Minding My Own Business

The Blog

This blog addresses the journey for personal, financial and professional success.  I chose to title it “Minding My Own Business” after reading several of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki.  In his Rich Dad series, Robert expresses the importance of running your personal finances like it were a business…your own business.  Businesses don’t survive and succeed without paying close attention the details of its profession, its personnel and its finances.  I believe these same principles apply to your personal livelihood.  Thus the importance for each of us to “mind our own business.”

So who am I?

I am a late (very late) 30-something married man and father of two.  I’m an officer in the US Navy and have had the pleasure of serving as a Naval Aviator flying F-18 Hornets throughout my military career.  I’ve done three, six month deployments (one onboard USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CVN-73 and two onboard USS HARRY S. TRUMAN CVN-75) to the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf.  I’m currently stationed in Virginia Beach, Virginia flying a desk in a staff job with NATO.  Yes, NATO has facilities here in the United States.

What qualifies me to write this blog?

I’ve been successful Minding My Own Business since my early 20’s.  Over the course of almost 20 years I have developed an approach to personal finances that has proven successful for me and may be of benefit for you as well.   I hope my experiences, methods and lessons learned can help you take control of your personal finances.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly no expert.  Rather, I’m a regular guy who is determined to provide financial freedom for my family.  My family is debt free, except for our home mortgage, and we’ve been able to amass a net worth currently estimated (home values are variable you know) in excess of $400,000.  Money matters have always been a passing hobby for me and one which I intend to share with you.

What are my interests?

Obviously money matters, to include investing and real estate.

Leadership - I thoroughly enjoy studying and practicing the art of leadership.

Boating - I have a small 19′ Bayliner runabout that my family and I enjoy spending time on during our weekends in the warmer months.  I post from time to time at BOC and BABC.  They are great boating sites with a great community of users.  You should check them out if you enjoy boating.

Flying - That goes without saying.  I’ve been flying aircraft throughout much of my 16 year carreer in th Navy.  During that time I have amassed over 2200 flight hours (2000+ in Hornets) and 418 carrier-arrested landings (177 at night).  I’ve flown the T-34C Mentor, T-2 Buckeye, T-45A Goshawk, and the FA-18 (A-D models).  I hope some day to purchase my own aircraft and share the joy of flying with my wife and children.

Computers and technology - I’m an Apple Mac Addict and own a Powermac G5 tower and a couple Apple Mac Laptops.

Take some time, look around and enjoy “Minding My Own Business.”  If you have any suggestions for improvements to the site or topics you’d like to discuss, please let me know via email.