By: Mark, Updated on June 9, 2021
Contents
Hello World
If you have a background in coding you are well aware of the infamous “Hello World,” it’s only appropriate to start my first blog post with that phrase.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Mark and I started Saints and Finances to share my journey on becoming financially independent and how it relates to my faith in Jesus Christ.
My goal is to share with you my ten years worth of finance experience and how I have implemented strategies to get out of debt and build my wealth.
How it Started
The year is 2021, just last year the world was turned upside down and many people lost their jobs as we all watched the economy crash. I was fortunate enough that I worked in an industry that was not hit hard, but at the same time, I was reporting the countries unemployment figures to my boss’s boss and how unemployment is now higher than it was in 2008 and how this affects the Municipal Bond Market.
This made me reflect on how delicate the world economies really are. All I could think about was the fact that I am one event away from losing my job…
- If I lost my job how would I pay my bills and provide for my family?
- Sure I have an emergency fund, but how long will that last with my current lifestyle?
- Would I have to draw out of my 401k to make it through a period of unemployment?
- How can I ever feel financially comfortable with all this bad debt hanging over?
These are really powerful questions to ask and they came with a realization that I am not really prepared for this type of event in my life. This weighed on me heavily and honestly, it still does a year later.
So the question was, how do I prepare in case another event like this happens?
The Journey Begins
The answer eventually came to me in the form of these ideas:
- I need to learn new skills to create new cash flows as to not only rely on my employer
- I need to create a budget that my wife and I can stick to
- I need to pay off my debts
- I need to consistently increase the amount I am investing
It is no longer about whether or not some black swan type of event will happen, it is almost guaranteed to happen in the last days so I better figure things out quick!
Fast forward one year and here I am starting a new adventure with my blog with nothing but a prayer that it will turn into something big one day so that I can become self-sufficient and help my future readers make wonderful changes that will help them make it through hard times.
If you made it this far, thank you. I hope that you can reach out to me with any questions you may have about the topic of personal finance because if you have a question I am sure others have the same one as well. I leave you with a quote from Jeffrey R. Holland below.
I hope to develop new friends through this blog so please do not hesitate to reach out and ask any questions you may have. If you have a question, there is a high probability that someone else has the same question. Let’s help each other out and I will do my best to make sure I can bring you value through this blog!
“It is simply a truism that nothing very valuable can come without significant sacrifice and effort and patience on our part.”
However Long and Hard the Road
JEFFREY R. AND PATRICIA T. HOLLAND
