Paying off your mortgage in 5 years seems like crazy talk. Most people never even pay off their house in 30 years due to refinancing or buying a new house.

Even for people on 15 year mortgages, paying off your home in 5 years seems unachievable. Recently, we refinanced to get a lower interest rate and moved our mortgage to a 15 year note.

I got curious the other day and stared running some numbers. I was wondering what kind of an impact making extra mortgage payments would make. During the process I found some interesting things. Continue Reading »

In the world of personal finance learning how to make a budget is one of the most important skills to know. If you know how to create a budget and stick to it then you are well on your way to being a good steward with your money.

There are all kinds of ways to approach this topic. No doubt if you’ve done any searching you’ve already found a dozen people each with their own method of making a budget.

In my opinion there are two ways to go about this depending on your situation. Continue Reading »

If you were to ask 1,000 adults what one of their biggest financial goals were I bet 95% would list getting out of debt in their top 3. In America we are loaded with debt because of our materialistic mindset. I constantly have to keep my “shiny-object” syndrome in check.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with spending money. The problem is when we spend more than what we have. Flash back 3 years ago and I was in this pit. I lost a 2nd income that I had for a couple of years. I was accustomed to a certain level of spending that was fine when I had the extra income. But, I didn’t adjust my spending when I lost it leading to $10,000+ in credit card debt.

Getting out of debt is rough. I’m not going to sugar coat it. It’s an uphill battle. It’s more than just changing some numbers on paper. It takes a whole shift in your mindset. You can get out of debt fast on your own. Continue Reading »