Hello Frugalwoods readers! If you’re new here, this is a great place to start. Thanks for the love Mr. and Mrs. FW!
Today is the 15th edition of our new periodic guest post series called 10 Questions. We have a list of 17 NEW questions we pose to fellow financial bloggers, and they are free to pick and choose 10 or answer all of them. Let us know if you would like to be featured in a future edition of 10 Questions. (If you have already answered the first set of 10 questions, please feel free to answer these new ones.)
Today we hear from Debtless in Texas. I was planning on posting Debtless’ answers a couple month ago, but then put him off when I was overcome by life. Earlier this week when I told him I finally had time to get to his post, I couldn’t find his answers. Neither could he. Thankfully, he was kind enough to redo them all. In any case, I’ll shut up now and get on with the show before I blow it a third time.
Tell me about your blog and why it’s great.
My little corner of the internet over at Debtless in Texas is great because I am able to explore personal finance from an everyday regular person’s perspective. It is my own personal finance blog dedicated to my journey towards eliminating debt, financial independence, and early retirement (hopefully). I am 100% honest with my posts and am able to provide my own spin on this whole personal finance thing.
Tell me how you’re going to change the world with your blog (dream big or don’t dream at all!).
I am going to change the world with my blog by inspiring people to stop paying for crap they don’t need with money they don’t have – all while throwing in a bit of humor.
What goals do you have for your blog, short and long term?
Short term, I would like to get back into writing. I took a break after having my first kid and I am finally in a place where I can contribute again. It also took this long to recover from the financial blow that is unpaid maternity leave. For the long term, I would like to see it grow into something that reaches a much wider audience.
What post are you most proud of and why?
I would have to say my Yearly Bonus, Gender Roles, and Why My Wife is a Badass post. I am super proud that my wife and I are in a position where we are able to jump each other in salary and provide motivation to earn more. While she was making more at the time, I am happy to report that I am the breadwinner again!
Do you enjoy writing?
So much so, I wrote these answers out twice (Mr. 1500 note: Thanks for you infinite patience.). I used to hate writing because I had one of those fluffy liberal arts majors that required A TON of writing and left graduates with limited job prospects. I think it has been long enough now where I can safely say that I genuinely enjoy it again. I wish I had more time to write, but working full time and having a new baby tends to steal the majority of it.
Tell us about you
1500 Days is about early retirement. Do you have early retirement dreams? At what age do you think you will retire?
My dream is to retire by 40. I will hit the 30 mark in a matter of months, but I think 10 years is a realistic goal if we are disciplined. Luckily, my wife and I both work in lucrative career fields and are able to save and invest a significant portion of our earnings.
If blogging isn’t your full time gig, what is?
I work in search engine optimization for my full time gig. I fell into it and got really good, really fast and am able to use these skills to pull in some decent side hustle income. I have had way too many full time gigs, I think the next one is going to be early retirement.
When you are 90 and look back on your life, what do you hope you have accomplished?
I hope to have had the opportunity to travel the world with my lovely wife and have a large, happy, and healthy family. Money is nice, but family is what life is really about – the rest is just noise.
Money, money, money
What is the best money management or investment tool you have come across?
Honestly, I get the most use out of my own personal Excel spreadsheet. I love Mint and Personal Capital, but I find myself doing the majority of my day to day money management in Excel. Oh, did I mention that I am an Excel nerd?
How do you handle people with different views on money, ie spendy people?
For me, it is to each his own. I think that people reach financial enlightenment at different points in their lives. While we can lead a horse to water and offer sound advice – we can’t make it drink. It clicked for me when I was awakened by a giddy wife yelling and waving a pregnancy test around at 5 am. It will click for others in different ways, but I think that we all have to recognize that we are all on the same journey and let other people get there in their own time.
Did you grow up with money? How did your money situation growing up influence you?
I did not grow up with money. My father was the only earner in the family and passed when I was 13, so our money situation influenced me greatly. I realized that I was on my own for college and had to grow up fast. I worked extremely hard and was able to compete for and win a full ride to college with an Army ROTC scholarship. I spent a decade of adulthood in uniform partly because of our money situation when I was younger. Looking back, it is kind of crazy how greatly it affected me.
Did your parents teach you about money as a kid? How so?
My parents did not teach me about money as a kid, which is why I didn’t get a handle on it until I was 28. This is a mistake that I will not be making with my son. He will get the benefit of my experience whether he likes it or not and financial literacy is one of the best gifts that we can give our kids.
Random silliness
What is your favorite style of beer – and what is your favorite beer in that style?
The free style! I love IPAs. I love stouts, porters, and saisons too, but my all-time favorite IPA is still Pure Hoppiness from Alpine Beer Company. It is hard to get it in Texas, but I have a few buddies who live in San Diego who hook it up whenever they make the trek out there. I had the opportunity to work for a high end, craft beer distributor and probably drank enough beer for 3 lifetimes. I enjoy most beer as long as it isn’t Bud, Miller, or Coors.
We notice a lot of frugal people are into board games – what is your favorite?
Settlers of Catan, without a doubt! We nerd out on board games and have other couples over to enjoy adult beverages while trying to build the longest road. We also enjoy Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Guesstures, and card games like Pitch.
What is the best thing you’ve read lately?
I am ashamed to admit it, but I haven’t had time to ready anything for fun lately. I spend all day optimizing content and reading for work, but when you do that constantly reading for pleasure feels like a chore.
What do you do for exercise?
I exercise my liver with the 12 ounce IPA bicep curl, 8 ounce wine glass lift, and 1 ounce shot glass clean. I also have a home gym in my garage, so I am able to lift and do my prison workouts without having to pay a monthly fee or leave the house. Winning.
What is something interesting that you can tell us about yourself?
I have driven a golf cart, an ambulance, and a tank – professionally. I have seen where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet and know what 120+ degree heat and 100% humidity feels like.
Whoah, did you read that? Mr. Debtless has driven a tank in the cradle of civilization. And 120 degrees? Do tanks have air conditioning? Yikes.
Show Debtless some love over on his blog and on Twitter.
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He drove a tank! Cool. Always great to get to know our fellow bloggers a bit more.
Brian @DebtDiscipline recently posted…Top Priorities When Planning an Early Retirement
Hey Brian, thanks for stopping by!
Back in the day I got to be a driver, gunner, loader, commander, and platoon leader. There are few things more fun in life than shooting a table 8 (qualification) while competing against other crews. It is sad to think it is one of the things I will never get to do again, but it was so much fun while it lasted.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
Awesome answers Brian. Glad you’re back from your little paternal hiatus 🙂
Fervent Finance recently posted…The First $100k is the Hardest!
Thanks FF, it is good to be back!
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
Love reading what Debtless in Texas is up to. Especially since I live in Texas as well.
Savvy Financial Latina recently posted…Year 2 of Home Ownership
Amazing effort to re-write your answers – I find that’s absolutely the hardest thing to do when you lose your work and have to re-do it! Was well worth it as far as I’m concerned. Very jealous you worked for a high-end craft beer distributor – surely you’d discovered the dream life right there! (I assume the whole family thing is much more important to you, which I completely agree with for the record 🙂 )
Jason @ Islands of Investing recently posted…July savings rate – a big boost to the 10% goal!
You are right Jason, it is tough to re-write answers – but I was happy to do it! The worst is when you are writing in a word processor or WordPress’ editor (don’t do that) and spend hours only to have completely erased.
The beer distributor life was pretty sweet, I amassed obscene amounts of free beer and contributed way too much to my beer belly. We were able to try absolutely everything we had…including the obscure and often expensive imports.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
That is super cool your day job is search engine optimization. I can imagine how beneficial that could be for your own blog. Maybe you can give us some pointers 😉
Glad to see another Texas PF blogger. I live in Austin and love it!
CashFlowDiaries recently posted…Blog Income Report and Traffic Stats â July 2015 (2nd month of blogging!)
Hey Alexander,
It is a pretty cool day job, I really enjoy it. I made a promise to myself that I would not do any extra link building for my blog and have stuck to it! I want my site to be 100% natural.
I would suggest getting your technical optimizations and on-page squared away since it is in your control and magnifies the positive influence of links.
I love Texas…I hated the daily MOPAC commute, working from home FTW!
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
Always great to learn more about fellow bloggers…especially those pursuing early FI. I think 10 years is a good goal and one that I kind of have for myself too but part of me doesn’t think it’ll happen. NYC is a tough place to pull it off, but let me not be a complainypants. Good luck and glad you’re back.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…Frugal Dating Guide
Thanks Andrew, I am still blown away at how expensive NYC really is. 10 years is a solid target, especially if you are making a good income. Even if it is an approximate target – it is easy enough to readjust as necessary.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
Debtless in Texas…you inspired me to change out my light bulbs earlier in the year. I mean, I knew it was something I should to do but I hadn’t. I get overwhelmed in the light bulb section. How can there be so many options! You gave me the final push I needed to correct that nonsense.
Mrs. Crackin’ the Whip recently posted…The Crackin’s July Balance Sheet
Awesome, good on you for taking the leap. I love the LED light bulbs, it was a huge pain to replace them all but it is totally worth it. That reminds me, I need to do a post on the energy efficient PC I built – thanks for that!!
Debtless in Texas recently posted…10 Questions With Mr. 1500
Cool fun fact, I would love to drive a tank, but if it doesn’t have AC in 120 degree heat I think I might pass. I’m hoping the army has made enough technological improvements over the years that when they drop a billion on a tank they have a few small comforts with it.
Duncan’s Dividend’s recently posted…Thursday Rant – The Evolution of Facebook
I wish…the Army doesn’t invest in comfort.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…SodaStream Modification for Cheap SodaStream CO2
Let me know when you get your Financial Independence Day all set, I have a nice place with some bloggers that will hold you accountable, I try to yell at Mr. 1500 all the time about this!
Even Steven recently posted…Freedom Fighter Interview
You are right, I need to set a date…even if it is a moving target. I will do my best to calculate that out when we get a steady income from the wife going back to work. Add me to that yelling list with Mr. 1500, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…SodaStream Modification for Cheap SodaStream CO2
I very much enjoyed your answers to the questions. How cool is that to drive a tank. 🙂 BTW – thanks for serving our country!
We had our awakening moment with the birth of our first daughter. It was time for me to become a dad and responsible for our finances and now plan for our child’s. I look forward to following your progress.
Bryan @ Just One More Year recently posted…Discovering new adventures in Williams Arizona
Thanks Bryan, driving was a blast but being the gunner and TC were way more fun.
It seems like the birth of a child is enough to wake anyone up, we no longer get to focus only on ourselves. Talk about responsibility! Welcome to the PF blogging world, Ill stop by and catch up on your posts.
Debtless in Texas recently posted…SodaStream Modification for Cheap SodaStream CO2
I appreciate that you always have solid financial advice, but with a little bit of humor mixed in. I appreciate it.
I’m also a board game fan myself. It’s a one-time cost, but with hours (even sometimes years) of entertainment. I’m so lucky that was my hobby growing up. Managed to help me save a lot over the years.
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