Brittanytodd Interviews marriedwithdebt
An enthusiastic writer seeks to share helpful financial tips- and more!
Your profile says that you are a father of two. Can you tell us more about yourself and your life before HubPages?
Sure. Though I may look younger, I’m actually 30 years old. I’ve been married for 7 years, and am the proud father of two girls, 6 and 2. My wife teaches 2nd grade at a private school. I have a BS in Political Science from Southern Illinois University and work in communication and issue development for my state’s legislature. I’m also a campaign consultant, focusing on writing direct mail, news releases,speeches, television commercial scripts, etc.
My interests are personal finance, international travel, lifestyle design, and online publishing.
You started writing on HubPages about two months ago. How did you find HubPages and why did you choose to write on this site?
When I decided to make a push at online publishing, I first started with my own site. I read somewhere that using article submission sites like HubPages can boost your readership, so I came here with that idea. I quickly found that my writings here were being read right away, and I received a lot of encouraging feedback. For a month straight I ignored my own site and wrote exclusively for HubPages. I enjoy it here, and find it to be the perfect place for my articles that don’t fit with my main site. I think I chose HubPages because it has a very clean and professional look, as opposed to some of the other known sites.
You also have your own website at www.MarriedWithDebt.com. Can you tell us more about that and what inspired you to make this site? Did you create this site before you began writing on HubPages?
For years I’ve been obsessed with personal finance, and wanted to get my family out of debt. Over the past 8 years we’ve paid off around $100,000 in consumer debt (cars, credit cards, vacations, stuff). We are in the home stretch now and our student loans will be paid off in 7 months, leaving us debt free (except the house). Because I spent so much time on personal finance blogs and enjoyed reading the stories of others, I decided I wanted to help other married couples get on the same page and pay off their debts together. I started the site right about the same time as I joined Hubpages, maybe a few days before.
I also became interested in lifestyle design, which is basically making big decisions to change your life for the better so you can live the life you want. So much lifestyle design writing is geared towards single twentysomethings who are able to pack up at a moment's notice and travel the world. I want to show married couples with kids that they too can live the life of their dreams if they are willing to buck the “rules” of society that demand you work an unfulfilling job and serve as a debt slave and consumer, with the hope that you will retire at 65 and be in good enough health to enjoy your remaining years.
When did you start writing and what inspired you to do so?
I think I started writing around the age of ten. I remember writing a 40 page book about the adventures of three boys who travel the world. After college I became very interested in American literature, people like John Irving, Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney and Raymond Carver. I started writing a novella about a guy who tries to blackmail someone and skips the country when it goes wrong, which after 4 years, is close to being finished.
I feel that writing is the only thing I am truly good at. It comes so naturally and it is really the only thing I want to do for the rest of my life (besides travel). Through my day job, I encounter so many people who are not very good at writing, and came to realize that it is a commodity in short supply. As the Internet grows, there will be more demand for people who can put words to paper (or screen).
You write a lot of Hubs about personal finance. Is this something you enjoy writing about or has your passion for writing opened you up to new topics?
That’s funny because I came here thinking I would write solely about personal finance, but I have all these other ideas in my head and feel like I’ve been writing about so many other topics. I’ve written about buying silver coins, how to prepare for a weather disaster, thrift shopping, as well random social commentary and attempts at humor. That’s why I like Hubpages. You can have a focus if you want, but you also have the freedom to experiment and write about anything you like.
What are some of your goals related to writing?
For 2012, I have a goal to post 3-4 times per week on my blog site. I would also like to publish at least two Hubs per week and reach 500 followers. It would be great to get my earnings from writing to $1,000 per month, but I am prepared for it to take longer. I have a short ebook/guide that I want to publish on Amazon Kindle (KDP), and I would really like to finally bust out the last 15,000 words on my novella and self-publish that as well (you can read an excerpt in my Hub, The Death of a Man).
My long term goal is to be able to work from anywhere with an Internet connection and not have to sit in an office for 30 more years.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I want to thank you, Brittanytodd, for selecting me for this interview, and for your support. I’ve learned that no one makes it in this game by themselves, and we truly need the support of our peers to get through those initial months (and years) when writing seems like a fruitless endeavor.
I want to also thank all my followers and readers for their encouraging comments, and for voting me one of the Top 100 New Hubbers for 2011.
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