About

I’m Jackie or JackieSaves$$$

Corny, I know.

I’m here because I have spent a significant portion of my life learning about money, finances, retirement, adulting, and all of the fun financial things in-between. I grew up in a single-mom household and spent a significant amount of time with my grandparents. I say that because that set-up had a HUGE impact on my life and how I view money. There were my mom and dad, who both seemed to feel their divorce and its impact on my brother and me should be softened with gifts and frivolous spending. Then there were my grandparents, on both sides, who were all born into the Great Depression and carried their frugal ways throughout their entire lives. Around them were my aunts and uncles, some who have had limited incomes in small towns their entire lives, and others, who have found their ways to top positions in large companies, taking home 6 and sometimes 7 figure salaries, spending money as though the tap will never dry. Being a kid caught in the middle of all of these ideals and lifestyles is a very strange place to be. But, if you paid attention, there were sooooo many lessons to learn.

I find myself in a pretty comfortable financial position at this point in my life – some attributed to luck, some attributed to good guidance, and some by my own damn hard work and research and a strong desire to do life on my terms.

I’ve lived all spectrums on the money scale – food from a food bank, crushing credit card debt to the point where I found myself needing to volunteer for a military deployment to avoid certain financial ruin, and having enough to retire at 40. I don’t expect any or all of that to resonate with you, but I share because I want you to understand that life is full of ups and downs, but when you have control over your money and what you want from it, you find yourself driving your life instead of being controlled by it. Nobody should ever have to make life or death decisions simply because of money.

This site comes from many years of research, trying new things, asking people who seem to have it together financially, and sharing my knowledge with those around me. I have often been told I would have been a good teacher had I gone down that path. I also know a lot about money and am MORE THAN HAPPY to talk about it all day long with anyone who wants to listen. Why not combine them? I’m finally ready to do that!