I was recently called and asked to participate in a Gallup survey, and for some reason I agreed. Eventually, after wading through questions about political beliefs and the economy, the question about my personal happiness came around. I thought about it for a second, and didn’t have anything to complain about. I felt content with ... Read the rest »

Hi, my name is Daniel, and I… lost track of my finances.  I write (what is for the most part) a personal finance blog, so you’d think that I would track every penney, but I don’t.  We budget to pay ourselves first (savings/retirement), pay all of our bills, and then everything else is give and take.  One month we ... Read the rest »

I am the luckiest guy in the world, I’m married to my high school sweetheart, today I turn 23, and yesterday I closed on my house an hour after I found out about a leak that flooded the front bedroom.  Why do I consider myself lucky after closing on something that most people would have ... Read the rest »

In 8 short days I will make the biggest purchase I am ever likely to make, I will be purchasing a new house.  And the closer we come to closing, the harder it is for me to practice what I preach. Everywhere I look small “upgrades” are popping up that I know I can find cheaper ... Read the rest »

My wife and I have essentially been living as if we were making mortgage payments on our new house for the last 6 months, but instead of paying a mortgage (and taxes and insurance and Homeowners Association) it’s all been going into savings for our down payment. We admit that we are stretching ourselves to ... Read the rest »

Tonight Mary and I had the chance to eat at a very wealthy person’s house in Dallas.  This house is AMAZING.  This house is probably 10,000 square feet, and they had a “mile of wood trim” throughout their game room.  It was very impressive, and it sits on one of the most visible places in ... Read the rest »

I took an investments class the during the Fall semester of my Senior year in college, and when I say “took” I mean that I dutifully attended every class, sat in the front row, and tried with all my heart to understand what the hell he was talking about.  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the ... Read the rest »