Aiming to have a healthy six figure bank account balance, Single Guy Money was successful in paying his $ 40,000 debt of his car loans and credit cards. A man with a dream of living a non-mortgage debt life by the end of 2010. Let us read his views about his journey as a finance blogger from the interview below.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

SGM: I happened to be searching for personal finance information and ran across a personal finance blog that had been around for a few years. I spent hours one night reading the entire blog and I was intrigued by the idea of anonymously posting my personal finance information for everyone else to see and maybe gain something that would help them with their own personal finance.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

SGM: Personal finance has always been my passion. I used to sit down with my grandfather and watch him write out the checks to pay the bills. He always told me it was important to pay out less money than you are bringing in.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

SGM: In real life, I work for a large insurance company in the claims department. I’ve been with the company over 8 years and got the job my attending a job fair. I’d actually never heard of the company and just figured it would be something I could do temporarily until I found a job that I really wanted to do. I hated it for the first year or so and then I got the hang of it and stuck around. It has turned out to be a great company and my salary has more than doubled since I started.

Jason: Your bog’s tagline says, “My goal is to be free of non-mortgage debt by May 2010. ” What preparations are you making to achieve this goal and how?

SGM: My plan is to save a large cash cushion to handle any emergencies that may creep up. Once that goal is funded, any extra cash will go towards my student loan. Once my student loan is paid off, the only debt remaining will be the mortgage.

Jason: We noticed that you have made loads of financial mistakes in your life. What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made out of all?

SGM: My three biggest mistakes by far are: buying a new car every couple of years and continuing to accumulate more debt with each purchase, financing my lifestyle during college with credit cards and taking on a lot more student loan debt than I really needed.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

SGM: I wish I knew the answer to that. I do think it will not end quickly and may around for the next couple of years. I do think if people had taken more responsibility, we would not be in this situation. If the bank tells you can afford $10 a month and you can only afford $5, you only finance $5.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

SGM: Ten years from now, I would like to be completely debt free; including mortgages with a nice, healthy six figure bank account balance.

Jason: How do you feel after paying off almost $40,000 of your car loan and credit cards?

SGM: It feels awesome!!! I can sleep better at night and I am no longer worrying about the bills.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

SGM: Blogging has changed my financial life tremendously. I now feel accountable to my readers. I know that if I mess up and make a stupid purchase, my readers will let me know. I actually think about and plan for purchases now instead of just going out and buying stuff I don’t need.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decision ever made?

SGM: My best personal finance decision was finally paying off my car loan. I not only paid off the current vehicle I was financing but I paid off over 12 years of car loans. I can now use the money I was paying the bank to build my savings account. I now make car payments to myself. When the time comes for my next vehicle, I plan to go in and write a check for the full amount.

Jason: Please advice our readers how to pay off their debts from your past experiences?

SGM: The first and best tip I can give the readers is to be patient and don’t give up. You didn’t get into debt overnight and it won’t be paid off overnight. Every bit of extra money you get, throw it at the debt. Every little bit helps. Adding an additional $10 to your payment will add up eventually and chip away at the debt. Before you know it, you will be done and you can move on to the next debt. Don’t try to do it all at one time. As the saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

SGM: I think it is absolutely awesome and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. Debt reduction kicks butt!!!

After reading the interview of Single Guy Money, Do you think he will be able to achieve his goal of living a non-mortgage debt life by the end of 2010. Do not forget to leave your views about Single Guy Money and his interview with us.

He has got great passion for personal finance, he has done lots of research in getting out of debt, he took it as a mission and finally conquered it. He believes his biggest financial mistake was to get over his head in credit card debt and not saving enough for future. Loves his wife a lot who has always helped him in managing his finances. Come lets meet him, none other than FFB that is Free From Broke

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

FFB: This time two years ago I might have heard about blogging in passing but I thought it was more of an online journal. One day while surfing I came across the site Zen Habits which led me to Get Rich Slowly. I started to read the stuff on GRS and I realized that these were issues that were on my mind that I had been researching in getting rid of my debt and trying to build up savings. Full of hubris, I told myself that I could write a site like that too (of course I didn’t realize how much work it was). In October 2007 I started Free From Broke A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks on Blogger.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

FFB: I guess I could have started out on something else but personal finance had been an interest for me for years as I was working to get out of debt. I felt it was the subject I knew best and it was also something I had been actively looking into as well. Granted, I’m no financial expert but I thought I could contribute to the field with what I’ve read and experienced (I’ve been thousands in credit card debt).

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what 3 best advices you would like to give to the people in this economic recession?

FFB: How long will it last? If I knew I think I’d be so ahead of the curve. This current economy keeps throwing out surprises. Seems there are very few “financial experts” that had a real idea of the scope of the issue. As for advice, do what you can to keep your job! Make yourself an asset to your company. And get references just in case. Build up your emergency funds. Three to six months may not be enough these days. It’s tough saving sometimes but a good emergency cushion can keep a bad situation from getting worse if you are laid off. Lastly, if you have debt do what you can to curb your spending and start paying the debt back. This could be a tough lifestyle change but it will pay off in the long run!

Jason: What is the significance of “Free From Broke”?

FFB: I was trying to come up with with a good site name that would express a bit of how I felt about personal finances and debt. Not sure if I succeeded but I think it’s catchy. What do you think?

Jason: We saw that you have huge number of networking with other finance bloggers. Do you think this networking is necessary to survive in the finance blogging industry?

FFB: If you write really good content then perhaps you don’t need it as much. I think it really helps though! There aren’t any secrets or anything but having the experience of other people to help you and bounce ideas off of is such a great resource. And it doesn’t just apply to blogging. If you’re trying to get out of debt, having a support group of people with similar experiences can be such a help. And you know what? The blogging world is full of such great people who are friendly and are willing to answer questions and help you out! I’ve made some wonderful blogging friends.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

FFB: First, getting myself over my head in credit card debt! That was a mistake that took years to correct. Second, not saving enough. Third, not having a clear cut picture of a career throughout college. Not that I needed to know what I wanted to do as a freshman, I just needed to commit to one area. No regrets though! I probably wouldn’t be doing this interview if it weren’t for those life experiences.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

FFB: Stop trying to age me before my time! Haha. I see living with my family in a nice, warm home. Building up a professional career or my own business venture as well.

Jason: What was your best personal finance decisions?

FFB: Marrying my wife (go ahead say “awww” you know you want to). The two of us fit so well together and we do a great job complementing each other’s financial ideas and goals. She’s so good at organizing and keeping track of our budget as well as motivating me. Second would be making the realization that I had to do something about my financial situation. My debts wouldn’t go away by themselves and I had to take action to start eliminating my debt.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

FFB: Absolutely! I’ve learned so much in my short blogging career. Earlier on you asked about networking. I was never too good at this. Can’t say I’m that great now either. But I’m getting better and I’m realizing how important it is to reach out to others and that it’s ok to ask for help every now and then. No one has all of the answers but when you network you can bounce questions off of each other. I’m also learning to take more chances as well. It’s ok to fail so long as you learn from your mistakes. But at the same time you have to take those chances otherwise you over analyze and nothing gets done.

Jason: What would you tell those people that might be thinking of starting a personal finance blog of their own?

FFB: You first have to ask yourself why you want to do it! If you think you are going to join those few sites that make a living out of it then you may be mistaken. You better love writing about personal finance and have a passion for the subject. But if you love writing about your experiences and you’re interesting in the subject and you really want to blog then jump right in. This is such a new medium. There’s room for us all.

Jason: How do you feel by becoming the part of world’s largest Debt Free Community now?

FFB: Wow, when you say it like that it sounds really awesome! This is one of the great benefits of blogging about personal finance – you get to help some people help themselves get out of debt. If one person reads my articles and it helps them with their personal finances then I’ve done a lot. To be part of a community that does the same is really an honor.

So what do you think about the blog title of freefrombroke? Do you really think it is catchy? Do not forget to post your valuable comments here.

She does not like to call herself a financial guru; neither is she a frugal queen. But yes she is almost frugal. You have guessed it right. I am talking about Kelly Rigotti of Almost Frugal, a frugality and personal finance blog written from the perspective of someone who almost has it all together. Though she writes on frugality, still she believes that there are many other things to work upon to become the “perfect frugal”. Let’s read her interview and find out what’s her take on frugality and other financial issues.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

Kelly: I was at home on maternity leave while pregnant with my third child. I decided to start a blog for the same reasons as so many other people: to keep far away family and friends informed of our lives. This is especially important for me as I’m American but live in France, so when I say ‘far away’, it really is far away.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

Kelly: After starting my personal blog, I got really into reading other blogs. And, as I was broke, really, really broke, I read a lot of personal finance and frugality blogs. I started learning more and more about the subject and began leaving longer and longer comments on some of my favorite blogs. Then I’d get frustrated when they didn’t publish new posts more frequently, so I decided to start my own, non personal, blog. I was obsessed with personal finance at that point in my life, so writing a blog on the topic was a logical leap.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

Kelly: Up until about 2 years ago I taught English as a Second Language and American Culture here in France, but it’s a kind of dead end field (albeit quite interesting) and certainly very low paid! I wanted to change careers, so I decided to go back to school and now I’m a graduate student in marketing, finishing in about two weeks. I have learned a lot about marketing and communication through my blog, Almost Frugal, and thanks both to my masters degree and my blogging experience, I was recently hired as an online marketing and communication consultant for a software company in the region in which I live.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

Kelly: You know, I’m not a financial expert, so I don’t have any good answers (neither do a lot of financial experts, on the other hand!). But I think it will last at least another year. Both my parents are still working, in the United States, and they are quite affected by the current state of the economy. Luckily, in France, neither my husband nor I have personally had to fear for our jobs, although had I stayed in my past position as a teacher in a private company, I almost certainly would have been laid off.

I don’t know what the solution to resolving the current financial crisis is, but my gut instinct tells me that it lays more in job creation and less in subsidies. If a person receives a one time $400 payment, that would be really nice, but it wouldn’t have much effect over the long term. On the other hand, if an unemployed person finds a job that makes a huge difference in their and their family’s lives.

Jason: We just noticed the tagline on your blog is, “Learning About Frugality.” Do you think you’ve learnt everything about frugality?

Kelly: Ooh, la, no! Otherwise my blog would be called ‘Perfect Frugally: I’ll teach you all there is to know about frugality’! I am very much like so many other people out there… trying to learn about how to be more frugal, save more money, pay less on debt, while still enjoying living life and fighting against the consumer culture that says more, more, more, spend, spend, spend.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

Kelly: Well, by far the biggest was taking out student loans to go to college. I had a wonderful undergraduate experience, which I value very highly, and without which I would literally not be where I am today (it was thanks to a college trip to France in 2000 that I met my husband). However, I often took out loans for living expenses, instead of managing my money more carefully. While those weren’t responsible for all of my student loan debt, they tacked on about $10,000 worth, for a total now of about $57,000.

The second mistake was not educating me better about refinancing my student loans- I ended up having to do that because I stupidly got behind in my payments and I did it out of desperation. I didn’t take time to really think, and although I might still have chosen to consolidate and refinance if I had better thought about it in advance, I regret not learning more about it before signing.

And the third? Trading in my two year old, nearly paid for on zero percent financing two doors Ford Escort for a ten year old, broken down Jeep Cherokee with a 60 month loan at 17%. Ugh.

Jason: Where do you see yourself 10 years down the lane?

Kelly: I don’t think we’ll still be in France, although I don’t know if we’ll go back to the US. But I’d like for us to be debt free and have a good block of savings for retirement. I don’t know if we’ll own our own house, as we like to be footloose and fancy-free, but building and keeping a large emergency fund is definitely a priority.

Jason: Please advice our readers some great tips on how to pay off the debt?

Kelly: You have to start. I know how overwhelming it feels to be out of control, not to want to open the envelopes that arrive in the mail. To think that because you can’t save $500 a month, you shouldn’t save $5. But the most important thing is to start, to develop a commitment to yourself to paying off debt and managing your money. After that, you can always find the method of budgeting, or snowballing, or gaming the credit cards that works for you, but it all comes down to one thing: starting in the first place.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

Kelly: Blogging has very much changed my life. As I mentioned earlier, I now have a job that I wouldn’t have gotten were it not for my blogging experience. I’ve also met a huge number of people, both in real life and online, and gotten to do a lot of fun things (like this interview, for one!) that I would not have done otherwise. Writing a blog has enriched my life, literally and figuratively, in more ways than one.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

Kelly: It’s great. Being surrounded by others who think like me, and are working towards the same goals towards which I’m working, is great.

So, do you think that Kelly is really a frugal expert? Please provide us with your views and comments on the interview. If you want to ask any questions to Kelly then do post your questions in the comment box below and we will try our best that she answers to your questions.

Lets meet a man with a mission of making money, saving it, growing it by investing, and giving it away to help others. A man who thinks that God hasn’t put us on this earth to amass wheelbarrows full of cash to bathe ourselves in. He believe there is a much better and higher purpose for our money i.e. to build God’s Kingdom and help others. He is none other than Bob Lotich from ChristianPF. Let us know more about him and his views on personal finances in his interview below:

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

Bob: A friend of mine actually explained what a blog was to me about 2 years ago and I loved the idea.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

Bob: Personal Finance was something I was passionate about at the time and still am. There didn’t seem to be a better thing for me to write about!

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

Bob: I worked in banking for a couple years and then in the financial services industry for about 5 years and got laid off last June. Now, in real life, I am a full-time blogger.

Jason: How long do you think this current economic situation will last and what do you think the answer to it is?

Bob: Personally, I think that while the current situation will be over in the next year or so, I think the US has bigger issues that are going to be much larger problems in the future. I honestly think the answer to it is controlled spending – on the citizens’ parts and in the government. Everyone is out of control with their spending, and I personally believe that is a root cause of a lot of our issues.

Jason: We just noticed the tagline of your blog is, “Make it, Save it, Grow it, Give it ” What is the significance of this title?

Bob: Making money, saving it, growing it by investing, and giving it away to help others are the 4 main objectives I have with my finances and this is also the mission of ChristianPF as well.

Jason: Why do you think God will help everyone in managing their personal finances?

Bob: Just like any good father wants to see his children succeed, God is very interested in us succeeding in every area of our lives.

Jason: What is the biggest financial mistake you have made?

Bob: I did a pretty bad job at paying for college. I bounced around between a few different schools and in doing so, some credits didn’t transfer and I ended up paying twice for a lot of classes. That combined with my lack of concern for money at the time earned me a very costly bachelors degree.

Jason: Where do you see yourself 10 years down the lane?

Bob: I am not sure, but I see myself enjoying every minute of it.

Jason: Do you believe you are successful in providing a resource for Christians to get practical tips, biblical revelation, and wisdom about how to handle their personal finances?

Bob: While ChristianPF has not become everything I envisioned for it yet, I do feel that it is well on it’s way and does successfully do a lot of those things I intended for it to do.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

Bob: Absolutely, blogging has allowed me to follow my passion and get paid doing something I absolutely love doing, rather than just chasing a paycheck – like I was doing before.

Jason: Please advice our readers on how to pay off the debts?

Bob: From people I talk to, I find that they biggest hurdle for people paying off debts to to change their mindset. Most people look at it as how can I find $1000 each month to start paying off my debt. My suggestion is to find a way to just start making ANY forward progress. So if you are only paying down your debts by $20 each month -it is a start and it is so much better than digging the hole deeper. Amazingly once you get started in the right direction, you find ways to increase the speed and momentum.

Jason: How do you feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

Bob: Sounds great!!

So, I am sure all of you had splendid time reading Bob’s view on personal finances. We will come up with some more interviews next week. Till then keep enjoying reading our blog. Do not forget to leave a comment about your views on Bob’s idea and thinking.

Our second Interview with How I Save Money is a full time working lady and knows how to manage her budgets very well. The blogger has managed to pay off large credit card debts through her college days. She is working hard to pay off her remaining credit card debts and car debt. Her only advise to people is that they should pay all the bill on time without giving any excuse. To gain some more advices from her read the excerpt below.

Jason: From where did you get the idea of blogging?

LA: I actually found out about blogging when I was searching for contact lenses. Totally unrelated I know but that was my start. I saw that this girl was getting tons of traffic just writing about her daily life and I spoke to a friend of mine and he told me he had a blog too. I decided to start writing one then, we picked a topic, he helped me set it up and I was on my way.

Jason: There are so many topics on which you can blog. But why Personal Finance?

LA: I am not into makeup or shopping or technical issues so I cannot write about those. I grew up without much money so I always had to look for a way to save money. This seemed to be the easiest thing to talk about since I could really talk about things I have personally tried and I could sound like I know what I am talking about.

Jason: What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

LA: I am a teacher in real life and work with students who have behavior problems. My degree is in business and I was in a job that was not really suited for me. A friend of mine told me about Special Education and I decided to change careers.

Jason: What advice you would like to give to the people in this economic recession?

LA: Pay your bills on time, there is no excuse for having to deal with late fees. Use online banking like ING (I have referrals if your readers need any) and save money on bank fees. Pay the minimum on all credit cards and then throw extra money on your debt snowball.

Jason: You are working on a very tight budget, how do you manage your college as well as your budget?

LA: I have my cash flow set up now so that I don’t have to worry about money. I place restrictions on how much money I can spend in each category, track what I spend and bring my lunch to work.

Jason: What are the three biggest finance mistakes you have ever made?

LA: Running up my credit cards while in college. Not opening an online savings account earlier. Not having a budget.

Jason: Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the lane?

LA: I see myself with all my debt fully paid off (except for maybe a mortgage) and with a nice amount in retirement. I envision having the freedom to spend as I please with a bigger budget but having that safety for my family. I also see the blog as being a go to place for a large audience that is looking for real tips and not just a guru spouting generalities.

Jason: How do you feel after paying off your debt?

LA: Every time I get a debt paid off I feel relieved. I am one step closer to not owing anyone and to being able to build up my retirement money.

Jason: Do you think blogging has changed your life in some way or the other?

LA: Blogging has made me more aware of the fact that I was really not as good with managing my money as I thought I was. It has introduced me to some GREAT people online and opened my eyes up to some new technology that I was not aware of before.

Jason: Please advice our readers how to pay off the debt?

LA: For me the first step in paying off debt is to know how much you actually owe. List ALL of your obligations from credit cards to cable. Use your free ING account to pay bills and earn interest on the money while you pay those bills. The next step is to track your spending. You can use Quicken online or Mint (those are the free ones I use) to track what you spend for a month. You might be surprised at where your money goes. After you track for a month, then you can set up a budget based on the amount you spend. As time goes by you can tweak this to spend less in some areas and more in others. Once you have your budget set up you can allocate money for paying off debt in an aggressive manner, using a debt snowball.

Jason: What’s a major personal finance issue that is on your mind now?

LA: Right now my biggest concern is getting rid of my debt so I can really bolster my savings and plan for retirement.

Jason: How do feel by becoming a part of world’s largest debt consolidation community now?

LA: Hmmmm…I have been consolidating my debt already using another provider so I will have to pass on this question.