10 Questions with Finance Superhero

Today is the 61st edition of our guest post series called 10 Questions. It also will be one of the last. Everything must come to an end and 10 Questions will say ‘”Good bye!” at the end of 2016. If you’ve already sent me your answers or told me that you’re going to be doing so, don’t worry; I’m still going to publish you.

After making money mistakes, and conquering a mountain of student loan debt, Mr. Hero took his fascination with personal finance and love of writing and combined them into a site “dedicated to the protection of finances by defeating common ‘money myths,’ combating threats to financial well-being (such as the consumer lifestyle, debt, mismanaged assets, and lack of a game plan), and ‘Restoring Order to the World of Finance,’ one post at a time.”

Before I begin my shameless self-promotion, I wish to think Mr. and Mrs. 1500 for the opportunity to share about FinanceSuperhero.com. Since joining the personal finance blogging community, I have been very encouraged by the kind support of countless bloggers, including Mr. and Mrs. 1500.

After reading several posts in the 10 Questions series, I felt inspired to share my story. I’m going to play by the rules and stick to 10 questions.

Tell me about your blog and why it’s great.
FinanceSuperhero.com is a blog dedicated to Restoring Order to the World of Finance. I chose the FinanceSuperhero moniker because I am just an average, normal guy by day and a personal finance fanatic by night. I am not a financial professional. I do not have any fancy letters to place behind my name or in my e-mail signature. As a result, my stories and opinions are honest, relatable, and easy to understand.

I write primarily about the personal side of personal finance, and I specifically enjoy exploring the impact of relationships on personal finance. I learned a majority of my financial lessons from my grandfather, whom I refer to in my blog as Superhero Grandpa.

What posts are you most proud of and why?
I tend to write in a predictable format, mixing in personal stories and anecdotes with common sense personal finance advice. Most of my favorite posts adhere to this format, and I am proud of them because they are real, honest, and relatable for most people. Here a few of my favorites:
http://www.financesuperhero.com/no-april-fool-lessons-from-finance-superhero-grandpa/

http://www.financesuperhero.com/the-simple-method-to-achieving-financial-independence/

http://www.financesuperhero.com/power-importance-of-written-financial-goals/

http://www.financesuperhero.com/my-biggest-financial-mistakes/

http://www.financesuperhero.com/what-are-you-teaching-your-kids-about-money/

What goals do you have for your blog, short and long term?
Mrs. Superhero would tell you that I am very goal-minded, especially with my blog. You can read about my short-term goals here:http://www.financesuperhero.com/may-2016-blog-report-steady-progress/

I am currently a participant in the Yakezie Challenge, which means my long-term goal is to reach 200,000 in my global Alexa Ranking and post 3 times per week.

If blogging isn’t your full time gig, what is?
While I hope to transition to blogging full-time one day, I am currently a public school teacher. I spent the last year in an assistant principal role, but I missed the daily interaction with children and will be returning to a classroom teaching position in the fall.

Additionally, I am a part-time consultant for a mid-size accounting firm, specializing in new client intake, risk management, and budgeting. Again, I do not possess any fancy credentials in this area – just knowledge gained through personal experience, trial and error, and lots and lots of reading.

Finally, I am nearly completion of a real estate education program and will soon look to begin working as a broker on a part-time basis. As you can tell, I do not enjoy having too much time on my hands and prefer to stay very busy!

When you are 90 and look back on your life, what do you hope you have accomplished?
If I had to sum up my life goals in two words, they would be purpose and legacy. When I am 90, I want to look back and see that I lived each day with a purpose in mind, primarily helping other people. I also wish to see that I have left behind a legacy to my family; not just a financial legacy, but also one rich in experiences and values.

Did you grow up with money? How did your money situation growing up influence you?
I grew up in an average, middle-class home in the Midwest. While I did not suffer or go without anything I needed as a child, I often envied the lives of friends and teammates who appeared to come from very wealthy households.

My childhood experiences nearly led me to chase the mighty dollar and choose a career based upon income opportunity, but obviously, I changed my mind when choosing a career in education! Overall, my childhood taught me to value experiences more than anything (link –http://www.financesuperhero.com/lessons-from-superhero-dad/).

What is the best money management or investment tool you have come across?
I am sure my answer to this question will be far from the norm within the PF blogging community, but my favorite tool has been Dave Ramsey’s Gazelle Budget program. It is currently being phased out in favor of Every Dollar, which I also enjoy, but Gazelle Budget will always have a place in my heart, as it helped me climb out of student loan debt (http://www.financesuperhero.com/kicking-sallie-mae-to-the-curb-goodbye-student-loans/) by prioritizing student loan repayment (http://www.financesuperhero.com/a-response-to-shahar-zivs-5-reasons-to-stop-prioritizing-student-loan-payments/).

What do you do for exercise?
I am a hopelessly-addicted runner. I have taken a bit of a sabbatical from regular running this past year due to time constraints, but I am getting back into shape again this summer.

In the past, I have ran 5Ks, half marathons, marathons, and two ultramarathons. My latest attempt at a 50 mile ultramarathon resulted in injury, and I will forever have a bitter taste in my mouth until I return to that race and wipe the DNF (Did Not Finish) from my mind.

To date, the longest distance I have completed is 31.5 miles.

What is your favorite style of beer – and what is your favorite beer in that style?
I am a big fan of virtually any German or Belgian beer. Given the choice, I prefer to stick to styles such as Hefeweizen, Kristalweizen, Dunkelweisen, and similar offshoots. My absolute favorites are Hoegaarden and Allagash White.

That said, I am always excited to try new beers. I enjoy supporting local craft breweries and have visited nearly a dozen within the past two years.

1500 Days is about early retirement. Do you have early retirement dreams? At what age do you think you will retire?
While I do have ambitions to retire early, I have not yet set a firm target date or age. I am still finding tremendous satisfaction in my full-time work and various side hustles and cannot imagine giving up any of them at this point.

That said, I would love to retire early enough to travel to my heart’s content, spend time with my future kids and grandkids, and volunteer within my community.

In the meantime, I am enjoying my current glimpse of early retirement as a teacher on summer vacation!

Thank you, Mr. Hero, for taking time out of restoring order to the world of finance to answer our questions. Keep up with him and his heroic deeds at www.financesuperhero.com, on Facebook and Twitter.