This week for our Twitter Tuesday Profile we are putting the spotlight on Mark. He’s a husband, father of two, and attorney with a Fortune 100 company focusing on corporate and technology law. Besides all of that he’s passionate about writing about personal finance which he does at TheDebtHawk.com and also tweets about from @theDebtHawk.

OODC: How did you get started blogging?

@theDebtHawk: I have been blogging for about two years. I started out blogging about my love for video games and technology. From there I started other blogs including Onlinebanksblog.com. At Online Banks Blog I provide readers with the latest banking rates to help them find the best interest rates for their savings. But, I often find this niche too limiting so I decided to start TheDebtHawk.com.

TheDebtHawk.com is allowing me to cover a wider range personal finance topics with a focus on helping people to get out of debt. Being in corporate America, I also hope to help people to get ahead in their jobs. A person’s career is one of their biggest investments, but often they don’t spend enough time thinking about it. Hopefully, my readers will enjoy reading my career advice. I know I look forward to reading their advice in the comments.

OODC: Financial expert Dave Ramsey seems to have made a big impact on your life. Why was his message so powerful for you?

@theDebtHawk: Dave Ramsey did have a huge effect on me and my relationship with money. All of my life I believed that debt was an inevitable part of life. My parents always financed their cars and bought consumer goods using credit. Therefore, I always thought that everyone borrowed money.

For me, I started borrowing money to pay for college. After college, I went straight to law school where I came out with over $150,000 in student loans. I knew that I was going to have to pay lot of money back, but did not know how difficult it would be. Despite coming out of law school with a great job, it was very hard to pay off the student loans. I have been strangled by them ever since. However, after reading the Total Money Makeover, I realized that not all people have to go into debt. It is alright not to keep up with the people around me. Dave’s message liberated me from this debtor mentality. Now I
am on the path to cleaning up my debt mistakes.

OODC: You write about being on a debt roller-coaster– racking it up, paying it off, racking it up, paying it off. Why do you feel like things are different this time?

@theDebtHawk: After reading Dave Ramsey, I have decided to end the debt roller coaster. To be honest, my wife and I did start cleaning up our debt after law school. We had over $20,000 in credit card debt and we paid this off within a couple of years. But, our relationship with debt did not really
change. We would still borrow money to pay for a new house, new cars, and new home furniture.

Since reading the Total Money Makeover, I am determined to buy my next car with cash, build a $20,000 emergency fund by the end of December 31, 2010, and stop paying for consumer goods with credit. As you can see, I am deviating from Dave Ramsey’s baby steps. I am not putting all of my efforts into paying down my student loan debt. I am not sure that Dave would approve, but I believe that I have a fairly good plan. I will discuss my plan and my journey further on TheDebtHawk.com.

OODC: What do you hope people get out of your Tweets and blog posts?

@theDebtHawk: Twitter and my blog are just media that I use to communicate with people. For about two years now I have been fascinated with blogging and my ability to connect with readers around the world. Twitter is just an extension of this for me.

OODC: What do you hope people get out of your tweets and blog posts?

@theDebtHawk: With respect to what I hope people get out of my blog articles, I want to help people to meet their financial goals so that they can accomplish their more important life goals. Getting out of debt is tough. It is not something that you do overnight, but instead, it is a marathon. I hope that people reading TheDebtHawk.com learn actionable tactics to pay off their debt and start building wealth.

My goal with Twitter is much the same, but I find it a much better place to socialize with other people interested in personal finance issues. I love to follow Twitter users talking about personal finance, social media and blogging. But, I don’t want to just socialize on Twitter. I have been also been tweeting debt reduction tips as I come across them. I think I am up to Debt Reduction Tip #5 right now. My goal is to hit Debt Reduction Tip #1,000. Who knows, maybe they will become a book some day.

OODC: Who are some of your favorite Twitter users?

@theDebtHawk: I have a lot of favorite Twitter users. My favorite personal finance tweeters include, @MoneyMatters, @trenttsd, @GetOutOfDebtGuy, @Wisebread, @manvsdebt, @SuburbanDollar and many, many more.

Thanks again to Mark for being apart of this week’s Twitter Tuesday Profile. If you’d like us to consider you for an upcoming Twitter Tuesday Profile just tweet me.