tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1218081865101600232026-03-26T01:12:03.221-05:00My online journal as I adopt a debt-free and minimal lifestyle so that I may obtain financial and personal freedom in order to live my life, my way.Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-78852498713330184142010-10-18T00:07:00.004-05:002010-10-18T00:19:48.635-05:00

Click the link to discover its new locale and see its transformationhttp://overthrowstatusquo.wordpress.com/Trust me, it will all make sense when you take the leap....you know you want to!

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-62290015209884410632010-10-05T13:23:00.003-05:002010-10-05T13:32:33.358-05:00

Since embarking on my new journey in Dallas and currently working a part-time job, I have been living at a slower pace and really having a chance to enjoy life and all it has to offer. I have been exploring my new city, getting to know and enjoy my new co-workers (whom most of them are just like me, taking a part-time job as they transition into a different phase in their lives), and re-reading a

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-63172632392136802402010-09-20T11:40:00.000-05:002010-09-20T12:19:46.023-05:00

I am now officially a resident of Dallas, Texas...well, Irving, Texas to be exact.To make a long story short, I was miserable in Little Rock, Arkansas. Don't get me wrong, it's a great city with some of the greatest people I've ever met. However, I am just not a small city kind of girl. I moved to Little Rock, after Hurricane Katrina and initially, everything was great because it was new. But

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-14721827525062138892010-09-13T11:14:00.003-05:002010-09-13T11:48:35.433-05:00

I'm back from my marvelous vacation feeling well rested and renewed. I may post some pictures of the awesomeness that was San Diego...pictures of the beach, the beautiful view from my hotel, the wonderful reggae band I saw at Wave House on the beach.... But, now that the vacay is over...I returned home to find out that a co-worker and great man, died from a heart attack while he slept. On last

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-61887414519913508002010-09-03T18:21:00.002-05:002010-09-03T18:25:46.287-05:00

I've been missing in action while preparing for and vacationing in sunny San Diego. I will be back shortly and will try to get a few posts in before I get too busy. My life is gonna be really busy and hectic during the month of September; which is all the more reason I better enjoy this vacation!

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-50438364692012199042010-08-24T08:53:00.008-05:002010-08-24T20:21:38.699-05:00

"The Great Recession is exposing people." This is a comment I read on a blog post about celebrities who were in debt. The comment was posted by a reader who was referring to the fact that before the Great Recession, celebrities were living high off the hog on borrowed money. Since, the recession, however, a lot of people's credit, including celebrities, is limited and, therefore, they are

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-46817634289600809882010-08-20T08:29:00.006-05:002010-08-20T14:47:34.974-05:00

Money can buy material goods. Lots of money can buy lots of material goods. Material things aside, we've all heard the sayings before, 'Money can't buy love'; 'Money can't buy happiness.' While I agree with these sentiments, there are a few non-material things that money can buy. ConfidenceIt's not a coincidence that I started this list with the trait of confidence. I realize listing confidence

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-68515831026939258002010-08-16T08:32:00.000-05:002010-08-16T08:32:20.314-05:00

Quirky; Strange; Odd--these might be words some of us may have heard a time or two in our lives as a description of who we are, especially if we are into Minimalism and/or Frugality. Most people consider being calld weird an insult; I know I used to. Now, I consder being called weird a complimentNowadays, when someone is called weird, it simply means he is different from the masses. When I

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-76158866716262409472010-08-11T08:23:00.006-05:002010-08-11T09:12:55.509-05:00

Different people view money differently. The book "Your Money or Your Life' defined money simply as what we trade out time for. Others may view money as a means to status or acquisition of material items. Then, there are still those who may have a negative view of money because of the opinions of money that may have been passed down from childhood. I, personally, view money as a tool--a very

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-46214050943944697052010-08-09T13:26:00.010-05:002010-08-09T15:52:50.012-05:00

I will admit that during our depressed economic state, there is enough blame to go around; blame for the auto industry, housing industry, wall street, etc. But when it comes to individual debt, we all must take responsibility for our personal financial state. My participation in the blame game was not about me blaming others, but me taking the position that there was simply no other categories in

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-15127098556847960582010-08-05T08:49:00.006-05:002010-08-05T09:43:50.578-05:00

I can honestly say I don't have many temptations. I am a handbag addict, but even that I don't consider a true temptation. I don't just buy random handbags in ridiculous colors. All of my handbag purchases are well thought out; I comparison shop (usually on the internet); I ensure they can be mixed and matched with other items in my wardrobe; and under no circumstances do I buy a bag that is

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-54287956614998175342010-08-03T10:11:00.005-05:002010-08-03T12:45:54.430-05:00

I made my last lump sum payment of $819.63 to my Chase Mastercard!!! It feels sooo good to be free of credit card debt! I just need a moment to take that in.....*Exhales*. Now, I'm not one of those people who despise credit cards and preaches how they are evil. I have always known that credit cards are DEBT and MUST be repaid. Therefore, I have always used them responsibly--even when I did

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-44601816864924673702010-07-29T09:05:00.001-05:002010-07-29T09:15:09.204-05:00

Long gone are the days when one stayed with a single employer for 30 years, then retired with their pension and gold watch. Even before the 'Great Recession',many people stopped believing in the term 'job security'. And while many don't feel secure in their jobs, they feel it is better than the alternative. Now more than ever, people are unsatisfied with their jobs, but many are not willing to

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-17365319638420832342010-07-26T07:45:00.008-05:002010-07-26T08:59:27.377-05:00

We have heard it said a million and one times since the start of the recession: "This is the greatest recession since the Great Depression." This recession period has also been called the "Great Recession." Despite the 24 hour news coverage of every aspect of the recession, from the housing bust to the loss of jobs to the Oil Spill, the question that remains in my mind is, has the Great

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-90521811450262261272010-07-19T09:22:00.000-05:002010-07-19T09:23:00.038-05:00

I love the progress I'm making in my life in regards to my financial freedom and minimalism. However, I'm aware of the fact that these two priorities in my life aren't exactly the priorities of the majority of society. I discussed in a previous post how I'm sometimes judged because of my frugality and as a result I have begun to wonder how my lifestyle might affect future romantic

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-60518368231410800102010-07-13T06:38:00.000-05:002010-07-13T19:41:40.160-05:00

When I began getting my finances in order, I could not have predicted how it would lead to changes in other areas of my life. Financial changes led to Minimalism which led to the question: Does my spending reflect my values?When I initially began to question if my spending reflects my values it was more along the lines of environmentally friendly items/packaging and no animal testing. But,

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-76519181603714669802010-07-09T09:13:00.001-05:002010-07-09T09:21:52.688-05:00

I found this very insightful article on Yahoo Finance, written by Fleur Bradley. I thought it would be of value to post....If you're just entering the workforce, retirement probably seems like a lifetime away. A million dollars by retirement? That's someone else's dream, right? It doesn't have to be. Here is the millionaire's retirement plan. For these calculations, assume an average annual

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-55443874057578183882010-07-07T08:02:00.000-05:002010-07-07T08:02:00.239-05:00

I am steady knocking out the last of my debt. I only have $800 remaining on a credit card and I'm down to $5,533.52 for my student loan. The plan was to pay $400 for the month of July and August and have the credit card paid off. I was going to make lump sum payments on the student loan and have it paid off by the end of the year. Now the catch...I paid a few dollars less than $2500 for my

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-49556383770089417872010-07-05T08:02:00.000-05:002010-07-05T08:02:00.279-05:00

I cannot tell you how many times people have commented on my frugality; some meaning it as a compliment and others being sarcastic and meaning it as an insult. For the record, I am never offended by being called frugal. But what I am offended by is the underlying thought by the majority that frugal means self-deprivation.First and foremost, I'd take frugal any day over the lifestyle I see many

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-14808285228582506342010-07-01T08:02:00.001-05:002010-07-01T08:02:00.774-05:00

Today is July 1 and officially marks the end of my 'Go Green' Challenge. I never anticipated the challenge would be a hard one as I have already gotten a grip on my discretionary spending. What the challenge did for me is force me to plan out my discretionary expenditures at the beginning of the month instead of just using my discretionary cash randomly. What I've found is carrying cash is not

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-65475578272718910062010-06-28T08:10:00.001-05:002010-06-28T08:10:00.173-05:00

This journey to Financial Freedom and a more Minimalist lifestyle has fueled my desire to improve in other areas as well. Like most of us, I need to get healthier. I'm not overweight, but I have my problem areas I would like to improve. Additionally, I don't eat enough fruits and vegetables or drink enough water. I've given a lot of thought to what lifestyle changes I can make to improve my

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-4255861793098960772010-06-24T08:15:00.001-05:002010-06-24T08:15:00.072-05:00

First of all, let me start by saying that I took my debit card out of my wallet on the first day of the month, so I did not use it in this incident. However, the situation is...I went out with a group of friends on Saturday night. It is well known, from my 'About Me' profile, that I am a handbag connoisseur, LOL. So, I own both day and evening handbags. When I went out with friends on the weekend

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-69890799834344937842010-06-22T08:00:00.004-05:002010-06-23T10:35:25.533-05:00

Does anyone remember that Lending Tree commercial? You know...the one with the middle aged, Caucasian, family man, riding on his mower with the plastered on smile, who went on and on about his big house, fancy cars, etc; then stated that he affords it all because he's in debt up to his eyeballs--all with the same permanent, fake smile on his face? Come on, you know you remember it....I thought

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-81955234652976624902010-06-21T10:04:00.004-05:002010-06-21T10:24:21.673-05:00

Since beginning this 'Go Green' Challenge I have encountered an unexpected delightful surprise...I repeatedly find money in my pants pockets and in previously used handbags. Since I am not accumstomed to carrying cash this is definitley a new occurence. It is amazing how little money I find myself spending when I carry cash. As a result, I completely forget that I have cash--until I find it

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121808186510160023.post-46020684924111071732010-06-15T23:16:00.000-05:002010-06-15T19:44:36.966-05:00

yI need a vacation so desperately. However, unlike everyone else, I don't get to take my vacation during the summer because of the nature of my job. You see, I am a Director for a college preparatory program that prepares high school students for higher education. During the summer component of the program, the students have a six week residential program which allows them to stay on campus

Young Mogulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14812365042219697126noreply@blogger.com11