co signing for a car loan

Monday Rant #5 – Lesson Learned Co-Signing for a Car Loan

Gen Y Finance Guy Rants 23 Comments

If you’re thinking about co-signing on a loan for a friend or family member, maybe you should reconsider. I know we all want to help out our friends and family. But, I am going to share a story with you about my experience with co-signing. It cost me about $3,000…ouch! Before we get started there is one thing you need to internalize: no one cares about your money as much as you do! The 1st and last time I ever co-signed a loan It was 2006 and my dad had just been released from prison on parole for good behavior…AGAIN. Anybody that has read my story knows that it is a scene out of the movies, but it was real life for me. I …

Freedom Fighter Interview 14

[Guest Post] Freedom Fighter Interview #14 – Hannah

Gen Y Finance Guy Freedom Fighter, Interview 3 Comments

Today we have the 14th in a series of interviews. Our guest is Hannah of  Unplanned Finance. Hannah is a mom, wife, business intelligence consultant, and aspiring entrepreneur. In fact she has aspirations to build a business that produces $1 Billion a year in revenues. Now I will turn it over to Hannah… 1) Who are you and what do you do? What is your story? How are you fighting for your Freedom? Where did you start, where in the journey are you, and where do you ultimately want to end up? I am Hannah. I am a wife to an aspiring engineer (husband is in grad school), a mom (to a two year old son), and a business intelligence consultant for a large retail …

50% Savings Rate

Saving 50% of After-Tax Income – The Rule That Now Governs Our Financial Life

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Ratios 51 Comments

This blog has proved to be a great source of accountability, for both my wife and me. There is something about laying it all out in the public (or “on the line” ) that creates a sense of duty and motivation to deliver positive financial results. Even my wife, who is only a passive reader of the blog, told me the other day that she thinks twice about spending money because she wants me to be able to publish financial reports that prove that we practice what I preach. Isn’t that cool that Mrs. GYFG is thinking about our community? She realizes the importance of the platform we are building together. Although she doesn’t write for the blog (one day I hope to …

[Guest Post] Freedom Fighter Interview #13 – Michael Melissinos

Gen Y Finance Guy Freedom Fighter, Interview 16 Comments

Today we have the 13th in a series of interviews. Our guest is Michael Melissinos of  Melissinos trading. Micheal went to work on Wall Street after he graduated college to pursue his passion for trading. He quickly realized that Wall Street proper was not the right place for him to achieve the vision he had for his life. Determined to make an exit and start his own firm, Michael began studying the markets and different approaches. He developed his strategy and started trading client capital in 2011. Now I will turn it over to Michael… 1) Who are you and what do you do? What is your story? How are you fighting for your Freedom? Where did you start, where in …

The Dip

[Book Review] – The Dip by Seth Godin

Gen Y Finance Guy Book Review 12 Comments

I recently finished reading Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, for the 2nd time. It is a short book that teaches you when to quit and when to lean in. Seth makes the argument that strategic quitting is a huge part of success. The problem is that most people don’t know how to quit properly or even when to quit. Although the book is only 80 pages, it is jammed packed with wisdom. What is the dip? This is straight from the back flap of the book: It’s the fifth job interview where they never even call you back. It’s the garage band playing to an empty club in the middle of nowhere. It’s the seventh time you fall on your …

Personal Capital Review

[Review] Personal Capital is AWESOME & FREE – Here’s Why

Gen Y Finance Guy Review 26 Comments

As many of you know, I go through the exercise of producing a detailed monthly financial report each and every month on this blog. In order to provide an up to date report I have to access a number of accounts: Two Checking Accounts Two Savings Accounts Two Mortgages Four retirement accounts (one 401K, two IRAs, one SEP IRA) Seven Credit Cards (which we pay off completely every month) One Regular after-tax brokerage account One P2P lending account One REIT account (Rich Uncles) Total accounts = 20 (and likely growing) The task of logging into these accounts is the easy part (but still cumbersome). But the thought of manually categorizing all this income, expenses, investments, assets, liabilities, etc. is daunting! There …

Financial Freedom

[Guest Post] Freedom Fighter Interview #12 – Even Steven Money

Gen Y Finance Guy Freedom Fighter, Interview 16 Comments

Today we have the 12th in a series of interviews. During this series we will be show casing other Freedom Fighters from around the world. I am excited to introduce you to our twelfth guest, Even Steven Money. Read Steven’s awesome story below. And if you would like to be featured in the Freedom Fighter interview series then be sure to check out the Guest Posting page for more information (it’s open to anyone that is willing to share their fight for freedom: Time Freedom, Location Freedom, and Financial Freedom). Now I will turn it over to Even Steven… My name is Steven and I write about paying off debt and my journey to financial independence over at Even Steven Money.  I currently work in corporate America …

Record Income Month

July 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #7 – Net Worth $232,728 [+28.3% YTD]

Gen Y Finance Guy Monthly Financial Reports 37 Comments

GYFG here checking in for the July monthly financial report. For those of you that are new around this corner of the internet, I wanted to fill you in as to what these reports are all about. These monthly reports are about full transparency. They are just as much for me as they are for you. It’s a hard decision to make all of your financial details public, but it’s also a very motivating one. It’s not just the post, but the process of putting this post together that really benefits me. My sincere hope is that my transparency will inspire you to take the helm of your own financial ship and be intentional with its direction. I truly believe that anyone can …

July 2015 Content Curation

July 2015 Content Curation

Gen Y Finance Guy Curated LInks 7 Comments

“The art of living easily as to money is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means.” – Sir Henry Taylor Books|Blogs|Videos|Podcasts This monthly series is my attempt to curate the web for you. I probably consume more content than one person should, but I am kind of a knowledge junkie. I don’t just consume content for the sake of consumption. The goal is to always learn something, gain a new perspective, contribute to the conversation, and fuel the idea factory. Reading is exercise for the brain and just like the body it needs plenty of it to stay healthy. In any given month I try to read at least 3-5 books. I also have over 100 (now down to …