50 Random Things About Me

1. I was born in Boise, Idaho.
2. I’m a preacher’s kid.
3. I drink hot coffee with a straw.
4. I don’t like goat cheese.
5. Or anything hazelnut.
6. I got into really bad credit card debt. Seriously, horribly bad. Maxed out at more than $100,000 when my world fell apart.
7. Took 13 years to pay back the credit card debt—every dime of interest, fees, and principal with no concessions, settlements, or negotiations. Yay.
8. In 2014 we paid off the mortgage too—100% debt-free. Super yay.
9. My husband’s name is Harold. You wouldn’t believe how many people mistakenly call him Howard.
10. I’ve been married to the same man for 51 years. He’s a preacher’s kid, too.
11. I have two sons.
12. And two grandsons.
13. I can’t swim.
14. I refuse to learn.
15. One time with my two little boys in the back seat, I inadvertently drove the car into the living room.
16. I have written 26 published books, most still in print.
17. And have led thousands of people out of debt.
18. Cheapskate Monthly newsletter debuted in Jan. 1992.
19. To date, I’ve logged 1.4 million miles on American Airlines.
20. I love to iron.
21. And knit.
22. As the only passenger in an NYC taxi, my driver T-boned a limousine, threw the cab into reverse, and then fled the scene.
23. With me in the back seat.
24. I play the piano.
25. My Steinway M-model grand was built in 1929.
26. I am its 2nd owner.
27. I didn’t intend to, but I singlehandedly fixed a major plumbing issue while a guest in a historic old San Francisco hotel.
28. Back in the 1970s, I figured out how to make men’s ties.
29. My husband wore them to work. The word got out and I ended up selling thousands before I burned out.
30. I love textiles. I fight becoming unreasonably obsessed with both fabric and yarn. Now and then I lose a battle. See # 21.
31. Our son Jeremy won an Emmy Award.
32. My favorite flavor is salted caramel.
33. I am not a fan of chocolate.
34. But I love a good fruitcake
35. Upon meeting me in person, someone who’d heard me on the radio told me I’m a lot shorter than I sound.
36. For me, overeating and overspending have some kind of correlation. As the debt grew, so did I.
37. As the debt shrunk, eventually so did I. By 110 pounds. Really.
38. My favorite color is lime green.
39. I was commissioned to select the final winner in the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet contest to crown the Cheapest Person in America.
40. Our son Josh met our daughter-in-law Wendy on eHarmony. Match made in heaven. Refer to #12.
41. I am a coffee roaster.
42. I import raw green coffee beans from Costa Rica, 200 lbs. at a time
43. When I was a guest on the Leeza Gibbons Show, she called me Mary Hart on air. Three times.
44. I am the first woman to have served on the Board of Directors of the American Industrial Real Estate Association (now AIR CRE), Los Angeles, Calif.
45. I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
46. I love the great hymns. My favorite is Great is Thy Faithfulness.
47. I live in northern Colorado near the Wyoming border.
48. In 2002 I was a contestant on the TV game show revival, To Tell the Truth with John O’Hurley. I was the only one telling the truth, but the panelists all voted for my two imposters. We won the whole enchilada. The big reveal happened as O’Hurley held up and announced my new book, Debt-Proof Living on camera to show which of us was really telling the truth!
49. I love Christmas for all it means to me—and because my kids come home for the holidays.
50. My dream is to one day visit Israel.

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