Nerd Alert

Did y'all know that secretly I'm a nerd?  A big one.  As in, I love to learn... almost about anything.  I loved school, especially grad school because although it doesn't directly apply to my job right now, I loved learning about the various topics. 

And... I love to read.  And I'm a really, really fast reader.  My parents used to think I was a speed reader, which may be true.  I used to read some much that I would get in trouble for sneaking off and reading instead of doing my "chores."  N.E.R.D.

As that as an introduction, a topic I've been intrigued by for the past couple of years is personal finance.  Now, I'm not a "math" person, by any means, but I do love the thought of these phrases floating around right now: "debt free," "in control," "not owned by anyone else."  Don't those sound lovely?  I love, LOVE to read about personal finance.  My first introduction was to Mr. Dave Ramsey, who scared to beejeezies out of me but provided a real wake-up call.  He's fierce and intense, but will surely give you a smack in the right direction. 

I moved on to the abundance of personal finance blogs and fell in love with a couple that I read habitually every morning.  What used to be an intimidating subject now is really just common sense, thanks to the talented authors serving me a fresh dose on any given day. My favorites are listed at the bottom of the blog, but some new ones I've found are awesome, such as The Simple Dollar, who just published his free e-book called “Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance on Just One Page.”  It's great and more importantly full of common sense.  Another called Carrie on the Cheap is written by a gal the same age as me, which is nice because she knows what's going on with personal finance at our age level.


Good thing I was raised by some pretty frugal parents, because I got taught very early on the importance of being thrifty, which has now turned into a full-fledged obsession hobby.  I can remember always wanting the "new" or "best" item, now it's like a personal challenge to myself to find that same item at the lowest cost possible.  Is it the competitive side in me?  Of course.  But I love it. I live for it.  Take, for example, my new camera.  One may think to naturally try Wal-Mart, which I did.  But didn't feel challenged enough.  I wouldn't stop until I found it at a certain price, $100 well below the Wal-Mart price.  And... I DID IT.  With some freebies included.  The rush was amazing, and I still get giddy just thinking about it.  (NERD ALERT)

Mr. Smith has been introduced to this new level of thinking now that we're happily married and living under one frugal roof.  While I know he gets tired of my endless chatter about personal finance, secretly I believe he's a little relieved that I'm built this way.  Before we were even married, I had all our financial goals listed out (um... did I mention I love making lists?), complete in an Excel spreadsheet with formulas.  (Insert your laughter, here, it's totally okay. Lord knows Mr. Smith had a field day with it when first introduced!)  And... might I add that I proudly brought in my Excel spreadsheet to our minister at our premarital counseling session regarding money.  Might I say that Dr. Durham was secretly horrified impressed?  Maybe?

I can't help it... I'm hooked.  I love seeing those debt numbers go down (or totally eliminated earlier than my previously set deadline!) and seeing those saving and investment numbers go up. Being the nerd that I am, I read probably a handful of books on marriage and each book always seemed to agree that money is the number one cause of marital fights.  Or, better yet, the lack of money.  To keep everything on the up and up, Mr. Smith and I both have access to our Mint.com account (which is free and awesome by the way - you should do it).  At any given time, either one of us can log in and see all our moola laid out in front of our eyes. 

Sorry that this is a rather long post, but as I was driving into work today, I was wondering about what to write about with my next post and had to ask... well, what do I love to do every single day?  My daily morning financial wake-up is one of those things, which I realized brought out the hidden nerd to a red flag level. 


Embrace your inner nerd today!