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Accidentally Wealthy on Purpose: An Interview with Accidental FIRE

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“We gonna win more. We gonna live more. We the best.” – DJ Khaled

I know what you’re thinking. How do you accidentally get wealthy on purpose. Well guess what? You’re about to find out.

This latest blogger interview comes from Dave of Accidental FIRE.

I reached out to him after seeing his name on like 20,000 blogs.

Here’s how it went down because as you know it goes down in the DM. 🤣

I sent this tweet out after seeing a post Dave published. I thought it had an inspiring title. So I retweeted it.

To my surprise, Dave responded. 😮

So I responded to Dave. 😁

That’s when he told me to hit him up in the DM! 😉

So yes ladies and gents, this post happened from a tweet!

He seems as passionate about writing and blogging as I do!

I was born for this, born for this It’s who I am, how could I forget? – Macklemore

Let’s get right down to it! It goes down in the DM!!! It goes down. It goes down!!! 😂 Yo Gotti – Down In The DM

The blog and the interview was done by Miriam of Greenbacks Magnet, but those lyrics up top are by Yo Gotti.

INTRODUCING 

Welcome aboard all! All are welcome!

Welcome to Greenbacks Magnet. Home of attracting Greenbacks like Magnets! 🤣Can I help you find financial freedom?

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I want to thank you all for coming along this financial journey with me as I study the self-made and do blog interviews. You know, you are all my copilot’s on this magic carpet ride.

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In the illustrious words of #Aladdin Genie, “You ain’t never ever had a friend like meeeee!!!”🤣

Let’s Meet Dave!!!

I actually met Dave at FinCon. He was positive and had a great attitude. That was the thing I remember about him most. He may not have known it but I thought to myself now there’s someone I would not mind working with. 🤔

And here we are today.

Another day, another breath (another breath)
Been chasing dreams, but I never slept (I never slept) – Glorious Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey

I told Dave I thought he was one of the hardest working men in the blog business. I said that because I would go to read a post by a personal finance blogger and he would have already been there and posted the very first comment!

I couldn’t keep up with him! And I work HARD!!!

I remember seeing a comment on one blog post he did and he said, “Oh get out the popcorn. I see an interesting comments section coming on this post.”

Yep, that’s Dave.

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What it felt like to meet Dave at FinCon.

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He’s a genuine guy. 😉

Let’s talk about how Dave caught on financial FIRE!

DAVE STARTS A FINANCIAL FIRE BLOG

GBM: Hey Dave!! You should let me interview you for the blog! 5 questions tops! If it will get this ball rolling. I know you’re busy, but I promise to keep it short and snappy. Scouts honor. 😉

Dave: Hey Miriam, I will have to ponder these and will get back to you, interesting questions 😉 

What is FIRE? It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early.

There are tons of blogs out there on the topic.

I even wrote a post called How do you play with FIRE?

WHAT IS FIRE?

According to Camp Fire Finance, the elevator pitch for FIRE is this, “When your investments generate enough money to cover your annual expenses you’re financially independent (FI). At that point work is optional and you can retire early (RE) if you want to.”

Basically, you have more than enough money coming in to stop working. Usually, this requires anywhere from $1 million to $5 million dollars depending on what you want or need to spend to maintain your lifestyle or that of the one you dream of having.

For example, if you decide you want to withdraw at least $80,000 a year, you would need to have a $2-million-dollar portfolio.

This is how I visualize myself on FIRE! 😂💋

Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games was serving them eye candy with that dress. It was literally ON FIRE!!!

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To stay on theme, I will pick this image for Dave. 😉

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Let’s get to the interview. 😊

Dave: Hey Miriam, here are my responses.

1. How did you come up with your blog name?

I named my blog Accidental FIRE because I reached FI accidentally – meaning I wasn’t intentionally trying to get to a point where I didn’t have to work anymore.  I just wanted as much of a nest egg as I could get because I come from a background and family that has no money.  So it was about building security in my life.  But when I discovered the 4% etc it then accidentally became about working less too.

Accidental Fire

Good for you! 👍

It’s great to have goals. I call that a win!

Win, Word, Scrabble, Letters, Wooden

GBM Miriam: Some people may think building a nest egg from the ground up is impossible. I say personal finance is not rocket science. It is about earning, saving, and consistency.


Thanks for keeping it 💯and sharing that.

2. Any favorite finance books? What’s on your nightstand?

My favorite financial book is “The Simple Path To wealth” by JL Collins because it does the best job of boiling the basics down to make a FI path, well, simple.  On my nightstand now are two books “War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars”, and “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure”.  Also my eyeglasses and a candle.

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Well ok ✌That’s some good reading material right there. 👍

GBM Miriam: I am actually reading The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins right now! I guess great minds think alike! 😉

This was me in school. 😂

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Even today, if I’m not reading, I like to exercise. 🤣 I like to keep busy. No idle hands.

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I still read comic books too! My favorite is Red Sonja.

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She Devil with a Sword

Fun Fact: The Marvel comic Red Sonja was turned into a film in 1985 starring one of my favorite self-made people to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Don’t focus on getting to $1 million; focus on getting to $2 million.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

I heard that little gem when Mr. Schwarzenegger was doing a radio interview.

I’ve learned to make every dollar count. Focus on turning every $1 into $2. Instead of $1 million focus on $2 million. I learned that from @Schwarzenegger 😉

Just my 2 cents. Smooches 💋

Did this book inspire this post I wonder? 🤔

3. What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your resume?

I’m a pretty good juggler.

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Awesome! 👍That’s pretty cool.

4. What’s in your wallet? How did you start building wealth?


If you mean what kind of credit card I have a US Bank VISA that gives great reward points and that I use for everything.  I started building wealth as soon as I started working when I was 16, I’ve always spent less than I made.  But I started supercharging my wealth-building after reading a copy of Money magazine in 1995 and putting money in index funds.

Nice! 👌

GBM Miriam: I actually started after reading a Kiplinger magazine around 2007. I also put my money in index funds like the VFINX 500 index with Vanguard, which tracks an index like the S&P 500.

I try to save and invest over 40% of my income.

Although it is now closed to new investors you can put money into the VTSAX which is 80% comprised of the 500 largest companies in the United States.

Your story on how you grew up and got started building wealth reminds me of the song Glorious from Macklemore.

I feel glorious, glorious Got a chance to start again!

I loved it in the Crazy Rich Asians movie trailer.

5. What 80’s film best describes your relationship with money or the lifestyle you would like to have?

I guess I’d pick “Stand By Me” It doesn’t have much to do with money but I love the movie because it reminds me of my childhood – being in a small pack of super close friends and exploring and maybe sometimes getting into thins we shouldn’t have.  And I’m still friends with all those guys today so it’s fun to reminisce about when we were younger and our knees didn’t hurt so much!

I hear you! 😉

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Love that movie! It had some inspiring words. Love the 80’s. 💖

You know? Dialogue like this. 🤣

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GBM Miriam: Seriously, though that film makes me tear up at the end every time. A great coming of age story about friendship.

Why we blog about finances?

I’ll let Skylar Grey answer that:

We gon’ be alright, put that on my life
When I open my eyes, hope I see you shine
Now I feel glorious, glorious
I feel glorious, glorious

Well, we have come to the end of this interview. Hope you had fun.

Here at Greenbacks Magnet we like to have fun. And I had a blast!!!

GBM Miriam: Thank you Dave for stopping by!! I sure hope we will see each other again at the next money meets media conference as FinCon19 is coming to DC! But if not, there is always Twitter and DM’s. 😉

I bid you all farewell. Until we meet or tweet again.

I will give you one of my farewell messages that I tweet as a show of my appreciate for you hanging out with me here at Greenbacks Magnet.

Hope you had fun with me today and my Lipstick confessions. I must bid you all a good night. And go back to my regular identity. May the 80s live on forever in our hearts. Smooches💋 Greenbacks Magnet

Shows over Synergy. #Jem

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Are you surprised I sent this tweet? Well, don’t be. I told you I loved the 80’s!!!

Hey Dave!!! Thank you. Appreciate that quick turnaround right there!

ACF Dave: thanks Miriam 👍

Remember how I said I saw Dave on like 20,000 blogs. Well, I guess that is a popular number.

Got 20, 000 deep off in the street like we some warriors
My mama told me never bow your head, woo! – Macklemore

But this time, you can take a bow and bow your head Dave. You were a great guest to have. 👏👏👏

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Want more on purpose money advice from Dave of Accidental FIRE?

Visit his website Accidental FIRE and Follow him on Twitter @Accidental_Fire and

Interviews

MEET NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR BRENDA JACKSON

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Ms. Brenda Jackson has written numerous romance novels over the past two decades. One of her most notable book series is for a family named the Westmoreland’s. I was able to speak with Ms. Jackson for a peek behind the writing curtain and found out how she went from novice middle school writer to full-time novelist for Harlequin, the world’s largest romance book publisher.

I was outside reading one her books entitled; The Secret Affair, a Westmoreland novel, and a complete stranger saw me and said, “that’s a good book.” I know. That was probably my 30th time reading it at that point! It also happens to be my favorite Brenda Jackson novel. Just in case you couldn’t tell.

I got a chance to interview the best-selling author with a Q&A session. You can read my interview with Ms. Jackson here and find out more about the woman behind the romance.

And here we go…

Thank you Ms. Jackson for taking the time for me to interview you. Let’s get right into it!

What made you become a writer? How did you get started writing romance?

My mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. During those days many women went into the teaching profession because during the 1960’s and 1970’s, becoming a teacher was the job most available to women. I said that I want to be a professional woman, go to the office, and wear a nice suit.

However, until then, I liked to write stories. In school, around the 8th grade, after meeting my future husband Mr. Jackson, I started writing innocent little love stories.

What were your stories about?

I would write about school stories and outings. Like an American beach story. My church sponsored beach trips and I would write stores like the beach movies I saw. Similar to the Gidget and Moondoggie stories from the Gidget movies.

I would hand-write stories on notebook paper and write it out about four or five times and then pass it out to groups of kids at school.

How did you start writing for Harlequin?

It actually took some time. Harlequin was not my first publisher. This happened years later after writing books for another book publisher.

When did you start writing professionally?

I did not start out a writer. I went to work for State Farm and stayed there for over 30 years while working my way up into management before retiring.

While I was working and moving up the ranks, I ended up going to my high school reunion. It was there that people kept asking me what I did for a living and when I told them the most common response was that they all said they thought I would be a writer.

So, I decided I would start writing again. I sent out requests to get published, but major publishers and Harlequin rejected me. Those publishers said, unless there was a market for the types of novels I was writing that they were not interested.

I received 40 to 50 rejections.

However, I did not give up and was given a contract with Kensington books.

How did it feel to get accepted? What happened after you got your book deal?

It felt good. First, I started out writing as a hobby and now I am being paid for it. It was wonderful.

I started writing manuscripts with African-American characters. Those books were initially rejected and denied by other publishers, but Kensington was the one publisher that took a chance and felt there was a market for this genre.

I started writing and publishing my books and then they took off.

How did you get started with Harlequin?

After writing 20 or so books, I had a following and with that success Harlequin then reached out to me.

Harlequin wanted me write for them and so after my agent called and then speaking with them I decided to accept. At this point, I was writing for more than one publisher.

However, it took many years of writing and hard work before I started writing for Harlequin. I had positioned for that and one day I received an offer to write for them.

Harlequin later asked me to be exclusive. I told them that they would have to pay me for exclusivity. They made me a deal of a lifetime. My contract was good. Even more than Kensington.

The deal was so good that I left my six-figure salary job with State Farm.

I had made more money writing books than I ever dreamed of making.

How long have you been a writer?

I started writing over 20 years ago. I was still working for State Farm and began writing in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I would go away on conferences and write in my hotel room when I was not attending any workshops making sure to that I wrote on my time and not theirs.

While at State Farm, they supported my career and my dreams as a writer. They also helped promote my career. State Farm sent me to college and I majored in business at Jacksonville University in Florida. They would sponsor me to go on book tours. And I would do books signings.

I would represent my company wherever I went. I also later got football sponsors from HBCU’s such as the Bayou East West Classics.

In the beginning, I would go around to libraries and ask them if they would carry my books.

While in college, I mapped out what I wanted to do. I also became a Delta after joining their sorority and have kept a relationship with my fellow Deltas to this day.

Where do you write?

I essentially had two incomes while still working at State Farm and writing and made sure to purchase a home and paid off the mortgage. So, my home in Florida is paid for and I have no mortgage.

And this where I write. From home. I built an in-home office where I go and work. I still had a morning routine where I would get up, get dressed, and go downstairs to work.

What was your first published work?

The Madaris Family. One of their novels was my very first work. It was called Tonight and Forever.

What are your favorite characters? What types of romance novels do you like to write?

I have so many favorites. Just too many.

I like to write reunion books and about first love. How love starts, grows, and blossoms and becomes full circle. It feels so good.

Did your husband inspire any of the stories you have written? Are any characters based on him?

He always has and always will. He influences my writing. I write my characters as I see him, which is as the Alpha male. In my novels, you are the king. I get that feeling and like romance.  I feel that that could be in any man and so I write them that way.

I married my high school sweetheart, Gerald, and I still have the going-steady ring he gave me at 15.

I read that you are a New York Times (NYT) Best Selling Author. Congratulations! What book(s) have made it onto this prestigious list? Are there more than one?

I have had most of my books on the USA Today Best Sellers List but some titles like the Westmoreland’s and Madaris have made the NYT list series genre.

Some books do not qualify for the market so I started my own publishing company, Madaris Publishing Company. Those books as well as my other titles are sold on my online store.

How many books have you written?

I have written 120 books. I am now on my 124th book.

Wow! How many books do you write each year?

I used to write six to eight books a year when I started writing exclusively for Harlequin. I now write two to three a year. Typically, I submit a book for Harlequin every nine months or basically one a year.

Some of my books are now being turned into films. One of my publishers, BET, made one into a movie.

Do you have a favorite book you have written? Any favorite characters?

Ties that Bind is my favorite. It’s longer than my other books. It’s about four couples that met in 1968 on campus at Howard University. It’s during the time of MLK, civil rights, Black Panthers, and Vietnam. It was also featured in the Washington Post.

Zion is one of my favorite characters. He is a jewelry maker and a bad boy.

Are you currently reading any good books?

Not presently. I spend so much time writing that I do not always get a chance to read other books.

However, I am doing research for a book of mine that is being turned into a movie. The Grangers is a three book series and the climax is in the third book. I get script approval, so I am studying how to promote A Brother’s Honor. The film will be on the Passionflix network. We want to make sure the script still has the Happily Ever After (HEA) in there.

Any inspirational words or advice for aspiring authors?

Know your genre and do your research. Focus on tone. Write from the heart.

Where can people find you?

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, via email, and my website.

Thank you Ms. Jackson for your time as it was an absolute pleasure to speak with you!

If you would like to know more about Brenda Jackson, as well as purchase any of her books, you can go to her website www.brendajackson.net

You can also connect with her on Twitter at @AuthorBJackson 

 

 

Banking, Interviews

Q&A with Lisa Servon, Author of The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives

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Lisa Servon is the author of The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives, an engrossing exposé—why Americans are leaving our fractured banking system, and how alternatives are swooping in to get those being left behind. I had a chance to ask her a few questions about her book . . .

Tell us a little bit about how this book happened. When did you get the idea to write it? How did you start writing on issues of poverty?

While teaching gender development and finances, a speaker came in from a payday lending firm. He started a credit union in the south Bronx of New York. He compelled me to try and understand why people are using alternative financial services. This motivated me forward toward the question and was the genesis of the book. I knew I had to get as close to this as possible by going to work for a payday lender. It was the only way to answer the question.

I read that you are a professor at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). What made you decide to go from teaching to writing?

In academia, publishing is really important. It is the primary way to judge whatever it is you are doing and that you are doing your job. Mostly writing in the past was for academic journals, but unfortunately, people that have the power to make the change don’t read them. In order to make the broader public more aware of the issues, we have to go mainstream like writing for The New Yorker. The trade press has more publicity and this can help you be more successful.

How were you able to learn to write an exposé? What keeps you motivated? What advice could you give to other authors? How did you get published?

Learn another way of writing such as creative writing. Your trained in the university to write a particular way. At The New School, I took classes in creative writing and did a summer’s writing colony, which keeps me in step.

Write shorter things first, such as 100 words and progress from there. At one point, I was writing stories of 300-750 words and then got five or six offers of great feedback. Key pieces were already written. Shorter pieces helped sell the book. Another academic book is not interesting.

I got an agent by being introduced to one while speaking at a conference. Then wrote a book proposal. A colleague also gave me introductions to people. I met editors and presses, and both people were interested.

In the book, you give us your experience as a teller. How did you start working as a check casher in New York?

A payday lender came to a class to talk. The topic was very controversial.  I had a gut feeling there was more to this than meets the eye. Even though, alternative banking services were receiving harsh statements in the news, this guy seemed pretty happy. The backside of the story is that people called complaining. I discussed what I was doing and why with the owner of the payday lending store and got the job.

In the book, you’re a loan help operator for a hotline. How did this happen? How did you start working for a predatory loan help hotline? How would people find out about laws on payday lending?

It was a way to help me see what happens to people after they got the loan and can’t pay it back. Payday lending has different laws in different states. We would let people know if it was illegal to borrow funds online. If so, we always encouraged them to pay back what they owed in principal. You could also do an online search of what state laws there are for payday lenders.

What are the main takeaways you would want people to have after reading this book?

1) When people decide what to do with their money; don’t judge them.

2) Understanding. As there are a number of people experiencing financial difficulty.

3) People do have choices.

What are you working on right now?

I’m still speaking about the book. Also working on Move Your Money. It lays out the options people have and doing more research on banks.

What are you reading? What’s on your nightstand?

I’m reading Jesmyn Ward and the autobiography of Bruce Springsteen.

Any nuggets of wisdom for aspiring writers?

Write all you can. Practice. Writing is like a muscle. The more you work it, then the more you get better at it.

Where can people find you? Are you on social media? Do you have a website?

You can find me on Twitter @LisaServon, on my website, and contact me via email at UPenn.

To learn more about Lisa and her book visit LisaServon.com. You can also read book reviews of The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives and purchase a copy here.