About Me

Hi!  I’m Dan Meyers, and I'm a former debter.  I screwed upa lot just so I can help you not do the same... or recover from the same thing!

We’ll discuss how paying off debt, saving money, investing and making the most of your current situation can enable you to pursue your passion and find your life’s purpose. 

I’ll give you the tools to help, and we’ll discuss what motivates people and why it's all worth it. 

 In 2007, I reached my breaking point when I realized I wasn't in control; I was heavily in debt and unfulfilled in work. 

Since, I’ve fought my way out of debt, and this blog is part of my  commitment to pursue my passion and find my purpose.  I’m always interested in new ideas and would like to learn from you.

Please feel free to contact me with ideas, questions or feedback at Dan@yourlifetheirlife.com.

Why should you read Your Life, Their Life?

I don't pretend to be the genius behind the computer who knows it all.  I've worked very hard to do well financially and follow the strategies I discuss.  These are proven strategies, not all of which I can take credit for.   I've collected many ideas from great minds.

I fought my way out of debt and have substantially increased my income in the last several years.  I plan on reaching 'millionaire status' and am exploring ways to get there faster by making money doing what I love.  I love helping people in their fight for financial security. 

I've spent the last four years reading more than 100 books on various subjects to help me get there.  I enjoy books on history, philosophy, science, money, and more.  Every book I read, I take notes and try to apply its lessons to my life. 

My advice isn't theoretical.  I've lived through my failures and successes, and now I use the OWN IT plan to help me every day.

Isaac Newton said, "If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants."  Trust me, I don't consider myself to be on the same level as Newton, but I share the same sentiments. 

My Background

I graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2004 and was very fortunate to receive a job offer with a great starting salary.

While at OSU, I studied finance and economics and paid for about half of my college with scholarships and work. The rest of my education and 'college experience' was covered with parent and students loans as well as credit cards.

Still, on paper I should have been in good shape when I graduated.  However, after four years of learning how to manage money, I fell into more and more debt, making my background in finance personally irrelevant. I hope to stop others, especially recent college graduates, from making the same decisions.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up in a strong family in Berryhill, Oklahoma, just outside of Tulsa.  My parents were strong family leaders, and I was the youngest of four sons.  Luckily, in the 1990s in Tulsa, it was easy to be a normal kid even if you couldn't afford the latest trends.  I most often wore hand-me-downs from my three older brothers.

My family didn't go on expensive vacations, and we rarely saw the inside of a restaurant.  We were the typical blue-collar American family.

My dad had a lot of near misses in his search for wealth.  A physics scholarship took him to Purdue, but soon after he ran out of money.  He dropped out of college and was drafted into the military during Vietnam.

He returned to the states and started building houses in the early 1980s.  He  built three homes just as interest rates jumped to the high teens. His bank loans were called.  The steel mills were closing, leaving very few jobs in Indiana. 

With four children and not knowing a soul, my parents moved us to Tulsa in hopes of a brighter future.  They hauled everything they owned including our family of six in two cars and a trailer.

My dad applied to a number of jobs before finding one at the Pepsi plant.  My parents tell me being broke was an understatement, but they never gave up.  For my parents, it wasn't about what they could or could not buy their children.  It was about family.  They made sure my brothers and I knew what was important in life.

My parents always dedicated their free time to our family.  It was amazing to know they had four sons, all in two sports each, and they managed to come to all practices and games.

I grew up knowing work would be very important in my life because if I wanted something I would have to buy it.  I got my first job at age 14 when I worked at a trophy shop.  I also started mowing lawns.

My work continued all through high school in venues such as working for my dad who was the maintenance supervisor at my high school and installing fire alarm systems.  I purchased my first truck at age 16 with the $2,100 I had saved the previous two years.

Watching my parents struggle, I vowed I would be rich - not knowing what that meant at the time.  So, as I graduated college with my finance degree in hand, I thought I was set. I managed to hold off on buying a car until one year after I graduated.

After tasting life with a new job in big city Dallas, the hefty income I thought I was earning didn't seem so big.  Between rent, bills, credit card payments, and student loan payments, there wasn't much left over for anything else.

However, in my mind I was a successful graduate, and I deserved a new car.  I didn't have any money for a down payment, but the interest rate was only 4%. Boy, did I take them. The monthly payment was $509 a month.  Every month.  It felt good the first couple of months to drive around and be seen in my new Nissan XTerra - not to mention the new car smell! 

It’s funny to think the smell of my success was really just plastic and glue.  Looking back, it must have been the glue that made me think being a few years out of college and with more than $50,000 in debt was ok.

I still remember my breaking point.  My roommate ran up the stairs into our apartment to tell me they were towing my car after I parked in a handicapped spot.  I ran down and tried to stop them, but they were already gone.

I called the towing company and learned it would cost $285 to get my beautiful new Xterra back. But, a quick check of my accounts revealed I had only $50 in checking and $275 in savings. 

I drained both accounts to free my car from the impound yard. It brought me to tears. I felt I had lost control. 

It was that day I realized I was doing something wrong. I worked in corporate America, and I had nothing to show for it.  Things had to change.

The next couple of years I dedicated myself to getting my life back on track.  I married my wonderful wife, and we now live in New Orleans with our rescue dog Lucy.

We will never buy a new car using a loan again.  We've vowed to never go in consumer debt again, and will still continue to feel the pain as we pay off our mortgage (hopefully 5-7 years).

I'll talk about that issue as well as others in my blog.  I hope you enjoy! And remember, life is learning process, and I hope we can all learn from each other! 

If this is your first time here, check out the New Here  page.

Disclosure time.  The blogs and articles on this page are based on my research and personal opinion.  I am not a certified financial advisor and I am not at fault for anything bad that might happen as a result of your following the advice on this blog.  However, hopefully only good things will happen anyway!