Queer Money®: How Gay People Do Money

🏳️‍🌈 Show notes here: https://debtfreeguys.com/pink-dollar/ 🏳️‍🌈 Be empowered with your pink dollars ‘It’s the Super Bowl every day in the digital landscape world, and the brands that aren’t focused on creating an inspiring message to the LGBTQ audience—they’re missing a chance to shine.’ New research shows that your pink dollars are more powerful than ever. Sean Howell talks pink dollars and LGBTQ marketing Sean Howell is the Co-founder and President of Hornet, the world’s premiere gay social network. The platform recently released a research study in conjunction with Nielsen that explored the efficacy of LGBTQ-themed advertising on the queer consumer. The survey compared the effectiveness of inclusive marketing strategies with generic ads from the same brands, measuring engagement in terms of brand recall, familiarity, and affinity, as well as purchase and recommendation intent – the power source of your pink dollars. Sean shares the story of The Hornet, explaining how the network has grown to a remarkable 25MM members. He walks us through the key takeaways from the LGBTQ Ad Format Effectiveness Study, discussing the benefits for advertisers who show an affinity for the community. Sean describes how advertisers can appeal to the LGBTQ community to earn our pink dollars and why it makes business sense for businesses to do so.

Show Notes Here: https://debtfreeguys.com/file-bankruptcy-on-student-loans/ Should you file bankruptcy on student loans? “I’m the only bankruptcy lawyer I know of who actively tells people not to file bankruptcy on student loans. I think that bankruptcy is a really good tool in the right situation, but it’s not the only tool out there,” says bankruptcy attorney, Jay Fleischman. File bankruptcy on student loans or something else? Why you might not want to file bankruptcy on student loans. If you’re one of the many collapsing under the crushing student loan debt, a little guidance is in order—and to file bankruptcy on student loan debt may not be the right option. Jay Fleischman is a bankruptcy attorney with 22 years of experience helping people get into a better financial space. Jay’s practice focuses on student loan resolution, and he serves clients through Consumer Help Central and the Student Loan Show podcast. Jay shares his take on the gravity of the student loan crisis and whether you should or shouldn’t file bankruptcy on student loans. He explains the difference between federal and private student loans and why people choose private lenders despite the lack of protections. Jay clarifies when your student loan obligation ends, the benefits of taking out term life insurance to cover student loans and how the policies of the current administration impact student loan borrowers.

Show notes and FREEBIES here: https://debtfreeguys.com/chaos-to-controlled-spending/ We buy hundreds of dollars’ worth of groceries with good intentions of cooking at home, and then we get busy and spend as much eating out. It is possible, though, to go from this chaos to controlled spending. The school of Groner will take you from your chaos to controlled spending We know what we could do to save money, but the overwhelm of life gets in the way. This disorganization and chaos lead to more and more spending—and it’s like we can never get ahead. Rosemarie Groner of the BusyBudgeter.com has been there. She and her husband both worked as state troopers, and their demanding schedules coupled with chronic disorganization led to overspending. They needed a life overhaul. Using a methodical approach, the pair addressed one thing at a time and eventually reduced their spending by $23,000 a year. Now Rosemarie shares her expertise on her blog, helping others design their own fabulous lives, spend money on the things they care about and eliminate wasteful spending. Hear how you can take your life from chaos to controlled spending Today, Rosemarie shares her journey from chaos to controlled spending, explaining how she and her husband drastically reduced their spending. She discusses her methodical approach to change, focusing her energy on one thing at a time. Rosemarie offers advice on reducing your grocery budget, A/B testing to substitute without sacrifice and leveraging modern conveniences like delivery for further savings!

Full show notes here: https://debtfreeguys.com/heterosexual-privilege/ Heterosexual Privilege & Money Does heterosexual privilege exist and does it impact your money? Our Queer Money guest this week thinks so and explains how she benefited, and ultimately how she and her husband embraced frugality and learned to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of less.  This is easier said than done is our culture of consumerism, where we are constantly bombarded by the idea that having MORE will provide the fulfillment we crave. Liz and Nate Thames spent nearly ten years working good corporate jobs, making a lot of money—and spending it on fabulous clothes, fabulous evenings out, fabulous cars… Despite having the means to pursue this Rumspringa of spending, the Thames were still waiting for happiness to kick in. Four years ago, Liz and Nate decided to step out of the consumer loop and reimagine their lives. They adopted frugality and shifted their focus to spending only on the things that they valued most. By 2016, the couple had achieved financial independence, and they moved to a homestead in the woods of Vermont. Today, Liz shares the inspiration for her upcoming book, Meet the Frugalwoods. She explains the relationship between money and happiness and offers her take on the privilege, including heterosexual privilege, she benefits from. Liz discusses the tertiary benefits of her frugal lifestyle, sharing how it has strengthened her relationships and provided her with the clarity to focus on her highest and best purpose. Listen in and learn how to shift your priorities and start making conscious decisions about spending that allow you to appreciate the beauty of less and live your best life every day.

❤️Get full show notes: https://debtfreeguys.com/help-us-adopt/ ❤️ Meet Becky Fawcett, founder of Help Us Adopt Becky Fawcett’s 12-year-old son jokes by asking, “How many babies did you have this year?” Becky answers, “I had a lot of babies this year,” to which he replies, “You look good.” Such is the life of the founder of Help Us Adopt. The Start of Help Us Adopt In 2017 alone, Becky and her organization, Help Us Adopt, gave grants that helped 38 families adopt 41 children. Founded in 2007, Help Us Adopt is the nation’s only non-discriminatory adoption grant program. The nonprofit helps individuals and couples—regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, marital status or sexual orientation—with the adoption cost by awarding grants up to $15,000. Help Us Adopt supports domestic, international and foster care adoptions, and the organization doesn’t charge an application fee. In ten years, Help Us Adopt has awarded 230 grants totaling more than $2,000,000. Hear Becky explain the process of applying for a Help Us Adopt grant, and how you can get involved through peer-to-peer fundraising and the Faces of Adoption initiative. Today, Becky tells her own adoption story, explaining how her inability to have children led she and her husband to adopt. She shares the impetus behind Help Us Adopt, discussing the financial commitment involved in adopting a child and the way traditional adoption grant programs define ‘family.’ Becky speaks to how Help Us Adopt serves the LGBT community as well as the legal routes to adoption for LGBT families.

Download our Credit Card Comparison Calculator here to see how the Debt Lasso will help you: https://debtfreeguys.lpages.co/credit-card-pay-off-calculator Wrangle your debt with the Debt Lasso You’ve heard of the Avalanche and the Snowball methods for paying off debt. But, you haven’t heard of the Debt Lasso to pay off credit card debt fast. Why we made the Debt Lasso When we were paying off our credit card debt, we saw that we could pay off our debt faster with our own strategy, now the Debt Lasso, then either the Avalanche or Snowball methods. Full show notes here: https://debtfreeguys.com/debt-lasso/

Get Full Show Notes Here: https://debtfreeguys.com/gordon-church/ On November 22, 1988, Gordon Church stopped at a gas station in Cedar City, Utah, where he met Mike Archuleta and Lance Wood. A few hours later, Church was dead because he was gay, his body dumped more than an hour north in Dog Valley. Why the Gordon Church murder you never heard of matters Targeted for being gay, Church had been raped, tortured, and bound with tire chains in the trunk of his own car before Archuleta and Wood drove him to a remote area of Millard County and brutally beat him to death with a tire iron. Writer and social worker Chad Anderson came across Church's story in his research of LGBT history in Utah. Having grown up gay and Mormon himself, Anderson felt a personal connection to Church and his story, and he resolved to make a documentary about the case. Today Anderson shares an overview of the Gordon Church story, explaining what is known about that night in 1988 and Archuleta and Wood's bizarre behavior in the hours after the murder. He discusses several of the friends, family and police officers he has interviewed for the documentary and how their lives were forever changed by Church's violent death. Anderson gives us insight into what it takes to make a documentary, the expenses involved, and his progress to date. He also speaks to why he chose the documentary format and its power as a visual medium. Listen in to understand the significance of sharing stories of gay hate crimes and how you can get involved in making sure that Gordon Church is never forgotten.

Download the email copy to help end discrimination in Ohio here:https://debtfreeguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Ohio-Business-Competes-Swipe-Copy.doc LGBTQ Discrimination Didn't End June 26th, 2015 If you live in a place that affords legal protections to our community, you may not realize the extent of the LGBTQ discrimination that goes on in other areas of the country. There are 29 states that do not consider sexual orientation as a protected class, and three states go so far as to prohibit municipalities from passing non-discrimination protections. Not only do the LGBTQ members of these communities feel they cannot be themselves, they fear for their safety. Ending LGBTQ discrimination How do you convince a conservative legislature to introduce laws that would protect our community? The most effective strategy seems to be the economic argument—making the case that talent, opportunities, and billions of dollars are lost because of discriminatory state policies. And the best way to present that argument is through a coalition of businesses who value diversity and inclusion. Alana Jochum is the executive director of Equality Ohio and a board member of Ohio Business Competes, a no-cost, nonpartisan coalition of businesses that advocate for laws to protect the LGBTQ community in Ohio. Today she explains why so many young people are leaving the state, the power of the ‘business voice,’ and why discriminatory policies persist despite widespread support for LGBTQ protections. Alana discusses the approach used by Ohio Business Competes and the economic disadvantages businesses face in states without protections. She shares several of the challenges the LGBTQ community faces in suburban and rural areas, offering stories of LGBTQ discrimination endured by Ohioans with no legal recourse. Listen in and learn what you can do to support the cause through organizations like Ohio Business Competes, promoting legal and lived equality throughout the US. Get full show notes here: https://debtfreeguys.com/lgbtq-discrimination/

Get complete show notes here: https://debtfreeguys.com/finding-elton-john-melissa-coach/ Finding Your Elton John If getting your money in order is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, having a reason – finding your Elton John – to be debt free makes all the difference. Finding Your Elton John and Finding Financial Freedom For Melissa Thomas, having the money to go to as many Elton John concerts as possible—and get front-row seats! — gave her the motivation to pay off the $43,000 in debt. Melissa and her husband were stuck in the ‘we can afford a payment’ mentality, buying new cars and a home on credit to keep up with Mr. & Mr. Jones. She became a stay-at-home mom by default after her sons were born, giving up her retail job because daycare cost more than she earned. Problem was, the family didn’t change their lifestyle despite the shift from two incomes to one. In December 2009, Melissa was shopping online for Christmas presents with the help of her friends Visa, Mastercard and Discover, when a voice inside her said, ‘You’re doing this wrong.’ It occurred to Melissa that her sons knew a whole lot about Santa, but very little about the true meaning of Christmas. So, on January 1, 2010, Melissa and her husband enrolled in Financial Peace University and by 2013, they were debt free. Now Melissa serves as a money coach, speaker and author by way of her business, Melissa the Coach. Today on Queer Money™, she shares her journey from $43,000 in the red to debt free Elton John groupie. Melissa explains her effort to teach her sons the value of experiences over stuff and how her life has changed now that debt is no longer an issue. She speaks to the process of saving six months’ worth of expenses, discussing how her family went about eliminating extras until they were financially secure.

Prelude to a Queer Money Kiss from a Rose Prelude to a Queer Money Kiss from a Rose makes absolutely no sense as a Queer Money™ episode title, but it’s the last day of 2017, I’m tired, I’ve had four margs and I’m headed to a NYE party in short order. But, Queer Money™ will be amazing in 2018. Hear why. Prelude to a Queer Money Kiss from a rose in 2018 First, happy new year, and happy 2018! 2018 is a big deal for the Debt Free Guys personally. By January 03, we’ll have sold our condo and moved into an apartment in downtown Denver. On 01/07, we go on the first of many business and personal trips, this one to Los Angeles and Palm Springs. We have several brand partnerships to announce this year. We’ll be in Puerto Vallarta in April, get married in June and travel to Ireland and Spain for five weeks around September 12.