How do you like that confidence?!

It’s true though – I am (thrilled to be on the) So Money podcast again!

And I was a little nervous, not gonna lie… it’s been a hot minute since I was last on a show, but that quickly faded as Farnoosh and I got going because it’s like reuniting with family. I was one of her first guests when her podcast first launched, and now here we are over 10 years later just picking up the convo where we left it!

It’s fun to read the summary of that first episode too compared to this new one:

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“I’m very excited to introduce today’s guest. He is one of the most influential financial bloggers of our time and the founder of 2 personal finance websites eliteedgemoney.com and RockstarFinance.com. He also coaches people interested in blogging and launching an online business. His name is J. Money.

Like many of us, J. struggled with money and made some poor choices early on. So what did he do? He decided to blog about. In 2008 he started his personal finance blog, eliteedgemoney.com, to track his spending and keep himself accountable. And that worked! Since then, he’s built his net worth to over half a million dollars… by doing what he loves!

Three takeaways from our interview:

1. Why home ownership is not for everyone (J$ <– Still believe this!)
2. How Craigslist helps J. develop better money habits…and MAKE money WEEKLY.
3. Awesome tips on reducing your phone bill … (Farnoosh: and I just got mine and due to data overages, my bill was an extra $100 this month. I’m seriously considering switching plans. This is absurd.)

Our favorite quote from today’s interview: “I’m challenging myself every week to get rid of more stuff.””

You can check out the show here: So Money, Ep. 43: J. Money, Financial Blogger

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And then here is the write-up on the show that just went live!

“For as long as I’ve known him — which is now more than fifteen years — he’s had the same signature look: a sharp mohawk and an even sharper perspective on money.

Today on So Money, we welcome back one of the original voices of the personal finance internet: J. Money, the longtime blogger behind Elite Edge Money and the founder of Rockstar Finance, a platform that helped shape the early personal finance blogging community. When this podcast first launched more than a decade ago, J. Money was one of my earliest guests – back when sharing your net worth online was considered radical and the idea of building a career from a blog about money was still pretty new.

In this conversation, we catch up on what’s changed – and what hasn’t. The mohawk is still there, thankfully. But J.’s life looks very different these days. He’s stepped away from blogging full-time, sold his site to The Motley Fool and later bought it back, and now spends much of his time running something called a “Free Closet,” giving away thousands of clothing items every week to people in need in his community.

We talk about the early days of the money-blogging world – when transparency about debt, savings, and net worth helped motivate an entire generation to take control of their finances. We also talk about what happens when you actually reach financial independence. Does money stop mattering? What motivates you next?

J. shares why the blogging magic eventually faded for him, how social media changed the tone of personal finance conversations, the surprising lessons he’s learned from working closely with unhoused communities, and why he believes the real power of money is simply the freedom not to think about it anymore.

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So fun to reflect and take in all that’s changed in this time… You do a lot of things in 10 years! New jobs, projects, moves, births, deaths, more gray hairs, NEEDING READING GLASSES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE! (I swear – I did nothing different and then one day BAM – everything’s blurry in front of me. How??!)

If there was a quote to be tacked onto this episode like the first one, it would have been this:

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. – Earl Nightingale

A good reminder to get going on something that’s important to you

Thanks for having me on again Farnoosh, and I will see you in another 10 years, God willing!

You can listen to this latest episode here:

So Money, Episode 1,957: J. Money, Founder: Elite Edge Money

[This post, I Am So Money, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

What up, what up!

Happy New Year! Lol…

It’s me J$ – remember that guy?? Mohawk rockin’, FIRE wielding, personal finance nerd who went rogue and forgot all about his blog?!

Sorry about that. The rumors are false though as I am still very much alive, just living more in the “real” world than the online one :) I also don’t nearly think about money as much as I used to so I don’t have as much to say about it!

But lately a few things have reminded me of the joy of finance so I’m going to furiously try to type it all out before life pulls me back in again…

The best gift money gives you is not having to think about money.

Whenever I think about money this is the part I think about the most. How when you’re IN IT you’re solely focused and grinding and just spending all your hours being scrappy and hoarding as much as you can going for “your number”, but ironically once you hit it money drops wayyyy down on the priority list. At least if you’re doing it right, in my opinion. There are certainly millionaires and billionaires and trillionaires who most definitely want MORE no matter what goals they hit, but I am not one of these people. The only thing I want more of is tacos! Mmmm…

But once you activate “not needing any more ” status, life gets exponentially easier. Yes because you can afford stuff and don’t have to work as hard, but also just in mental energy alone. Whenever something breaks down, or you’re shopping for gifts for someone, or you simply just want to order WHATEVER YOU WANT off the menu without having to worry about being able to afford it (like tacos!!) you can do it! And don’t have to ask permission! This alone is one of the best reasons to save and invest early.

The other – much bigger benefit, of course – is because you then get to choose 100% for yourself what you spend your time on. AKA Freedom. And this is the part I’m reminded of at least three times a week when someone asks me what I do “for a living” as I’m standing there giving away free clothes left and right!

I used to say I was “retired” and just doing this on the side (I tried once saying I was FIRE’D but then they felt bad for me and asked if they could help me find a job! Lol), but now that the “side” project is no longer on the side and it’s become a 40-hour week “job” just without pay,  I now say I run my Free Closet as a job. Just without pay. It doesn’t save me from still having to answer a million questions on how I can afford to do so, but it’s great for reminding me of all the hard work Past J. Money put in in order to get Present J. Money to this stage here! What a guy! So I always welcome the interrogating :)

Speaking of this “new” project, it actually turned 1 year old last month!! And we’ve since hit over 50k items of clothing and essentials given out!! Crazy!

And remember how I was looking for a van or truck of some sort to have a “mobile closet” vs running it out of my minivan (which I still have! And you were right it grew on me!) ??? Well, none other than fellow blogger Gwen from Fiery Millennials stepped in and generously donated her huge Cargo Van to me so I can continue to do more good in the world!! How awesome and beautiful is that??!

[This is Gwen – who I love to embarrass :)]

And I can tell you that just from this action alone you know she is on her path to Freedom as well, forfeiting $5,000 she could have easily made selling it. Sure she got a tax deduction from it (of course – we’re still money nerds!) but I’m sure 2006 Gwen would not have been as gracious as 2026 Gwen :) Money opens up a world of opportunities like being able to give away money when you want to!!! lol…

Which brings me to the 2nd thing I’ve been working on lately…

The Arsenal of Good

Do you remember that goal I had where I wanted to donate $20/mo to 100 local organizations? Well I made it up to around 16 or 17 organizations I want to say, but recently decided to change my giving strategy back to *direct giving* for even more impact. No doubt spurred by my latest Free Closet project.

I cancelled 12 of the automatic donations (always automatic so you never have to reconvince yourself to give every month!) and redirected these future funds ($240) right into a new “community fund”, aka savings account, where I now distribute it to *individuals* I think could best benefit from it. It’s been great because it doesn’t “cost” me any more money than I’ve already allocated to it, but now I have an Arsenal of Good I can deploy at any given point in time! Some towards people who shop my closet each week (mostly unhoused friends), but also to young entrepreneurs trying to get projects off the ground where money is the only thing holding them back.

In the few months I’ve started this I’ve given out three no-interest micro-loans totaling about $2,000 (one to a baker, one to a photographer, and another to someone to fix their car for more employment opportunities). It’s been so fun exploring and keeping my eyes and ears open!

And the cool thing with these micro-loans is that the repayments will keep funding The Arsenal so I can continue to loan out more and more over time… And if they default? Well, that’s how it goes sometimes. I have no intention of ever fighting to get it back, it’s more about the responsibility and holding yourself accountable aspect. You tend to want to succeed more when you have skin in the game!

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And lastly in the world of J. Money’s errr… money, I may or may not have invested in some pretty risky investments lately!

“You need some Sexy on the side”

Someone once told me this years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. Having some “sexy” on the side basically means that you should do the smart boring stuff at least 90% of the time, but then make sure to save a little bit for fun too to stay sane! Whether in life, or career, or finances, or whatever. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and all that…

In that line of thought (and also because it’s fun to try something new!!) I invested $10,000 into three private companies over the past year+ that I have an “edge” in. I.E. I personally know the founders who all have insane track records. Two are in the VC (venture capital) world so I’m just begging to lose money, haha, and the third is with my old friend Ethan from Digit days who retired when he sold it, and then came out of retirement exploding with energy and wanting to BUILD again! He just launched the first product a few months back – HIRO Finance – and is having fun doing all the things he once dreamed up but which technology couldn’t do yet. Now with AI a lot of it is possible!

I don’t expect all of them to take off, but if just one does it’ll definitely pay off. And it’s just fun getting off the bench for a bit and being sexy again!

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately…

Thanks for being here whoever’s still left here, and hello to all new readers giving the blog a chance!! Sorry you found me during the end of my blogging career, lol, but hey – we got an archives of 1,800 posts if you want to start from the beginning and pretend it’s 2008 all over again! I’m sure most of the stuff there is still accurate today as money is essentially the same now as it was thousands of years ago:

Spend less than you earn, bank the rest, enjoy your freedom.

The trick is just staying motivated!! So keep reading and watching financial content out there, and then start experimenting and seeing what sticks! All you need is one or two things to go right and then you can pour fuel on the FIRE (sorry – I had to…)

And I’ll be here rooting you on, virtually and in spirit

Update on that AI company I started with Nate last year… It’s been added to the Resume of Fails!

Update on our general finances… it continues to climb, due to the 90% unsexy! AKA Index funds! I barely remember to keep our net worth updated, but I’m always glad when I do so it forces me to pause and reflect and change something if something needs changing… But I’ve long stopped budgeting

Update on my three boys – they are now 7, 11, and 13!! CRAZY!! It’ll really be a logistical challenge next year when we have one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school (!!!)

[This post, The best gift money gives you., was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Hi!

Been a while!

I’m sitting at a coffee shop right now in the Outer Banks desperately trying to avoid a presentation I need to put together for a new project (shout out to Ashley’s Espresso Parlour!), and realized it’s been a while since we last chatted. So hello! Whatcha been up to over there? Anything new and juicy going on this Summer? :)

It’s been a hot mess here in the DC area with all the gov’t cuts and confusion and chaos. Everyone here knows someone – or is someone – affected by these changes, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better… We’ve somehow managed to avoid a bulk of it so far (my wife is a proud – and hard working! – civil servant), however the walls are closing in which is sad as it’s her favorite job in the entire world and she’d be devastated having to walk away But we keep going and just do whatever we can within our control!

Aside from that, life is going pretty well. Our 3 boys continue to grow and be their silly little selves (who now care awfully a lot about clothes and brands and influencers – even my 7 year old!), and I’m still practicing retirement and failing pretty hard at it, haha… I “work” just as much now as I did before, though it is on my own time and for no pay, so I suppose it’s kinda like real retirement? :)

It’s been a blast though. I accidentally started a new project a few months back and it’s since taken a life of its own: A free clothing closet in my hometown, giving out clothes and essentials to anyone who needs it!

It mainly caters to our neighbors living on the streets and in the woods, but also a lot of our lower income families as well. We’ve given out over 10,000 items so far, from clothing to bikes to tents, sleeping bags, hats, shoes, feminine products, you name it.

It’s so different from running an *online* project where you’re sharing ideas worldwide and never see anyone face to face, compared to this one which is so hyper focused and only deals with physical products being shared IN PERSON! I even had to get back onto Facebook after a decade away as everyone in this town communicates there, lolol… Okay, well that and Instagram, but still. It’s like going back in time and having to unlearn a whole way of doing business

On one side it’s been great – the project is flourishing and there’s no end in sight, but on the other it hurts my heart as it only proves that there’s such a need for this in the community :( And not only mine, but probably yours too as well as all around the country/world! And it only seems like it’s getting worse with how things are playing out… Since when is food and clothing a nicety and not necessity?!

But oh well…  Can’t say I ever saw myself going into this line of business, lol, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s to keep going when you’re onto something and everything keeps flowing :) Whether that’s a new project or a relationship or even your finances. There’s something magical that happens when your passions align with your skills, especially if it happens to solve a problem in the world. So when the universe tells you you’re on the right path you keep pushing because you’re right where you’re meant to be at this point in time! It’s a beautiful thing!

So that’s what I’ve been up to over here!

And now gotta stop procrastinating and get back to work :) This presentation I have to put together is for a local organization who wants to donate a bunch of clothes – and hopefully money so I can get a sprinter van and turn this into a mobile closet! – and I need to convince them I’m not a psycho, haha…

If anyone wants to learn more about the closet, and/or wants to donate yourself (yes please!!), DM me and I’ll tell you more

In the meantime, I’ll try to get back to some sort of rhythm here on the blog! I should have more time as the kids start going back to school here over the next couple months…

If you’re new to the site and this is the first post you’re reading, hello!! Thanks for giving it a shot! :) You can check out “my story” here, and feel free to reach out anytime with questions or just to say hi. We usually do talk more about money than my personal life, haha, but it probably won’t be the last time either.

Have a fantastic week!

UPDATE: The presentation went fantastic!! I ended up just scrapping the whole powerpoint and just spoke from the heart (figures), but it was greatly received and opened up a door of future collaborations as well as free clothes and essentials for the community. So yay!

PS: That other project I’m helping my friend with is still moving forward (YouBots.ai), but proving to be more of a long haul than we thought. On the plus side, the Project of Me is still going strong!

PPS: Here are 3 fantastic books I’ve read recently if anyone’s interested:

• “The Happiest Man on Earth” by Eddie Jaku
• “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris
• “10% Happier” by Dan Harris

*Links are Amazon affiliate links…

[This post, Hi!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning friends!

A blogger friend of mine recently came out with a new book, and it’s centered around one of the things that occupies my brain way more than I care to admit ;)

The purpose of life.

And apparently I’m not alone, as this “purpose anxiety” apparently affects 91% of people! Crazy!

So odds are you’ve struggled with this too, which makes this book a perfect read – and giveaway! – for everyone today. It’s called, “The Purpose Code“, and here’s more about it via Amazon:

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“The Purpose Code”
How to unlock meaning, maximize happiness, and leave a lasting legacy

Purpose can change your life.

Having a sense of purpose has been scientifically proven to help people find happiness, longevity, and health.

But lots of us are also worried about purpose―purpose anxiety has been estimated to affect as much as 91% of people.

What’s going on? And how do we do purpose the right way―to unlock all its many benefits, set goals in life, make a mark and journey from anxiety to legacy?

This question set hospice doctor and writer Jordan Grumet on a quest, and The Purpose Code shares his remarkable findings to help you change your future forever. The result is a self-development book like no other.

It turns out that we fundamentally misunderstand purpose and the role it plays in our lives. In fact, there are two different types of purpose. One will lead to anxiety and disillusionment; the other will lead to connection and lasting legacy.

In The Purpose Code, Jordan will:

• Chart a course for you to reach happiness through understanding the deep human truths behind the concepts of Meaning and Purpose (including life review therapy and simple ways of healing generational trauma)
• Equip you with a practical and proven framework for unlocking your real purpose, and show you the life-changingly enjoyable way to climb to goals, regardless of your situation in life
• Arm you to differentiate between the two types of purpose when finding life purpose (and show you the hidden reasons why one is always more fulfilling than the other)
• Set you on the way to building a genuinely lasting impact long after you’re gone.

Finding happiness has never been about creating big audacious goals that we may or may not be able to achieve. True contentment comes from filling our lives with enriching activities that lead to connection and, ultimately, legacy. Swap grand but ultimately empty success books for this small goals book, and begin creating your true purpose today.

More info here –> The Purpose Code: How to unlock meaning, maximize happiness, and leave a lasting legacy

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Here’s how to enter for your chance to win one of TWO (free) copies:

Answer this question down below in the comments, or via email if you’re reading this there, and you’ll be automatically entered to win :)

How close are you, do you think, to knowing your purpose on this Earth?

Get your entries in by this Sunday at midnight, and I’ll randomly select the two winners the following day!

Personally, I think I’m around 70% at the moment. The one thing I feel called to do, and enjoy!, is helping others in some form or fashion, and it seems the more I do that the happier I tend to get. Thus, why I made it this year’s 10-2 Challenge! Maybe it’s not my ultimate purpose in life (if there even IS such a thing?) but it def. feels like I’m moving in the right direction, so I’m gonna keep on going until something stops me :)

How about you? What % do you think you’re at right now? Either way, keep waking up and doing your best to appreciate at least being alive!! It’s not always fun, but it sure beats the alternative….

Your friend, now and forever – even in death,

PS: I made that image up top through Midjourney :) I literally asked it to design me “the purpose of life” and it came out pretty cool!

*** Giveaway now over! ***

Congrats to Sheila S. and Ann for winning! Everyone else, be sure to look for it at your local library! I bet it ups your % soon after :)

*Links to book are Amazon affiliate links

[This post, “The Purpose Code” – New Book and Giveaway!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

[A good reminder this week from Derek Sivers :) Happy Thanksgiving!]

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Not a new idea, but just another visualization and reminder.

Wealth, feeling like you have plenty, is an equation.

Wealth = Have – Want

If you have nothing, then focus on having some.

Once you have some, the easiest way to increase your wealth is to decrease your needs.

• Have 10 but want 100? You are poor.
• Have 10 but only want 5? You are wealthy.
• Have 10 but are happy with 1? You are very wealthy.

Making money depends on other people, so it’s harder. It’s not entirely under your control. It’s an outer game.

Reducing what you “need” to be happy is easier. It’s entirely under your control. It’s an inner game.

I used to look for ways to make money, but I haven’t done that in years. Now I keep looking for ways to want less.

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Derek is one of my favorite thinkers and just came out with a new book full of short passages like this: Useful Not True. He’s one of the only authors whose books I actually KEEP after reading!

*Image above courtesy of AI… I uploaded my pic and asked it to show me “doing yoga in the clouds” lol…

[This post, Wealth = Have – Want, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Got this note from a reader and been obsessing about it lately:

“I just wrapped up a 10 – 2 challenge. Here’s how it works – You work on a long term project for 10 minutes a day – every day – for approximately 2 years. The thing is, you have to work on the project every day. If you travel, you have to either improvise or do make up work for the days you missed. I even use a stopwatch to make sure I work on the project for a full 10 minutes. You’ll be amazed at what you accomplish!”

Love it! Super easy sounding, right?!

And if I whip out a calculator here, hold on one sec…  It looks like it actually adds up to… 7,300 minutes!! Or roughly 122 hours! WOW! Imagine dedicating that many hours to *one* single goal of yours? What would you be able to achieve?! How better off would you be? Physically/mentally/professionally?

It’s hard to fathom the number of things we let fall by the wayside just because they’re “too big” to start, so let this be the kick in the ass you need to actually GET GOING on a dream that you may be putting off. Or even just something annoying that really needs to get done but you know will take forever! Lol… Literally stop reading this right now and get going if you already have it in your head – I promise it’ll be better than reading the rest of this post

If nothing crosses your mind, let me throw out some ideas:

• Review your finances every day (expenses, credit cards, budget, net worth, subscriptions, insurance, credit score, credit report – plenty of things you could keep tabs on and improve)
• Declutter your entire house (each drawer, closet, *gasp* garage!)
• Get a new job/promoted (research, apply, improve skills)
• Get a new girlfriend/boyfriend/friend (same examples as above )
• Write a book! (might feel choppy with only 10 mins applied, but you’ll probably find you’ll spend more time once you’re “in the flow”)
• Start a passion project (blog, book, TikTok, coin collection!)
• Work out every day (go for a walk, go for a run!, lift some weights, do some yoga, play some basketball – you only have to do it for 10 mins!)
• Work out your mind every day (meditate, read, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles! (Remember that time I got obsessed with them for like two months??! Man I went bonkers…))
• Study the bible (my friend who came up with this 10-2 idea did exactly this – used his time for the past two years to devour the bible and create a “spiritual warfare database!”)
• Weed/Garden/Landscape (after a month you’ll probably just be *maintaining* from that point on!)
• Learn a new language (Spanish? French? HTML?)
• Learn something else entirely new! (Programming, Video Editing, Baking)

The options are endless…

And I don’t care who you are, everyone can spare 10 mins a day towards something that’s important to them. The years are going to pass anyways, why not get something extra out of it with minimal effort?!

I found the perfect book too yesterday for tracking it all:

I scooped it up at Goodwill as a future gift to my sister (it was only $2.99!), but now I’m thinking I need to keep it for myself, lol…

But how perfect is this for tracking?! Each date has a small section to jot down quick notes, and they’re stacked on top of each other so every year going forward when you come back to the same date you can see the previous years’ notes on it. Which hopefully will keep you motivated and inspired!

Here’s an inside page so you can see exactly what I’m talking about… And yes, I just wrote in it so it’s officially mine

So you can see there’s a section there for each of the 5 years, so over time you’ll be able to reflect on the previous years’ successes and notes and you don’t have to keep getting a new journal :) In fact, you could even turn this into a 10-5 Challenge if you really wanted to! Haha… And I just found it on Amazon too in case you want one for yourself (currently $15):

One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book

But really, you can use anything to track this – what’s important is just that you do! Use a Notes app, staple some blank papers together, or use a good old fashion Google Doc, it doesn’t matter – just track it however is most natural to you.

And as you’ll see, I’ve already started this challenge :) Which for me is to do *one thing a day* for someone, or some place, that helps them. I had been trying to get to a WEEK in a row of helping someone each day – and even pulled it off once (see the PS at the end!) – but if I could accomplish it for 2 YEARS straight that would be amazing.

And on Nov. 6th you’ll see Day #1 was completed! I gave a microwave to my friend Debbie whose old one just broke down (it had been sitting in my basement for 5 years!), and then I called my mother “just to check on her” and not to ask for something which is usually the case And since I had extra room there at the end, I made a note that we had won our league’s soccer championships (and I scored in it!), so that future me will be reminded of the feat a year from now.

Now some days I already know I’ll have trouble finding someone to help, or maybe not even be IN THE MOOD to help!, so on “off” days I’ll carve out the 10 minutes to simply strengthen my *mindset* overall, whether by reading or brainstorming or even by meditating – that way with each passing day I’m even more *conscious* about the mission. The more you practice doing something, the better you get at it right?! And we have 7,300 mins with this challenge so we’re gonna get GOOD!!

So yeah – I’m pretty stoked about this, and hopefully you are too :) Spend a few minutes thinking it over today, and then tomorrow get right to it and start tracking it all. It doesn’t matter if it’s something big or small or somewhere in between – just get crackin’ and feel good about it!

Remember – the time is going to pass anyways, so why not get something out of it? And I want to hear all about it!

PS: The one week I accomplished this!

• Day 1: helped serve a community dinner for our homeless friends
• Day 2: helped give out free food and veggies at our local food bank
• Day 3: gave a buddy of mine a haircut as he was low on funds, and also just really doesn’t like going to barbers! (And if you’re wondering, yes – I gave him a mohawk!! I can’t be trusted to cut anything else! )
• Day 4: helped my church archive old documents in their archives room – not only fascinating to hold and touch old artifacts, but to learn the overall process of *properly archiving* too!
• Day 5: helped a friend get a website off the ground and move her childhood dream further along
• Day 6: brainstormed marketing and fundraising ideas for a new garden opening up in our city
• Day 7: co-led an after church youth session – the scariest of all as a) I don’t know or fully understand the bible at all (!!), and b) pre-teen kids are so awkward and quiet and really don’t like to talk, haha… Though I did find a secret weapon: snacks!

It was a pretty fantastic week, but also exhausting… I’ll have to be careful of my energy levels and find ways to self-care throughout the next two years so I don’t accidentally burn out.

// Link to book is an Amazon affiliate link

[This post, The 10-2 Challenge, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

“You must begin from where you are”

What a perfect truth right there.

Where else could you even start? The past is gone no matter what you desire, and I suppose you could start in the future, but we all know that will never happen, lol, so you gotta start right now wherever you are ;) We’re only guaranteed THIS MOMENT RIGHT HERE anyways, and what a gift it truly is!

Everything in life has brought you to this very exact article right here, and lucky for me you’re reading whatever I type right now…

I could say:

I am a poopy head!

And you read it! Lol… Or even:

Saving is so sexy that my life has changed forever and now all the ladies love me.

BOOM! And now:

The tumbleweed refused to tumble but was more than willing to prance than dance.

Okay I’ll stop

But seriously. Everything has led you to this one point where you’re able to start anything new because of how life has unfolded. Maybe it’s a career choice. Maybe it’s a new relationship. Maybe it’s getting your finances together for the first time and this is the first blog you’ve ever stumbled onto (sorry about that!). Whatever the new journey is you can only start NOW as there’s no going backward, so please don’t beat yourself up over it.

The important thing is that at least *the light bulb went off* in the first place! Do you know how many people wake up in their 50s or 60s and still haven’t paid attention to their debts or health or worse – their dreams?! I WISH I could have started saving in my teens vs my 20s or got excited about working out and yoga in my 20s vs my 40s, but thank God I started as soon as everything clicked.

You must begin where you are, there is no other way.

Now you might think this quote came from a philosophy book or maybe it was something Oprah once said, but it actually came from my favorite yoga book: “Yoga Girl” by Rachel Brathen:

It’s a great read mixing in her story along with killer yoga poses, and it’s chock full of epic one-liners that not only apply to yoga, but to life – and particularly money! – too. I re-stumbled across it again on my bookshelf and totally forgot I had dog-eared a bunch of these lines which I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading.

And in the spirit of crossing my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY doing yoga (255 classes later – what!), I present them to you below in hopes they inspire you just as much as they did me :)

Most are copied as-is, and others I’ve tweaked to better prove my financial hypothesis here, haha…

Let me know what you think!

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“You don’t need to change anything about who you are to start a yoga practice paying attention to your money.”

Yes! You simply take notice one day and actively start looking at where all your money is going. Your debts, your bills, your income – everything. You don’t need to *change* any of it right away, you just stop and start *noticing* and getting the lay of the land!

Once you know what you’re dealing with, then the game plan can be activated from there. But it doesn’t require changing who you are, and in fact, over time it should help you become a BETTER version of yourself! Because the more confident you get in your finances, the more confident you get in all other areas of your life

“Be the best you can be.”

Most of the insecurities we struggle with come from thinking that things should be different from reality. But reality reflects exactly where we are right now, and all we can do is strive to improve!

“You don’t need to know every step ahead of you to be able to move forward.”

All you need to know is the general *direction* you want to go towards, and then you put one step in front of another and let forward momentum carry you from there. It’s not as complicated as we often make it out to be! Just do one little thing, and then another, and then another.

“Much of what we eat spend in a day is simply a result of boredom!”

Yup! You gotta do your best to not put yourself in situations where it’s easy to cave. And one of the best ways is by putting yourself into more positive situations than negatives. I remember when I first started blogging I immediately had less time to go to the mall and aimlessly shop, and BOOM – half the problem was immediately eliminated just because I kept myself busy! I replaced bad habits with good habits, and the same holds true with my time these days as well… Hitting the gym has replaced staring at a screen all morning, volunteering has replaced wasting time dawdling around, and finding more veggies and foods I equally enjoy has replaced more sugary ones. As the saying goes, idle hands are the devil’s workshop.

“The thing that hurts us in the long run is our mind, not our body.”

So absolutely true… Our mind is the most dangerous thing there is. This quote by Marcus Aurelius sums it up well:

I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.

This has to be one of the biggest bugs in human development! We spend too much time caring about what others think about us!

“Trust in your own ability to create magic.”

100%. Put those beautiful skills God gave you to work. No one else is going to do it for you!

“Practicing naked is extremely liberating. Love your body. Think about all that it does for you every day.”

Haha okay this one might be a stretch, but we all know budgeting naked does make it way more fun ;) I’ve been watching a lot of Naked and Afraid episodes too here lately, and there’s something beautiful about going back to the basics of both nature and survival. Similar to loving ourselves just for who we are, we should be very much loving our bodies just the same!

“Be kind to yourself!”

You will without a doubt make mistakes along your financial journey, so don’t even pretend you won’t. Just expect them and do your best to be patient with yourself! Treat yourself like you do a best friend or family member. Again, you are worth it!

“The goal is serenity. Balance. Truly finding peace in your own skin.”

The whole point of working so hard on your finances is to one day NOT have to work so hard on them! In fact, once you’re financially free you don’t even have to THINK ABOUT IT anymore! It’s ironic, yes, but also magical. Peace with your finances = peace in many other areas in life too.

“Worrying is praying for what we don’t want to happen. Focus on what you want, not what you fear!”

Positive thinking can go a looooooong way with this stuff! You’ll not only reach your goals faster, but you’ll feel better generally when you’re more optimistic! Most things we’re afraid of never even come true.

*******

Other great lines for life in general:

“Life is not as serious as your mind makes it out to be.”

Yup! Laugh a little!

“Don’t judge your life as good or bad. Love what is.”

Acceptance is an underrated super power. The moment you stop pretending or wishing, the better you’ll be able to see the beauty in what is. Meditation helps immensely with this.

“Remember that you are the only one suffering by clinging to the past.”

And you can’t change it no matter what you do!

“The first thing you do in the morning should not include social media or e-mails!”

Gosh I wish everyone realized this… And especially IN BED! A sacred space for you and anyone else laying there with you. Not only does it let *the outside world* set your tone for the day, but it doesn’t even let you fully wake up and process life before you get the day started :( You’re immediately blasted with the world’s problems before you even get out of bed!!

“Allow yourself to feel.”

There’s a place for action and moving on, but first – just feel. The highs, the lows, and everything in between.

“Do no harm, but take no shit.”

So good  :)

“The only thing that matters is how much you love… your purpose on this Earth is to love.”

Gosh this one is just so beautiful…  What a world if we all focused more on this than ourselves. I think about this often, and is partially why my last tattoo was a heart where I constantly see it and get reminded to do exactly that: love.

******

I hope this has inspired you at least a little today :)

If you’re interested in the book, you can usually find it at your local library (it’s a popular one!) or of course over at Amazon: “Yoga Girl“. It’s one of the few books I keep on my bookshelf

See ya back here again soon.

Namaste,

// Links to Amazon above are affiliate links

[This post, You must begin from where you are, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Here’s something crazy:

I went 123 days without a sip of coffee

And also…

101 days without a glass of whisky (or any alcohol for that matter)

70 days without applying ChapStick to my lips

and 43 days of not using the internet or any apps on my phone (!!!)

Challenge Mode activated, baby!! And it feels great! Also – kinda boring, lol, but super proud of myself for pulling it off so far and honestly can’t believe I even have. Who gives up all this stuff at the same time??!

But more on that in a bit…

*******

Hello!!! It’s been a while!

And it’s completely my fault.

I made it my mission this year to swap out “screen time” with more “real life” time, and I’ve gotten so good at it that I almost forgot the internet still exists, haha…

But I’ve missed you and I’m back now! And I hope your $$$ is still going strong! Anything juicy happen since I’ve been away?? Still saving and budgeting your hearts out? I just checked and it’s been exactly 6 months since my last post to y’all (!!!) which is way too long…

As for us, life continues to be good and our health and wealth are trucking along nicely. Definitely lower on the income side of things since that’s what happens when you unofficially retire, lol, but thankfully the decisions of younger J$ hooked us up to be just fine ;) Even without adding anything extra our net worth continues to grow! The power of compounding at its finest!

But while I haven’t been “working” much, I have been channeling all that time and energy into somewhere else: myself.

Last year’s “Project of Me” continues in full force, and now on top of the juicing and working out and volunteering and yoga’ing every day, I’ve added a few more life improvements to the mix. Or rather, improved *habits*. Not that any of these were all too terrible really, but it’s always good to hit “reset” every now and then to see what you truly need in life, you know?

And I decided to hit the hardest, most trickiest, habit first: COFFEE!!

Something I love and devour every single day, but something I’m sure my body doesn’t exactly appreciate. I had been slowly trimming it down over the years, going from 3-4 cups/day to 2-3 cups and then most recently just 1 cup/day, but never in my 25 years of drinking it have I dared to go cold turkey. I mean, why would you do that to yourself??!

But once the seed gets planted I can’t leave things alone until I go ALL IN, and one day I just woke up and thought, “Today is the day – no more coffee!” and that was that.

The first week was a bitch, not gonna lie (those headaches are real! Especially when your life is full of rowdy little boys!) but eventually I stopped thinking about it and learned to live my life as I had the first 20 years of it :)

I don’t know if it’s had a super big impact on me, other than chilling me out more and maybe lessening some anxiety (I feel more “even” these days, like, no more huge HIGHS or LOWS, but just kinda sorta floating in the MIDDLE, if that makes sense?) but it is amazing how fast our bodies can adapt when given the chance. Life without coffee seems just as normal now as life was with it! And in the process I learned that I really enjoy decaf teas, such as lemon-ginger which I’m currently drinking as I type this, as well as the turmeric based, “Golden Latte” – a real treat if you’ve never tried!

It’s also been a great reminder of how powerful a force *momentum* can be. The beginning stages are always the hardest, but as time goes on you get better and better with less effort until the point of not even really paying attention anymore. Not unlike saving or investing really!

Even more importantly – doing these little challenges helps prime you up for even MORE challenges in life. Momentum breeds momentum, and similar to what happened last year when I joined that soccer league, which then got me to start eating and drinking better, which then got me to start exercising more, one positive act propels you to another until you’re left with a string of better habits stacked on top of each other.

30 days into the Coffee Challenge I then took on a 31 day Meditation Challenge, which then led to a 21-day Inversion Challenge, and then a random No ChapStick Challenge (??) and then finally a No Internet on Your Phone Challenge which is my present dare I’ve taken on… A dare, of course, I dared myself with ;)

Here’s more on each for those curious:

31 Day Meditation Challenge – If you’ve always wanted to try meditation but didn’t know how, this is an easy way to get started. You just set the timer for 5 minutes and then sit there and do nothing except try and focus on your breath. Which you can never do all the way, of course, but you still try and eventually get better at it. When the 5 mins are up you’re done and hopefully feel a bit more peaceful! Then you repeat for the next 30 days

If you crave a little harder challenge, which I was, you do the same 5 mins every day BUT you add 1 more minute on top of it with each passing day. So, day 1 is 5 mins, day 2 is 6 mins, day 3 is 7 etc etc until you realize you’re at 35 mins/day and feel like a monk! It’s a fabulous challenge if you’re into such things, and of course the hope is that you continue with it until it becomes a daily habit – even if not for long. (I’ve found the sweet spot for me is 7 minutes, which I can easily slip in any time of the day!)

21 Day Inversion Challenge –This is a yoga challenge a friend of mine and I did together, but even if you’re not into yoga you could try it (just be careful!). With this challenge all you have to do is get *upside down* once a day which is supposedly really good for you (something about the blood rushing down and then back up to improve flow?). But – it’s also just plain FUN :)

You can do a hand stand up against the wall, or a head stand in the middle of the beach or even just have a friend dangle you at your ankles for a few seconds! As long as you get upside down every day you’ve accomplished the mission.

No ChapStick Challenge — This is going to sound weird, but next to coffee this was probably the hardest challenge I’ve ever taken on, haha… I’d never realized how engrained of a habit this was until learning that my brother has only used it like once or twice in his entire life??! I was shocked! I told him I probably apply it at least 5-6x day automatically without even thinking about it, and that it’s one of the three things I *always* carry in my pocket:

1. Phone
2. Money clip
3. Chapstick (or a variation of – this isn’t to shame Chapstick the brand, I don’t have anything against them, lol… unless the rumors are true that they put *addictive* substances in it which would 100% explain my obsessive behavior with it!!!)

He then told me I needed to take it on as my next challenge, and 70 days later I have still yet to apply a single swipe! :) Though I did early on have to apply some Vaseline as WOW were my lips not happy as they were adjusting!! And I couldn’t count the number of times I reached into my pockets to get the Chapstick only to remember it wasn’t there anymore, lol… So it’s kind of a minimalism and savings win too! One less thing to carry around, and one less thing to purchase too – woo!

No Internet on Your Phone Challenge — This one came about after just being tired of being on my phone one day and seeing everyone else on theirs too. Which this challenge doesn’t exactly solve (if anything it gets you to realize how MUCH everyone else is on their phone!) but it is a good start to breaking your own scrolling habits.

In a nutshell, you just stop opening up any apps outside of those made for communication (like text, calling, etc) and then see if you can survive ;)

I started it on vacation which is probably the worst time to start since you usually have so much downtime!, but it did help re-focus my attention on real life and nature and has been great for my mental health too. I have since sneaked in the maps app and allowed for the camera and one or two other more *productive* apps too, but so far it looks like I’ve broken the habit of haphazard scrolling and getting lost to time. I’d bet I use the phone at least 50% less now!

(Another trick to not picking it up as much? Wearing a watch! It can’t suck you in like when you go to your phone to check what time it is!)

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And that’s where we are today :) Looking for the next good challenge!! lol… You have any for me?

But while it may look like I’m trying to devoid myself of all the best things in life, the point as mentioned earlier is more to break myself out of my daily habits that have essentially been on auto-pilot for years and then reinstitute better ones. Some things like the coffee and alcohol I’ve slowly introduced back in again – having my first glass of whisky last week, and my first cup of coffee the week prior (it all tastes so much better in moderation!) – while the ChapStick and phone scrolling ban still remains fully in tact.

And of course, you can do all this with your finances too! In fact, that’s where my love of pushing myself all started from – when I took on a “No Spending Challenge” back in 2008 and tried to get a handle on where all my money was going! The first week was the hardest (I kept forgetting and finding myself in stores!) but eventually the new habit kicked in long enough where I trusted myself to start spending again without overdoing it.

A few years later, I decided to up my game even further and go through *every last expense* I had and either nix them completely or lower them enough without affecting my quality of life. I dubbed this the “Challenge Everything” experiment, and at the end of 12 months I had saved $5,484.07 and forever cut out $200/mo going forward! Half of it coming from swapping cell phone carriers alone which netted me $100+/mo (I swapped Verizon for Republic Wireless which no longer exists, and eventually landed at Mint Mobile which I LOVE. Only $25/mo!*)

And then of course there’s getting into the habit of investing more and paying off debts and all other kinds of challenges you could take on to better improve your future.

Here are some of the ones we’ve featured over the years if you’re pumped and ready to take some on!

• The $2 Bill Challenge
• The Spavings Challenge
• The $1,000 Savings Challenge
• Gamify Your Money Goals with These 8 Fun Saving Challenges!
• 30 Mini-Challenges for September to Improve Your Life and Money!

The trick is just starting with one area and then letting the momentum (and confidence!) keep building and propelling you further into others. And remember – it gets easier the more you flex that muscle!

Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to these past 6 months :) Hope you’ve been learning and getting into some fun stuff too! I really thought this was going to be a steady normal year over here and then BAM – the fire was lit and the sparks started flying! Haha… But I love it… You gotta be constantly changing in order to grow and I welcome every last bit of it.

See you back here again soon! Thanks for reading :)

// Top painting by my 6 year old, titled “EYE BLEEDING” lol… Pretty much exactly how I felt the first few days of these challenges!!

* Mint mobile link is an affiliate link… and also the best phone carrier around! Even Deadpool uses it!

[This post, Challenge Mode Activated ✅, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning, y’all! Been a while! Jordan over at The Wealth Letters prompted me to share my thoughts on “wealth” for an upcoming book of his (cool!), and what began as an outline for an article somehow managed to morph into a poem, lol… So please to enjoy today: a poem about wealth!

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“Wealth is freedom”

Wealth is freedom.

Freedom to create.
Freedom to live.
Freedom to love!
Freedom to sleep in, or hustle, or do whatever your spirit is moving you in the moment.

Wealth is freedom from worry of the things you have control over
(and grace over the things you do not).

It’s the ability to drop everything and help out a friend when they most need you,
or jump on a project (or quit a project!), or re-arrange life whenever it gets too out of balance.

Wealth is health – in both body and mind.
And being able to say “no” when you want to say no,
and “yes” when you want to say yes!

It’s choosing love over hate,
and recognizing what your gifts are as early as possible so you can give them back to the world.

Wealth is having enough money to not worry,
but not too much where it makes you worry.
It’s the stuff that brings you joy,
but also the stuff that challenges you and makes you stronger.

Wealth is the ability to believe in yourself and know that you are “enough”,
and also that you are loved and worthy and very much needed in our world.

Wealth is peace.
Wealth is freedom.
Wealth is contentment.
Wealth is something we’re always striving for, but not everyday getting. (And that’s okay!)

Wealth is a state of mind, and it flourishes within each and every one of us.

Wake up. Be You. Be thankful. Do your best. Be wealthy

And how blessed are we ALL to have at least a little wealth within us? :)

Wealth is about being good stewards of our money, yes, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s how we live and think and shape our lives no matter what’s going on in our worlds. And the beautiful part is we ALL have the power to grow it! For ourselves, for our loved ones, for our community!

So thanks, Jordan! That was a fun exercise to go down, and hopefully y’all got something out of it too :) If you like this sorta stuff (the meaning of wealth, not poems lol), check out his site where he features dozens more from all walks of life –> TheWealthLetters.com

And he’s always looking to add more too! So if you have a few moments this weekend, maybe marinate on it yourself and then pass your thoughts over to him and perhaps you’ll be featured next?!

Until next time, stay wealthy amigos…

PS: If you’re reading this on the blog today, did you notice anything different?! Like no ads?? ;) I officially got rid of them all so hopefully it makes it even smoother to read… Probably not the smartest decision business-wise, but hey – it just felt right

Hope things are good in your world! I’ll be back again soon’ish hopefully!

[Photo up top via Pexels]

[This post, What Wealth Means (To Me), was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Hello friends!!

Happy New Year!! It’s nice to see so many of you at the gyms and yoga studios and veggie aisles these days :) Everyone’s so energized and motivated – be sure to do whatever it takes to KEEP UP WITH IT!

Remember – even if you fail one day or two (or two hundred days), it doesn’t matter – it’s literally in the past. All that matters is what you do TODAY! So get back out there and try again!! A record of “1” in a row is better than a record of “none” in a row. #TRUTHBOMB

** Awkward transition **

Did I tell you my best friend and I created a new project recently? And by recently, I mean almost a year ago but I keep forgetting to tell you about it because I just poured over my archives here and can’t find a mention of it anywhere?? ;)

Yup, my boy Nate St. Pierre and I devised it* late one night on a rare visit together (we’ve been internet besties for around 14 years now but only see each other in real life maybe once every few years!) and the very next morning we built it and put it out into the world.

Though for once it’s a project not actually meant for the *world*, but for a specific *person* who made our day.

It’s called, I Met You Today, and the concept is simple:

1. Whenever one of us meets someone who blows us away with their kindness, genuineness, or brilliance, we hand them a card that says “I met you today. Check this site in 24 hours: IMetYouToday.com”
2. We then post up a note letting them know how much they impacted us!
3. They then (hopefully) remember to come back and visit the site to see what a difference they made to us :)

Now some of us are better at remembering to pass out these cards than others**, but at the end of the day we show them some love and hopefully it brings them as much joy as they brought us. If nothing else, it gives us the chance to think through these encounters and put ’em down on paper, that way when we’re feeling depressed about the state of the world we can look back at the archive of people who are actually cool! Lol…

We’ve done about 10 of these so far, and you can find them here if any in particular pique your interest. Some are short, some are long, some are random, but every single one is from our heart:

• A Real Life Friend Request
• Old Paperbacks, With a Side of Ranch
• Back in the Game
• Namaste
• Free Cupcake
• Lunch at the Pier
• A Real Life Actual Phone Call
• Serotonin, Inked
• Let’s Give Hugs
• Unexpected Space Force

(Can you guess which ones *I* wrote vs those from Nate? ;))

It’s been a fun project and reminds me there’s still so much goodness in people if you pay attention enough. Anyone can hate on others (and we’re often quick to do so!), but it’s a lot harder to focus on the opposite. Maybe it’s time we change that this year? Feel free to steal this idea if you like it! You don’t need a website to do it – just open your heart and show them you care.

See you back here again sometime soon! I’m continuing The Year of The Flow so who knows what will be occurring next ;) From homeless shelters, to board games, to juicing, to yoga – it’s been a helluva unexpected year! And that’s just the way I like it!

You friend today, and always,

——————–

*Okay, so Nate actually came up with the main idea, but if it never gets fleshed out and put into the world does it really ever count?! ;)

**Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me… Nate is GREAT about handing out these cards the second he realizes he’s in the middle of a beautiful experience, but for me it usually takes a couple of days as I’m slow. It usually dawns on me when I catch myself telling loads of people about the experience later, and then I quickly hop onto the computer and write it up! Which of course is then way too late, lol, but often times I run into the person again so it’s more of a “I Met You A Few Weeks Ago Actually, But Still – Check Out This Nice Letter I Wrote To You on This Website – KTHXBYE!”

[This post, A New Project To Say “Thank You.”, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]