Date of Award
Fall 11-29-2018
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Chris Palmer
Co-Chair
Dr. Anne Richards
Abstract
According to NerdWallet, 75 percent of Americans do not live off a budget and half of them cannot produce $400 in an emergency. But how much you make isn’t the main concern—it’s your margin that matters most. This capstone, which includes several chapters from the book Margin Matters: How to Live on a Simple Budget and Crush Debt Forever, provides practical strategies for creating and sticking to a simple budget, eliminating debt permanently, and managing expenses to create the most margin at any income level. It describes how the author erased nearly $75,000 of debt in just under three years.
Additionally, these chapters cover topics such as the psychology of money, the real cost of college, dying with debt, expecting the unexpected, differentiating needs from wants, and understanding why a home is a bad investment.