Fifteen years ago, the two of us met at the old Tracks. We were in our late-20s, early-30s and just entered our peak social years. We were liberated, as were many gay men in those days. The bullying of our high school days was far behind us.
As gay kids, we didn’t have the dating and social experiences at the same ages as our straight friends. While we may have pretended, even convinced ourselves, that we wanted girlfriends, those relationships were never going to end well. Dating during high school, while awkward for all, was uniquely awkward for us as gay kids.
Like many people, the two of us sought the validation we didn’t get in school as kids from stuff we couldn’t afford as adults. We bought new cars with six+ year terms and no down payments. We covered every square foot of our home with Pottery Barn furniture purchased at the Cherry Creek store with credit cards. We always had the newest Diesel clothes and latest phones even though we rarely had the cash to pay for them. We spent way more time at the gym than we ever did on a budget.
Despite having had thirteen years of combined experience in financial services when we met on that gay disco dance floor, we had over $51,000 of combined credit card debt. A year and a half later, we were living in a basement apartment in Capitol Hill and not living the life of our dreams. David nickel and dimed himself. John spent big. This combination proved to be a cocktail of financial failure and unhappiness.
When we realized the gravity of our financial situation, we ignored our debt like a drunk uncle, worried about it like Woody Allen, talked about it like Oprah and were overwhelmed by it like the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. We ultimately gained the Michael Phelps-like focus that led to us becoming debt free.
As life-partners, we’re now debt free. As business partners, we’re The Debt Free Guys. We combine our personal and professional experiences with money to help others live debt free, have fun and be money conscious through our blog, books, public speaking and writing for publications and sites such as MileHighGayGuy.
We also host the Queer Money Show, which is a podcast and YouTube show. On Queer Money, we discuss the financial nuances of the queer community. Our mission is to build a financially stronger queer community, so that queer people can become leaders in the general community, continue our fight for equality and live our best lives.
Similarly, here on MileHighGayGuy.com, we’ll discuss investing, financial planning and all things money. We’ll mix the serious with the fun and always give you value that makes your investment with us worthwhile. We invite you to come back to our column regularly to be inspired to live a successful, money conscious life.
