About Me

My Personal Financial Freedom Journey

Hi, my name is Dave and I would like to welcome you to my website. Since you are visiting, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to share a little bit about my personal financial freedom journey.

As long as I can remember, I have always had a special attraction to and curiosity about anything that had to do with money. You can read here about how as a six year old, I first realized the importance of saving money. That experience had a profound effect on my life.

Throughout my growing up years, I always had some kind of job to make money. In our small, rural community, there weren’t many options for employment as a young boy. However, I worked my way up the ladder from pulling weeds in the bean fields for a quarter an hour, to mowing lawns for a dollar a lawn, and on up to painting buildings for $2.25 an hour.

I always had something to save for, like vinyl records, a guitar, a set of encyclopedias, and ultimately a college education. I always found it fun and challenging to save money.

After college, I was fortunate enough to find the woman of my dreams. We thought a lot alike, in fact she even won a scholarship for college by writing an article on being thrifty! (Incidentally, she writes some of the articles and edits all of them on this site and is my staff photographer. Thanks, Beth!)

During my career I have had many opportunities to hone my money skills. I became a Certified Management Accountant early in my working years. I spent several years at a financial services company. I also worked for a meager salary as the business manager for a non-profit agency where each worker was committed to living a simple, frugal life. I have also had my own business providing accounting services to non-profit agencies.

I developed investing skills by learning from my father-in-law, reading newspapers, books, magazines and websites. I have employed various strategies such as picking stocks to buy and hold, trading stocks and options, investing in mutual funds and exchange traded funds, and using market timing services.

My family life has also given me perspective on finances. We were able to pay off the mortgages on our homes quickly while supporting our family on one income. I have also had the privilege with my wife to raise two exceptional young men. This gave me insight into issues such as teaching children about money, and balancing the challenges of financing college with financing a secure retirement.

I have also learned about the importance of giving. Throughout my life, whether I have had a little or a lot, I have always found joy in giving to my church, other organizations that reflect my values, and individuals who were in need. I have found great blessing in sharing my resources.

It has always seemed natural for me to help people with their finances. I have taken coursework in financial counseling and have helped some people with specific financial concerns and plans, as well as actually managing money for others. I taught a workshop on “financial de-stressing.”

I look at this website as another opportunity to help people. I hope that you will discover some helpful information here that will help you on your journey to financial freedom. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

That's a little bit about me. Now I would like to hear about you! Tell us about your financial freedom journey here or read the stories of other visitors.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you will come back soon as I am often adding more information.

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