This week I’m interviewing J.Money from Budgets are Sexy.  A twenty something married guy in DC, he got serious about budgeting after buying a house. Personally I could never find budgets sexy, but then again I only do it because I have to. But J.Money makes it seem fun.  Perhaps I’ll come around or maybe I’ll be rich enough not to one day.

1. How did you get your name and what made you start blogging?

I came up with “Budgets are Sexy” one weekend after that Justin Timberlake song was stuck in my head all day (you know, the one that’s “bringing sexy back”?) I started plopping in words like Budgets, and Savings, and eventually come up w/ the concoction you see now. I think it works too cuz i’ve always been a fan of the budget, so i’m glad I could give them a shout out like that

I got into blogging after stumbling across a whole mess of PF bloggers out there…I was really just looking for some information on mortgage stuff, but after getting addicted I thought I’d give it a go myself and so far so sexy!

I work for a small start up firm doing a little of everything – customer service, project management, graphic design,etc. It’s pretty perfect for someone with A.D.D. who can’t do the same thing day in and day out   I’ve been in the service industry for years picking up gigs everywhere from retail to the airlines…if it has to do with talking/emailing/helping people as much as I can, I’m on it.

At first it was just something fun to do as a hobby. I loved talking and learning about money so it was a perfect fit.  As time went on, I realized I was actually helping people!  (imagine that?)  Unfortunately what I considered “common knowledge” wasn’t all that common, so now that’s one of my biggest reasons I blog.  It’s also pretty damn fun and entertaining if you ask me.  You have this place where everyone has similar interests, so you really get to know your audience & fellow bloggers.

Ooooh, tough one!  I’ll have to be boring here because nothing major really stands out…I’ve gotten *close* to doing stupid stuff like shelling out money for a “modeling career” off the streets in NYC, or buying cars that literally exploded before I had the chance to pay for them (no joke), but that’s about it.  Sometimes I wonder if buying my house was a mistake or not, but I’ve learned a helluva lot from it so I can’t be upset about that.

Haha, I wish!  Nah, she’s pretty good about it all. I handle all our house accounts and stuff, and then she handles her own “do whatever i want with” funds. Then every month or so we go over everything and make sure we’re both on the same page.  I also got pretty lucky that she a) LETS me do all of this, and b) she’s as FRUGAL as she is!  It certainly helps with making decisions and staying focused…I just have to learn to talk about other stuff than blogging all the time

Oh boy, you’re asking the wrong person.  I follow along with the stuff, but I couldn’t even tell you where to begin.  All I know is that if you can stay on top of your finances in this economy, you’re smooth sailing my friend!  Take advantage of all those low interest rates & funds out there so when it all turns around (and I think it certainly will) you’ll be head of the curve. It’s all about buying low, right?

Tracking my money, hands down.  As soon as I knew where it all went, I was saving money and cutting out expenses like crazy.  It was seriously like someone just punched me in the face and I saw things so much clearer when I came to my senses. I *thought* I knew where it was going, but reality said differently. After that things got a lot easier to work with, esp after creating my budget to STAY on top of it.

Hum….probably just the fact that no matter how well you are on top of it, outside forces can still F things up for ya.  Banks, Brokerages, Stock Markets, they’re all run by humans that can all make mistakes.  When these mistakes go against you it can really suck.  Oooooh, I also hate it when people write checks and hold up the entire line at check up! If you KNOW you’re gonna use one, at least have most of it filled out already – don’t go scrounging around for it and then ask 101 questions like who to make the check out to…arghhhhh.

1 year: Blogging away nicely and saving a butt-load of money.

5 years: Blogging full-time (if they still have that by then) and living right outside the city! I’d also hope to have tried out some other jobs on my “to do list” like bartending, working for a bank, working for Starbucks, and possibly even opening up a thriftstore/coffee house!

10 years: Living comfortably and only “working” because I desire to   I’ll probably have some side gigs up my sleeves by that point too, as well as a few rugrats running around and hitting me up for money all the time.

I usually sport a mohawk, and I secretly pretend I’m a millionaire when I walk around
Thank you J.Money. I hope readers enjoyed this chance to find out more about J.Money so check his blog out!