Thanks for visiting Frugal Dad! Without your visits, and continued support, I probably would have given up long ago. This site was created for the average family to find financial resources with a conservative slant. By “conservative slant” I’m not referring to politics, rather the “conservative” approach to personal finances.

In addition to writing here at Frugal Dad I have also put together a short eBook, The 7-Day Turnaround: One Week to Change Your Family’s Financial Future.” The eBook is based on the popular series by the same name, and is available to subscribers.

My Basic Philosophy
I hate debt. I don’t like risk. I tolerate credit card companies. I don’t like these financial “gurus” out there giving advice for the sole purpose of selling lousy investments. You know, it could be said that my advice is simply common sense. However, in a country where common sense left the financial world long ago, I felt a calling to remind people of some very basic principles. Spend less than you make; save money for a rainy day; live debt free. I know, I know, earth-shattering ideas here, huh?

I’ve Paid My Share of “Stupid Tax”
So what in the world qualifies me to impart my opinions on the topic of personal finance? Honestly, the most important qualification is that I have had my share of money screw-ups in the past. At the time I had what I thought were justifiable reasons for getting into debt (college, family illnesses, etc.). However, looking back I was just impatient. I could have waited on college until I could better afford it. I should have had an emergency fund established to handle family illnesses and emergencies. I was ill-prepared, and admittedly immature. Hopefully by sharing some of my past, and my thoughts on a brighter financial future, you will avoid these same mistakes.

I’ve Seen the Enemy of Prosperity, Up Close and Personal
And now for my informal education in the world of personal finance. I cut my teeth in a 3rd party call center handling inbound customer service phone calls for various credit and bankcard products. It was tough work, typically involving fielding complaints about interest rates, fees and general gripes about credit products. I eventually moved up in the ranks and lead a team of customer service representatives. That wasn’t much better. Now, in addition to administrative and coaching responsibilities I also had to handle “escalated” calls fielded by my team. In other words, these folks were so irate not even the top performers on my team could handle them.

Sure the Grass is Greener, but the Water Bill is Higher
Mercifully, my time in the call center ended after what seemed like an eternity (about 2 years) and I was moved to the Dispute Resolution area in back-office operations. So now instead of fielding telephone gripes we got them via the mail. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire! Like many operations areas we were understaffed and overloaded, though no one in upper management agreed. I suffered through another year and then moved to the credit department, issuing credit limit increases and reviewing new applications for credit cards. This was the most eye-opening experience. I processed dozens and dozens of applications a day from people who really had no business getting a credit card. Most were already in debt of some form, and their incomes typically didn’t leave much discretionary money after making minimum payments. But, like all good credit card companies do, we signed them up by the thousands. Sad.

Getting Out
After another year or so in the world of new credit I moved into software development and was thankful to get away from the customer interaction that left me feeling guilty about what I did for a living. Software development somehow made me feel less guilty because i didn’t have to talk to the people desperate for credit to pay for things they couldn’t afford. Eventually, the whole place turned toxic and my heart was no longer in it. I was tired of enabling people to get into debt problems. For me it just wasn’t worthwhile work.

I resigned my position and relocated to a new company in a different industry. I do value the time I spent at that employer because it provided a ton of negative reinforcement. Unfortunately, during my time there I was “in the game” and acquired too much debt of my own. You would think the impact would be the opposite, steering me clear of any kinds of debt. I haven’t spent much time analyzing it, but I guess I was just caught up in the debt trap and thought it was OK because after all, my company was issuing it right and left. I admit, it was a naive approach.

Now that you’ve learned way more about me than you wanted to know, I hope you will return to the articles and continue to learn more about the world of frugal family finances.

If you are thinking of starting a blog, or currently run a blog, check out my other site, SideHustleBlogging.com.

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