An exclusive interview with authors Daniel and Deborah Minteer by Daniel R. Murphy-

July 2011  

Murphy: In your new book, Boiled Down Money Goo, Tips for Propelling Your Financial Future, you describe coming to the realization that continuing to live in debt is not a good idea. What turned that light on in your minds? What motivated you to make this big change?

Dan Minteer: I was a fool with sixty-five thousand dollars racked up on credit cards!  Plus, there were student loans, a car payment, a mortgage, no savings at all and layoffs looming at work.  So I was scared to say the least.  Respect for my upcoming marriage to Deborah was the motivation to rethink my entire outlook with money, which obviously was a disaster. 

Deborah Minteer:  We had got engaged five months before we had the “money talk.”  When Dan told me how much debt he had “acquired,” I was stunned and seriously freaked out.  Our philosophies on money were radically different.  I had no debt and Dan was all about debt.   If Dan lost his job, we couldn’t make it on my paycheck.  This scared me enough to start talking about how to fix this problem.  Thankfully Dan was also ready to do the same. 

Murphy: Did you both come to this realization at the same time, or was there some persuasion by one of you? How difficult was it to come to agreement?

Dan Minteer: Deborah bought some books on personal finances.  Something really clicked with me (or maybe snapped is a better word, because I felt so angry and humiliated about my debt, and I was more determined than ever to make it go away).  Once I “got it,” it was easy to be in agreement. 

Deborah Minteer: Within hours of Dan confessing that his debt was larger than my net worth, I was in a panic.  Dan either needed to kick the debt habit or we needed to postpone getting married. This was a freaking big deal.  Thankfully Dan agreed to kick the debt habit.   

Murphy: Once you made the decision to free yourself of debt did you study on the subject first or plunge into action? If you studied first, how long did you research the question before you took action?

Dan Minteer: I was anxious to get out of the debt stress and didn’t want to wait any longer to get started.  So we started and learned as we went. 

Deborah Minteer: Within days of Dan’s financial “confession,” I started combing the bookstores and library searching for answers to our financial struggle.  There was a way out; we just had to find it. 

Murphy: How important do you think it is for readers to continue to read in this area and learn more about personal financial management?

Dan Minteer: We’ve read over and over that millionaires tend to read a lot of non-fiction books.  We want to do what they do now.  

Deborah Minteer: Learning is everything!  The world is changing.  Keep learning how to read the “new signs,” or risk the penalty box - also known as your wallet! 

Murphy: You made some austere reductions in your “standard of living” to defeat debt. How difficult was that?

Dan Minteer: You’d think it would be easier on the pride to be rich and look broke.  But it’s actually easier to look rich and be broke.  We had to get to the point where we didn’t care what people thought of us living in a basement and driving older cars. 

Deborah Minteer: I love to shop.  During the first two years my shopping was cut to almost “never.”  Thankfully there was enough left after paying the bills to have a decent chocolate fix, so life didn’t totally fall into the pits! 

Murphy: How did your friends and relatives react to your mission?

Dan Minteer: Our neighbor’s son once asked his dad whether we were poor because we didn’t have nice cars.  Our neighbor laughed and had to tell us because he knew we’d get a kick out of it - at that point we were only one year away from paying off the house (and had no other debt). 

Deborah Minteer:  Most people we know, especially family, avoid the subject.   

Murphy: What do they say now?

Dan Minteer: Sometimes it’s hard to tell if people are happy for us, or envious.  Some people seem defensive and say “well, you guys just make good money…”  Hmmm…income does help, but how come I was broke before I met Deborah while making some of the best money in my life?  

Deborah Minteer:  Last week my mom saw a review of our book in a newspaper.  She thought to mention it a couple days later.  We were underwhelmed by the attention! 

Murphy: Speaking of friends, did this change your social circle? Did you lose friends or did you find yourself simply associating with different people as a result?

Deborah Minteer: That was the one big “expense” that we hadn’t anticipated.  Our social circle turned upside down and did double-flips when we started gaining financial traction.  Some friends couldn’t deal with seeing us knock out a debt that they hadn’t (at least yet).  And it’s frustrating for us to see friends do things that we had previously done, collected the t-shirt, and already knew DIDN’T work.  Yet they wanted to collect the souvenir anyway.  Unless the “naughty” money subject is avoided, someone eventually decides it’s more relaxing and fun to hang-out with someone else.  

Murphy: How long did it take you to free yourself from all consumer debt other than your home mortgage? How long did it take you to become totally debt free including your home mortgage?

Dan Minteer: Two long years went by before we paid off everything but the mortgage.  Then four more years passed before we got the deed to the house.  We mastered the art of living cheap and were radical in sticking to our budget month after month. 

Murphy: How much of an emergency reserve do you advise people to have and what goes into that determination?

Dan Minteer: People should have six to twelve months’ worth of living expenses.  It really will vary depending on people’s debt level, job situations and how much risk they’re willing to take if they were to lose one job, both jobs, etc. 

Deborah Minteer: That answer depends on whether the household has a single or double income and the debt level.  Folks who are willing to cut the “cream” from their life during a budget crisis and have less debt don’t need as much reserve. 

Murphy: Some might view your advice on bailing out kids as a bit harsh. How would you react to that?

Dan Minteer: Our advice is really in the “tough love” category.  It’s better for everyone if kids learn to bail themselves out and eventually learn not to need bailed out in the first place. 

Deborah Minteer: Don’t get us wrong, we love our family. Still, the result of bailing out kids is even harsher than our advice.

Murphy: You do not mention having children during this debt elimination experience. Did you have children then? How much more difficult do you think this might be with kids if you did not have any?

Deborah Minteer: Our daughter was born four years ago (while the car and house debt was still hanging around and being a nuisance).   And yes, child-related expenses definitely impacted the speed and approach of our debt evacuation plan.  Still our little one is worth it!

Murphy: You were both employed. How difficult is this on one income or on a very limited income? How would you have done it differently if your income were more limited?

Dan Minteer:  When I was broke, I had the biggest income of my life.  How much of your income you keep is more important than how much you make.  Granted, we were lucky to have two incomes during the “get out of debt” mode.  However, we would still have done it the same way (sell everything, start over, live cheap) had we had only one income.  It just would have taken longer. 

Deborah Minteer: With one paycheck, planning and a cushy emergency fund becomes even more important.  If the single-income drops off or gets cut, there needs to be a life raft nearby that can hold its own!     

Murphy: Can anyone do this?

Dan Minteer: Yes, the principles in our book are not new.  Our grandparents and great-grandparent’s generations knew much of this as common sense.  Thanks to clever marketing to buy stuff and use debt, we’ve somehow lost this common sense in our culture. 

Deborah Minteer: Absolutely!  The mind is a mighty tool.  It will make the smallest wallet tremble.  When you make up your mind to do something, it will happen. 

Murphy: Was any of this process fun for you? Explain.

Dan Minteer: As we got closer to paying off all consumer debt and began to save, it got real fun.  It is SO fun paying yourself.  Some of our best memories during this time involve walking to the mail box with yet another “pay off” check, especially the final mortgage payment. 

Deborah Minteer: And now, it’s seriously cool to know that a splurge won’t upset our family security.  Plus it’s fun to watch people’s reaction when we plunk down cash without blinking!!!

Murphy: If you had one piece of advice to give, the most important thing to help people get out of debt and avoid it, what would that be?

Dan Minteer: No matter your income, live on way less than you make and save as much as you can. 

Deborah Minteer: Too many people are in debt, because they believe this is the only way.  There’s another way and it’s better. 

Murphy: What made you decide to write the book? How long did it take?

Dan Minteer: Once we began to win, we thought, “why aren’t others doing what we’re doing?”  The thought of capturing every trick we learned in a book designed to reach the “average Joe” made a lot of sense and we became very passionate about wanting to do it.  In a sense, it took seven years to live all this stuff enough to write a book about it.  The actual writing it down part took about a year. 

Deborah Minteer:  None of the books we were reading captured all of the basics of what we were doing.  Someone needed to do it, so we did. 

Murphy: What makes your book different from the many financial advice books out there?

Dan Minteer: Our book is simple and easy to understand, written in plain language.  And it’s not a “technical” book.  It’s a book of ideas. 

Deborah Minteer: Boiled Down Money Goo is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.  The photos were a blast to take.  Did you notice each one has a “money shot?”  And we brainstormed for hours and hours to come up with the cheeky quotes.  The book fits well with a relaxed, inspired afternoon at home.

Murphy: Did you learn anything from writing the book? What?

Dan Minteer: We learned the value of getting honest reviews and feedback before publishing.  We were very biased about certain topics and had to “tone it down” quite a bit in spots.   

Deborah Minteer: My family always told me that I was an opinionated person.  Until writing the book, I didn’t realize how right they are!

Murphy: Any plans for more books?

Dan Minteer: Maybe. The trick is finding the time for all the things we think are important in life and trying to find a balance. 

Murphy: Dan and Deborah, thank you so much for your great ideas in this interview and for writing the book. Do you have any final comments?

Dan Minteer: So much of what we can accomplish in life is tied to having the time and resources to make it happen.  It doesn’t necessarily take much money to chase our dreams, just freedom.    

Deborah Minteer: People spend too much time focusing on how to earn and spend money.  Instead they should be pondering how to get more time for themselves and with those they care about.