Welcome to Don’t Feed the Alligators, a Personal Finance Blog that seeks analysis and discussion surrounding all aspects of personal finance as seen from the perspective of a small-scale multi-family property investor.
My personal background is similar to many other personal finance bloggers:
My story starts in college. The first week I was exposed to all kinds of offers for free T-shirts, Frisbees, etc. simply in exchange for filling out a credit card application. I had some part time jobs in college that allowed me to keep paying the minimums, but I continually flirted with my limits. Eventually I graduated and got a “real” job. I bought a big screen TV and an expensive stereo.
I had a good mentor who helped me to start making a dent in my debt. Together my then fiancé and I saved for a debt free wedding and worked down most of the credit debt. We bought a new car, with all the options. No problem, we could afford the payments. But we still had some credit card debt.