I say all of this here not to hold myself high or think I am better than anyone else.  It’s the complete opposite.  I want to use my story to help others manage their money, pay off their debts, and live a free life in reach of FIRE.  I come from a place of working hard for my money as well as so many other people.  I knew nothing about money or money management growing up and I am far from knowing it all.  This will not be a perfect blog or a one size fits all step by step guide.  However, I believe that everyone will be able to take something from this blog to help them in their journey.  I view money management a lot like teaching:  you make a plan, most times that plan has to be modified due to certain situations, and you do the best you can with the tools you have.  As you go further in your teaching career, you learn little tips and tricks to help you along the way.  Similarly, there are certain money tips that can help you save money, earn money, and invest your money to help your financial situation.

Secondly, this blog is written to increase your happiness.  I was so caught up in learning about money and everything that goes with it because I heard the statistic that more marriages are broken due to money issues than any other issue.  I vowed that I would learn everything I could about money so that this would not happen to me.  Although I value learning about money, I have learned that you cannot let money run your life.  I learned this the hard way after many difficult chats with my wife.  She helped me see that wisdom in money management is great, but too much focus on it can lead to the same issues.  Although it sounds weird to say, she taught me the concept of balance in life.  Due our many chats, this blog will also be devoted to happiness while in the pursuit of financial freedom.

Finally, this blog is written as a source of accountability for myself.  As of this writing, my wife is in grad school and we are pilling up the debt.  I will most likely be going back to school to get a masters in education in the next couple of years as well as trying to start a family.  Our goal is to be debt free before she finishes her program and to pay for my masters out of pocket.  

What do you need to learn about money management?  What brings you true happiness?  What does your journey look like?  It is not my goal to answer these questions and many others for you through this blog.  Instead, I hope to share my story and the things I have learned to provoke thought about your own situation.  I want to pose the questions so that you can think through and start to answer these questions for yourself.  Cheers to a new and beautiful start!