Welcome to Daily Money Shot! Thanks for stopping by!

I become interested in personal finance about 5 years ago when I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were deep, deep in debt and we realized that we had to make some serious changes if we were going to afford our little newborn. In February 2007, we made the commitment to eliminate our debt and we’re almost there! We’ve got about 2 years left until we’re debt-free (excluding mortgage). We are huge proponents of Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball. It was such a simple, practical method. And it was the only one we could agree on.

My piqued interest in personal finance means I’ve also taken an avid interest in policy issues such as SNAP, homelessness, TANF, and other issues related to working class and low-income people. While I’m not quite at advocacy level yet, I’m trying to learn as much as I can. I wish I could say that the Great Recession had nothing to do with my interest ratcheting up, but that would be a lie. I do have a Master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy but it’s only recently that I’ve found my true policy interests.

So that’s the boring stuff. Here’s some other things that, if you’re going to know me, you must know:

• I am a lacto/ovo pescatarian
• I love Vera Bradley bags
• I adore stand up comedy
• I am a news junkie
• My family is more important to me than anything else in the world
• I am the most disorganized organized person you will meet
• I am terrified of horses (laugh if you will but a horse is too unpredictable for me. Also, a horse brought down Superman. I’m not taking any chances).
• I read. A lot. Books, blogs, magazines–you name it. And I read most genres. I’m always looking for new books and authors and I have no problem giving my opinions on what/who I think you should be reading.
• I love almost all movies, music and books and I am very, very eclectic. If someone ever tried to analyze my personality based on my favorite movies, music and books, his (or her) head would explode.
• I talk in movie lines. In fact, I can carry on entire conversations without ever coming up with something that was not first said in a movie.
• I think that peanut butter and chocolate is the single best food combination ever
• My favorite color combination is black and khaki. I think this may be my way of attempting to wear chocolate and peanut butter.
• I am a native New Yorker. And although I have not lived in NY for 15 years, I am still a New Yorker
• I think that the resurgence of The Muppets is the greatest thing to happen in the last 20 years
• On a similar note, I can name all of the Fraggles, the Dwarfs and most of the Muppets
• I know all the words to some very long songs like America Pie, anything on Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell, Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, and most of Metallica’s Black Album (sorry, I know people don’t use that word anymore but I don’t know what else to call it) but I cannot decipher half of what The Beastie Boys say