I was tagged...and it felt good!

Are you ready for more things about me? No? well fine then! you can find me crying in the corner. What's that, you changed your mind? awesome, please continue :) I was tagged by Always the Planner on "7 Random Things About Me" last week (i'm a little late), so here we go:

1) I have a healthy obsession with Saucony running shoes. I say obsession because I am currently wearing my 12th pair (green w/ black border). I say healthy because i only buy them when they're on sale ($19.99 -->$29.99) and they are good for my feet!

2) I went to 3 different high schools. While it was awesome and sucky at the same time, i interestingly enough attended the SAME school my freshmen year, as well as my senior year! The funniest part were those old "friends" who didn't recognize me when i came back! haha... i guess i was a growing boy.

3) I have A.D.H.D. (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and i like it. while it can be annoying at times, i've learned to channel it over the years to increase my creativity! you drop a little caffeine on top of that, and OPAH! you have a party :)

4) My brother and i would have been the 4th generation of military pilots...except that my brother became a journalist, and i became a graphic designer/jack of all trades. Streaks gotta end somewhere, right?

5) I prefer sparkling water over regular water. the bubbles feel great going own my throat, and i always feel so elegant when i'm drinking it....i don' t know why.

6) I have an addictive personality, like a LOT. This is why i have never smoked a cigarrette - i'm too afraid of getting hooked! I've been okay with alcohol (thank the Lord!), and cigars, so those will remain my only vices. It also helps with things like this blog too, as i can get super consumed and focus my efforts on it.

7) ...i wanted a good one for this last number, and couldn't decide if i should leak my tattoo or hair cut....but since i just said i had a tattoo, that wins! I have a star on my chest :) it really doesn't mean anything in particular except that i just really like 'em a lot. i also used to aspire to be a rock star, but since i can't sing, nor play an instrument, i'm okay with being a blog-star. that's a new word i just now made up. isn't it fetch?!

There you have it - 7 random things that have nothing to do with personal finance, and that you probably didn't need to know about me! haha... But it was fun sharing :) we'll be back to money matters later today, or tomorrow. Thx for tagging me ATP!

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5 things about J. Money

Why hello, and welcome to my blog! (Talk Soup anyone?) I was on Chicky Finance's blog the other day....well every day :), and i loved her "do you want to know me better?" post. I love how we're all anonymous and therefore pretty open and honest, but there's something even more seductive about peering into other's lives!

Kinda like those blogger's who have a picture of themselves, but their faces or other parts are covered JUST ENOUGH so you can't make them out. Krystal..cough cough....stacking pennies cough cough. haha... it's like ahhhhh, i want to see! now! Ah well, i guess that keeps things exciting. I mean, it's not like i'm posting my face all over here ;)

Anyways, this leads me to today's fun little ditty of "5 things about me". Here are 5 items around my house (i was gonna do work, but there's people surrounding me) that say a little somethin' somethin' of myself:






















1) Records! i heart them like woah. everything from James Taylor (my all time fav.) to CCR, The Beatles, and the classic crooners. There's nothing more romantic, and pimp-ish, as playing some Sinatra while eating a nice Italian dinner. mmm mmm....

2) Traveling. one of my all time things to do! anywhere from road trips, to international doings, i'm loving it. just can't shake that military life outta me. St. Lucia and Ireland are on my next list!

3) Fishy fish :) there's something about those little guys that add joy to my life. it's especially awesome that they've been reproducing and populating my tank w/out me doing anything but feeding them! it's sorta like that show Paradise Hotel, haha.

4) Kayaking on our lake. one of the things that sold us on our townhouse was the fact that we're literally 100 ft from a huuuuuuge lake. this makes it SUPER easy for city-folk like myself to enjoy kayaking, canoeing, and even fishing! i'm thinking i should combine #3 and #4 here by kayaking onto the lake, catching a fish, and then plopping her right into a large fish tank :) unfort. i don't think she'd last.

5) Lastly, playing and watching football! Mrs. Budgetsaresexy got me playing again a cple years ago (we play in a co-ed league around town) and i absolutely love it. and in the fall, what's better than winning a game, grabbing a beer, and then throwing on your fav. team's jersey and watching THEM win?! that is, of course, if you're rooting for the Redskins!

Alrighty, that's the whole kitten caboodle. Your turn!

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Let's dig around in our past.

My new obsession these days is Money Magazine, and the only thing holding me back from reading it every day is the fact that it only comes out once a month. Unlike some other $ mags out there, Money conjures up some fascinating (and pretty easy to read) articles that even us newbies can quickly pick up. I'm not saying i'm slow or suck at reading, but i'll be the first to admit those financial terms lose me every now and then.

One of my favorite articles this month (April, pg 79) goes into some psychology and "life" questions that poke around a bit, and get you to figure out exactly what you want out of your money. It's titled, "What do you really want from your money?" :)

Although there are a few familiar questions like "if you were to die tomorrow, would you feel like you missed anything? would you do anything different?", they had a pretty cool side box that helps you to dive into your past and figure out your money habits. It's titled "Digging In" (pg 82), and it pulls excerpts from a questionnaire used by Barbara Kirby, a Minn. financial adviser.

Since one of my fav. things is to answer those random lists of questions people forward around, i figured i'd post and answer a handful of them myself. Here's what we got (questions quoted from Money):

1. When you were a kid, did your family use money mainly to reward, punish, survive, impress, control, help others, have fun, buy love, reach goals, or ____? oh man, i hardly understood money back then...but i'd probably go with "paying the bills" and "making sure we didn't have to worry about money".
2. When you were young, did you consider your family to be rich, poor or ___? I'd say smack down in the middle. i never thought we were rich, but i did wonder why we couldn't get Nike's every year like all the cool kids ;)
3. As an adult, what has been the most important lesson you have learned about money? To save it! not that i always followed it, but that was the 1 and only thing ever mentioned about $ in our household.
4. In your current financial life, are you more of an avoider or a worrier? Prob. a healthy mix of both. I usually try to avoid worrying!
5. Has money been an "issue" or source of conflict in your important relationships? Never.
6. What money habits have been obstacles to your reaching your life goals? probably just spending more as i brought in more. since i'm still in my 20's (barely.....tear) it's not like i've had any major goals to strive for, but now that i'm putting them in place i'll def. need to keep my eyes on the money flowing out of my pockets.
7. What experience do you feel has most directly shaped your current level of financial satisfaction? Buying our house last year. That's really the turning point of my budgeting and financial planning. Although i am extremely more knowledgeable now than when we bought sadly, it's def. opened my eyes and forced me to wake up and smell the greenbacks.

That is all my friends. If you're interested, or just plain bored, i challenge you to give it a shot yourself! I've asked myself many a questions before, but none like these. Maybe you'll have one of those "Ohhh, so THAT's why i ____"?

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J. Money on Personal Finance, Life, and Sillyness

Let's see here, what can I tell you about myself. Well, I'm 6'1, hyperactive, and i constantly have a devilish grin on my face (this tends to get me in trouble).

I'm recently married, in my late 20's, and i work over in DC for a start up managing customer service.

While I *thought* i was The Man when it came to money, it really wasn't until we purchased our first home that I realized i needed to get my finances in order.

Soooooooo, I tracked my expenses for 3 months, made a budget, read some books (The Millionaire Next Door, & The Automatic Millionaire being my favs), and it's been smooth sailing ever since! Throughout the whole process i accidently came across the PF blogosphere and have been hooked from day one ;)

I can tell you for a fact that i sure as H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks don't know everything out there, but i sure continue to learn. I'd say I've been on the right path since Jan of '08, and now ready to work towards my goal of becoming a millioinaire! (I even have a to-do list!).

Will this blog sound kooky at times? Sure thing. Will you wonder why I use the words "Super" and "Sexy" alot? You bet. Ultimately though, my goal is to spread some good ideas around town and spark some motivation. You'll find my thoughts on a whole bunch of stuff: emergency funds, credit cards, 401k, saving ideas, budgets (obvi.), and anything else having to do w/ those beautiful greenbacks.

Have a question, comment, concern, rant, or just wanna send a quick hi? Shoot an email over: j (at) budgetsaresexy (dot) com, or fill out my nifty contact form. Either way i'll holla back as soon as I can.

And if you already know about all this good stuff, I hope you're at least entertained ;)
God Bless,

ps: You can find the usual disclosure policy here, as well as my promise to not spell everything correctly, or use proper grammar. Oh, and no, that is not my car.

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Thirsting for more? Check out these:
- Interview: Me on Me
- 7 Random things about J.
- 5 Random things about J. - in pictures

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Interview: Me on Me

I sat down with Mr. J. Money, and he was kind enough to share a few words with us this morning. This is what he had to say:

Me: Are budgets actually sexy?
Me: But of course! Not only are they the foundation of wealth management, but they make you feel incredibly confident. And every knows that confidence = sexy!

Me: Who is J. Money?
Me: That is I. You can guess what the J. stands for, but I usually answer to all of them; Jay, James, Jack, Jemima ... everything except Joe Mama. Actually, I take that back. I probably would answer to that.

Me: Okaaaay... And why start now?
Me: I believe now is as good a time as any. "Starting" is def. the hardest part of any endeavor, and I always try to start today. This is especially important as I have A.D.H.D. (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and I will be sure to forget if i don't ever start.

Me: Are you saying you're new at this stuff?
Me: Touché good sir! Yes, I suppose I am in the general scheme of things. While I've always been keen on the idea of savings and money themselves, only recently have I started owning up and putting my goals into place. Think of me as a "born-again saver" circa August '07.

Me: Do you look up to any Personal Finance'ers out there?
Me: Oh hell yeah. I'd have to first give a shout out to Jonathan over at MyMoneyBlog.com. That guy is totally impressive, not to mention crazy open and honest. Secondly, I'd have to say Mr. Trent Ham over at TheSimpleDollar.com. It was because of his money merge account posting that got me into the whole PF thing to begin with. (That post has over 1,000 comments already! Keep doing your thing Trent)

Me: Lastly, what do you hope to bring to this arena?
Me: While I bring a handful of positive nouns to the table, the 3 that stick in my mind are: Creativity, Entertainment, and an all together Fresh Insight.

Thanks J., we're looking forward to the adventure!

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