This week I wanted to share with you an interview with a relatively new blogger. Jason was kind enough to answers some of my questions on personal finances, goals, and blogging.

Please subscribe to One Money Design and chat with Jason on Twitter.

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I live in Frisco, Texas (Dallas metro area) with my family.  I’ve been married to my wife for 7 ½ years and have 2 children.  My daughter is 4 ½ and my son is almost 10 months old.  When I’m not spending time with my family I enjoy providing financial counseling help to people as a Crown Financial Ministries Money Map Coach.  I also love soccer!  I played as a youth and all through college.  I’m a regular follower of Major League Soccer (MLS) and FC Dallas.

What motivated you to begin blogging about personal finance?

I have a passion for personal finance.  It’s a subject that has always interested me and something that comes easily to understand.  I love to counsel and coach people and have found that blogging can be an extension of helping people, but also a great way for people to get to know me.  Our finances aren’t perfect, but we’re working hard to achieve our goals.  I think blogging, either at One Money Design, or in participating on others blogs helps me learn more about personal finance.

What are your favorite personal finance books?

There are too many to mention them all so I will pick two.  I like The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey and Your Money Counts, by Howard Dayton.  Dave has a great plan.  It’s easy to understand and it’s relatable to people no matter where you are on your journey.  Howard Dayton wrote Your Money Counts which has a lot of Biblical Financial reference.  I try to base all of my money management on Biblical Financial principles.

What do you think is the worst mistake that banks and credit unions are making?

I think if you lose sight of people, you’re off track.  The focus seems to be on money and how to get more of it while taking advantage of people.  At the same time, people have a responsibility to know what they are signing up for with loans, credit cards, etc.  It’s okay to be confused and that’s the help bloggers and financial counselors can provide, so there are avenues to get help and learn.

But financial institutions, as with any company, have ethical and moral responsibilities which in many cases today have been disregarded.  My heart goes out to those who have made unwise choices or somehow found themselves in trouble with debt.  It happens, we all make mistakes.  I feel some responsibility in offering hope to them and to help them build a plan in the right direction.

What do you hope to accomplish in the next year with your blog?

More than anything, I want to connect with a great deal of people.  I hope readers will come to appreciate my content, enjoy my personality and participate in discussions at One Money Design.  Having discussion about money and personal finance that helps people would be a great achievement.

If you received a tax free $10,000 check, how would you spend/save it?

I would allocate the money in this order.

1. 10% would be tithed to my local church: $1000
2. Pay off the remaining portion of my car loans:  $6000
3. $2000 to emergency savings
4. Celebrate with $1000.  Maybe a weekend away with my wife and a few toys for the kids!

What topic do you notice your readers gravitate towards?

That’s a tough question because my blog is just getting started.  I hope people gravitate towards real life personal finance discussion.  There are a lot of great how to (how to create a budget) articles out there.  I have some of those at One Money Design.  However, I really hope to engage with people on topics like the question above.

“I just got $10,000 what does everyone think I should do”?  Or, “I just got overcharged $1000 on a medical bill, I see here you have 10 steps to get this resolved”.  “Can we talk about it”?  Having that type of discussion in the comments would be great!  Not only do I want to share my knowledge, but I want to talk about what’s going on with personal finances in my life.  Chances are we are all experiencing similar things and can learn from each other.

What’s the most important/practical financial tip someone should remember?

In my experience as a Money Map Coach, I’ve found people run into problems when they don’t have a plan for their money.  The common misunderstanding with having a spending plan is that it’s constricting or limiting.  However, having a spending plan is quite the opposite.  It’s liberating in that you can avoid issues such as debt, know where your money is going and have a great sense of excitement when you see you’re able to make progress towards your financial goals.

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