Login or Sign up
Start Now

Fresh Perspective Interview with Brad Chaffee

Written by Aaron Pinkston, Sun, Jan 04 2009
This is about true stories

Recent Postings

Featured in Alltop The Yakezie Challenge

Topics

 

Brad is success with a passion all wrapped up into one. He eliminated over $26,000 worth of debt in just 18 months. On his website EnemyofDebt.com, he shows you how you can reach your goals too. I was able to catch up with him to discuss truth, love, and change. Read on.

AP: You don’t hide the fact that you are a huge fan of Dave Ramsey’s work. You followed his program to become debt free, after all. Many people criticize him for being overly simplistic and dogmatic in his advice. Do you think there is some truth there and what would you say to those people?

BC: This is a good question and one that I hear a lot. Personally, I feel that sometimes simple is better. People too often try to over complicate things. Dave Ramsey proves that you do not need to have a finance major. You just need a place to start, a place to go, and the will to get there. Simple is good.

The fact that people label Dave Ramsey as dogmatic is no surprise to me. Dave Ramsey is to the point, and quite honestly that’s what people need, and frankly why I like him so much. He’s not interested in stroking egos, he’s interested in helping people get out of debt.

I would say to those that are in debt, it would be a mistake to disqualify his common sense approach to personal finance, simply based on your own understanding. Your own understanding may be a hindrance to changing the behaviors that got you where you are today.

AP: You write part-time on your site, but you have full-time passion. In fact, some people are intimidated by how extreme you can be. Understandably, this is part of what makes your website so unique and attracts your audience. What keeps you writing and what would you say to the folks who are intimidated by what you write?

BC: People are intimidated by truth because it requires an honest look at themselves. It also requires change, so it doesn’t surprise me that some are intimidated by my approach. It is true that I do not beat around the bush, but I believe that it is for good reason.

You don’t get out of debt by listening to someone walk on eggshells to avoid the truth of the matter. Once someone realizes that they’re in control of those behaviors, they’re more likely to take the action needed to resolve them.

My passion for helping others become debt free and experiencing true freedom is what keeps me going. I believe in the debt-free lifestyle so much that I feel it would be a disservice to not share my passion and experience with them.

AP: But on the other side of that, you seem to be a gentle family man. You frequently discuss being a father and husband and working as a team with your family. Talk to me about balancing these two forces. Was working through your debt together a transformational process for your role in your family?

BC: I absolutely love being a father and enjoy spending time with my family. The security of my family is precisely why I feel so inclined to take the financial bull by the horns the way that I do.

Balancing these two forces is not easy for anyone, and I take no exception to that. In the beginning my wife and I struggled with finding that balance, mainly because I was a bit too rigid and forceful. Teamwork is important – you cannot drag a team member where you want to go. You have to lead well, and hope they follow based on your example. As soon as I truly understood that, my wife began to climb on board – which was essential in actually accomplishing debt-freedom for ourselves.

“Transformational” is such a great word to use. Becoming debt free gave our marriage new traction. Our finances, something that had previously caused us many arguments and put a burden on our marriage, became the road to a happier, less stressful life. We do not claim to be perfect, but we can say with absolute certainty that our marriage is 100% better now that we worked together to become debt free.

AP: I was amazed to learn that some of the people I know who have families have no life insurance. My neighbor down the street died with no life insurance, leaving his wife, two kids, and business up in the air. Their life has changed dramatically, and she’s really struggling. What would you say to young families to get them to address their own mortality before it’s too late?

BC: Something I always say when it comes to financial planning is that you have two choices. Do it now or do it later. Preparing now gives you great strength and flexibility. Procrastinating only hinders the possibility that the best method or idea can be properly implemented due to the time constraints that a crisis creates. Crisis living is no way to live.

Another thing I would say to those people is stop being selfish. Leaving your family with loads of stress and excessive burdens to deal with after you are gone, is not love. Give your loved ones the gift of financial security and help them remember good things about you. Don’t let negative thoughts linger in their mind about the mess that you left to clean up.

AP: You hate debt, right? But when people invest for their own future, there are a lot of investments that are types of debt like bonds and others that contain debt like ETF’s, and REIT’s. How do you balance your hatred of debt with what many experts consider wise types of investments to consider?

BC: I do hate debt in the sense that someone takes out a loan in order to benefit from something they do not have the money to buy or invest in. That’s the kind of debt I hate. And yes, for me, that even includes owning a house or running a business. It’s definitely a preference and a life choice that many do not understand, but in my mind, it’s very simple. From my perspective, not owing money is always better than owing money.

The truth though is that I do not know as much about investing as many professionals. I have not made it that far in my own financial plan, but even Dave Ramsey’s approach says that if you take out a mortgage, the first thing you must have in place is an emergency fund. The problem with too many people these days is that they leverage debt but have no security fund for when times get tough. This causes them to go even further into debt because they have no other choice.

AP: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I hope you had a blast.

BC: Aaron, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my opinion and approach with money with your questions. They were definitely great questions and I was happy to answer them for you and your readers.


Last week, I talked with Kyle C the mind behind SuburbanDollar.com about boating, his confusing life insurance policy, and computer security. Check it out.