever could. Rather, I’ve used this site as a dumping place for my journey with finances and my faith. I ..read more

Are you unable to stay the course? Many people have difficulty with this when it comes to completing a task. Somewhere along the way, for whatever reason, they give up, never to reach their goal. It happens for big things and small things. For things we would consider hard and even for things that might be easy. Whatever the goal, it’s challenging to push through and achieve the success you are looking for. I remember years ago when I shared that we had finally paid off our mortgage early and the four big reasons why we did that. Many people on this blog and on my Facebook page were exci ..read more

Getting involved in a car accident is something no one wants to experience. Yet most will at some point. A 2020 report by Esurance found that 77% of all drivers have had at least one accident and that the average person files a car insurance claim every 17.9 years. So if you start driving by age 16, you are estimated to have 3-4 accidents over the course of your lifetime. To give it even more weight, here is the reality – many accidents are ones we have no control over. You may be a very cautious and try to drive as safe as possible. But you can only control your car.  You can’t control t ..read more