Marriage Kids and Money: Personal Finance for Families

One fall night in 2010, my wife Nicole and I were watching the Suze Orman Show. (Yes, I used to DVR it). There was this fun segment where someone would call in and Suze would analyze that person's financial health and give them a grade. It was called How Am I Doing?One term that we kept seeing over and over again on this segment was “Net Worth”. Since we were personal finance newbies, we had no idea what this meant. Nicole and I were making a combined annual income of $130,000 so we figured our net worth must be HUGE.After the show was over, we decided to see how rich we really were. There was no doubt in our mind that we’d be better off than most of the jokers that call in to the show and get an “F” grade from Suze!We walked upstairs and started to write down all of our numbers on a big whiteboard. By separating our “assets” (what we owned) and our liabilities (what we owed) into two big columns, we started to discover that we weren’t rich.We were kinda broke.Although we were making a solid income together, our liabilities were much higher than our assets.Here is a snapshot of what our numbers looked like back in 2010 (rounded educated guesstimates based on me losing some of our data along the way): There’s no way were going to get an “A” grade on Suze’s show with a -$50,000 net worth!This epiphany moment was just the jolt of reality we needed to start making progress on our finances. Our short-term goal was to get this net worth number in positive territory ASAP!It was time for us to make a change. Here's what we did to increase our net worth by $800,000 in 8 years. RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okeoma Moronu recently paid off over $300,000 of student loans. She and her husband worked for over 6 years to become debt-free and now they are making some big life changes with $4,000 extra per month.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Dogen from Financial Samurai quit his job in 2012 and is now a stay-at-home Dad. He shares how he makes $200,000 per year in passive income from home.OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKEFamily Wealth and Happiness: 10 Steps to a Better Tomorrow (Today)How We Paid Off Our 15 Year Mortgage in 5 Years50% to 10%: Why We're Happy Saving Less in FIRE JourneyMKM RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors MKM Coaching: Request a free 15-minute consultation todayYouTube: Subscribe for free to watch videos of these episodes and interviewsInstagram: Follow our IG channelVoicemail: Leave your question or comments here Merch Store: Check out our t-shirts, hoodies, and coffee mugs!DISCLAIMERThis show may contain affiliate links or links from our advertisers where we earn a commission, direct payment or products.Opinions are the creators alone.Information shared on this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice.Marriage Kids and Money (www.marriagekidsandmoney.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Certified Financial Planner Liz Frazier shares how parents can teach their young kids about money. She reviews practical tips for Moms and Dads to help their children learn about needs vs. wants, the importance of an allowance system and how to develop a daily gratitude practice.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tomorrow, I plan to leave my 6-figure job to become a full-time entrepreneur. Here are the 10 steps I took to prepare for this entrepreneurial leap.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Vroman, Host of the Front Row Dads Podcast, shares the moment he realized he wasn't being the best husband and father he could be. We discuss what he did to change into the family man his wife and kids needed.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Wade recently quit his job and took a year off to travel the country with his wife Michelle and their 3 kids in an RV. They like it so much that they are working on making it a permanent thing.But will they be able to afford it?RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christie recently paid off her mortgage and reached Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 7. She owns a paid-for rental property but is considering selling it and investing in the stock market instead. I share my investment options after you pay off your mortgage.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lisa Harrison discovered the FIRE Movement and started adopting the early retirement lifestyle. She then had a change of heart.Here's why!RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Dunn, CFP and co-host of the Pete the Planner Show, shares how we can save and invest for our kid's future. We review the benefits of a 529 college savings plan, Roth IRA for Kids and much more.RESOURCES**Sponsor + Partners + Deals: https://www.marriagekidsandmoney.com/sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices