Gather Little by Little

I am new here! Please be nice.

I am a husband and father in my mid-thirties. My life experiences are relatively broad for someone of my age. If you are not careful, I might try to sound like an expert in several areas, but don’t let that fool you. I don’t claim expertise in anything. Mostly, I just know enough to be dangerous. The best way for me to communicate who I am is with a list:

• I attended private schools throughout grade school and high school. My parents were teachers in all of them.
• I once ran my own construction company.
• I put myself through college by working as a wood finisher.
• My college undergraduate degree is in Math Education and I have a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies. I plan to begin work on an MBA this summer.
• My corporate experience includes marketing and event planning for the fundraising arm of a non-profit organization.
• I have some experience as a trained (but not credentialed) debt counselor.
• I have been the head coach of three college athletic teams.
• I was once a youth pastor.
• I worked as a public school substitute teacher and coach for three years.
• I am a product of the conservative, disciplined, German upper Midwest.
• My beautiful wife is a west-coast, Oregon hippie (more or less)
• I was the residence director of a men’s dormitory during our first year of marriage.
• We have three children, all under the age of seven.
• I enjoy a lively, but respectful debate with just about anyone on just about any topic.

Writing has been a part of my job description for five years now – everything from brochures to fundraising letters to theological treatises to sports blogging. My greatest literary goal is to eventually write a book about character formation through athletic coaching. Exciting to most of you, I know. I have been writing personal finance material since early 2004.

To write for a quality personal finance blog like Gather Little by Little is a honor and a challenge. I hope to give glblguy a little bit of blogging breathing room and I look forward to participating in the discussion in this venue. So what should you expect from me? Let me tell you how glblguy and I are alike and how we are different.

First, the ways in which glblguy and I are alike:

• We both write as a hobby.
• We have a similar taste in music.
• We are committed to following sound financial advice.
• We know that financial blessing comes from God.
• We believe that the greatest use of one’s means is to give it away.
• We endorse a conservative approach to family finance.
• We believe that your church should receive some of your income.

And now the ways in which we are different, or what exactly do I bring  to Gather Little by Little?

• Geography: Glblguy is more of a southern, east coast kind of guy. I am definitely a northern, Midwest kind of person.
• Experience: Glblguy has more. I have less. Glblguy can dispense financial advice as one who has been there and done that. I will write posts about the financial decisions that I am making in real time.
• Financial habits: Glblguy is farther along in his family financial habits. I and my family are still digging out from some poor decisions and will probably mess up a few more times. You’ll hear about it.
• Credit Cards: Glblguy is definitely not a fan. I am slightly more open to the idea of plastic, but I am most interested in sticking it to credit card companies.
• Technology and the Internet: Glblbuy is a real expert in this area. I can type. Barely.
• Offspring: Glblguy has twice as many kids as I do and his children are older.
• Income: We have not discussed this, but I suspect that Glblguy makes more money than I. This fact is only useful so much as it demonstrates that both the rich and the not-so-rich struggle with financial priorities, greed, overspending, budget planning, the future and all the other areas of personal finance. We all need to learn how to live within our means.

So that is who I am. I picked the pen name of  “Stew” because my goal is to be a faithful steward of all that has been entrusted to me.

I plan to be an anonymous blogger, at least for the short term. If things work out, I will be more open about my identity. So if you are the curious type, be nice to me and you might find out more about me. I hope to be active in the commenting threads here at Gather Little by Little, both on my posts and on glblguy’s posts. I am genuinely interested to hear what you think as I open windows into my own personal financial life. Feel free to express your opinion with respect and grace and I will do the same.

All the best to the GLBL community!

Picture credit.