He goes simply by “B.” The man behind the blog posts at SimplifiedFinancialLifestyle.com and the @BSimple tweets doesn’t want to reveal much, but he does say that he works in corporate sales for a Fortune 500 company. He started there as an intern in college 13 years ago. He lives in Houston with his wife and two daughters and as you’ll soon find out– he likes to keep things simple– especially when it comes to finances.
OODC: How did you get started blogging?
@BSimple: I started blogging less than a year ago. This is my first blog. I started blogging because I like to teach and help others and thought this would be a way for me to help other with their personal finances. I have found many people have a difficult time managing their personal finances. Many times we make our finances more difficult than they should be.
OODC: It’s in your blog’s name and in just about every post. Why is “simplifying” such an important theme for you?
@BSimple: Simplifying is a very important theme for me because we tend to make our financial lives more complicated than they should be. If everyone would just simplify their finances we would have more control of them and could manage them more efficiently. Many times people say personal finances is too complicated but its not. So that why I try to focus on different ways to make your personal finances easier.
OODC: Have you ever been in a complicated money situation?
@BSimple: Yes, my family lost our home and possessions as the result of a hurricane. We had to relocate to Houston and start our lives all over again. Fortunately, we were properly insured on our home and had an emergency fund to cover many of the unexpected expenses. This situation has taught me a lot and that is another reason why I preach simplicity and try to always be prepared for the unexpected. If you are prepared you can handle any situation much easier. Not to say it was easy but it could have been a lot worse if I had not been prepared.
OODC: Why do you think people have a tendency to over-complicate their finances?
@BSimple: Many people over-complicate their finances because they do not have financial goals and objectives in place. Having goals and objectives help guide your finances and the decisions you make about your finances. Also there are so many choices to be made when if comes to your finances so people are unsure what choice is best for them. Another reason is not understanding the basics of personal finances. I believe personal finance should be taught in middle school or high school which would help people
understand the different options regarding their personal finances and help uncomplicated their finances.
OODC: What do you hope people get out of your tweets and blog posts?
@BSimiple: I hope that my tweets and blog provide value and that people learn some simple tips to help them with their finances. I hope people will look at my blog and tweets as a great resource for quick simple tips to improve their personal financial lives. If they just learn one think that they did not know before I have accomplished my goal of helping someone improve and simplify their finances.
OODC: Who are some of your favorite Twitter users?
@BSimple: I have a lot of favorite Twitter users. Here are a few of my favorite personal finance tweeters: frugaldad, fiscalfizzle, moneyenergy, moneyhighway, moneymatters , fiscalgeek and wisebread. I also enjoy zenhabits.
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