Family Profits grew directly from our own experiences as a couple, as the parents of young children, and as individuals who wanted to put family first but who still had to work to pay the bills.

We struggled with caring for our children in the way we wanted while still having some time to spend with each other, on ourselves, and, we desperately hoped, getting some sleep. We wrestled with paying off our credit card debt at the same time we were paying for child care. And, like most new parents, we often did this feeling we were alone in dealing with these issues.

When Richard and I met, back in 1998, we were both deeply in debt. We had student loans for graduate school (both) and law school (me). We had credit card debt from living expenses while we had been in school. Each of us had worked through school but our costs far outpaced the amounts we earned. Our debt was so large that we did not total it until we had been paying it off for several years since we were simply too afraid of what the number might be.

When we finally pulled out a calculator, we had more than $80,000 in credit card debt and more than $100,000 in student loan debt. And that was after years of payments! Writing those figures still makes me nauseous.

We became very frugal by necessity. This made us reconsider much of what people around us were saying. It turned out that we didn’t NEED a new car or stainless steel appliances to be happy. In fact, the used car we bought for $1,000 got us to work and back just fine, without the pain of a car payment. We learned that we were much happier with money in the bank than fancy appliances in our kitchen. (And the milk was just as cold coming out of our bottom of the line frig from Sears.) And we were proud that our lifestyle was becoming more sustainable.

We also started thinking a lot about what we really wanted out of life. We had both pursued career paths that turned out to have many more downsides than were initially apparent. We were both working for nonprofit organizations, not the highest paying of sectors, but were doing work that felt meaningful to each of us. However, expectations for long work hours and heavy travel schedules don’t typically lead to strong relationships or families. We wanted to make a difference in the world but believed we had to get our own home in order first.

We realized that having clear priorities and then working to implement them made most life decisions easier. Since we met, now eleven years ago, we have made many changes to our life. We have paid off mountains of debt. All of our credit card debt is paid off, as is the vast majority of our student loan debt. We have money in the bank, in retirement funds, and in college funds for our girls. And all of this was possible without us ever earning enormous salaries – we just got smarter about managing our finances. We have also expanded our sources of income so neither of us has to rely on the decisions or goodwill of one employer to bring home income.

We have both moved to self-employment and now work at home. In addition to cutting our commute to 30 seconds, we have the freedom to plan our time according to what is best for our family. This has meant some late nights as each of us has pushed to meet client deadlines but it has also meant taking part in preschool Halloween parades and Valentine’s Day teas with our kids without the lingering feeling of dread that often accompanies leaving the office in the middle of the day.

These and other changes have allowed us to focus on creating the strong family that we wanted for our children and ourselves.

Along the way we have searched for tools to help us create the life we wanted. While we found many sources that were useful in addressing individual topics, we had a harder time finding resources that covered more than one issue. However, putting it all together was our biggest challenge. Once we started talking with other parents (and realized we weren’t the only ones struggling), we learned that families were also having a hard time fitting all the pieces together. This site is about making connections, between topics and between people.

It is clear that our age is increasingly one of specialization, with individuals occupying their clearly marked niches. Sometimes, however, a generalist is what is needed most. We are not the foremost expert on personal finance, parenting, or entrepreneurship but we know a lot about managing all these issues at the same time. In addition, we can point you to the most helpful experts we found so you can dig deeper if your situation calls for it.

We also explore the links between these topics. You may not think that your relationship with your partner can impact your career or that your financial health can influence your physical health but research has shown that these connections are real. We’ll help you see where your efforts can have the biggest impact across your whole life and allow you to learn from others who have made the changes you are targeting.

We want your family to profit, in every sense of the word, with more money, more freedom, and stronger families!

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