Here's a little bit about me, my background, what I do and why I do it.

I'm a 60-something married guy (no kids) living in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the yachting capital of the world.

I live in a middle-class house on a canal off the intracoastal waterway and have a boat (1985 Bertram) behind my house. I love riding motorcycles (Softail Custom) sailing, fishing, traveling and laughing out loud as often as possible.

As far as credentials go, I earned my CPA in 1981 (now inactive), and over the years have also been licensed in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate. I spent 10 years working for three Wall Street firms and have been investing in stocks and real estate for more than 35 years.

In 1991, I started Money Talks News, a personal finance TV news feature that airs within the local news of about 80 network affiliates nationwide as well as on major websites including MSN, Yahoo, and of course, this one!

I've now written and produced more than 3,000 personal finance news stories, picked up a couple of Emmys and written a few books, including what I modestly consider to be the best how-to-get-out-of-debt book in the universe, Life or Debt.

While I'm not rich in the Palm Beach/Central Park West sense, I'm financially independent -- meaning I work because I want to and not because I have to. I didn't get here by selling books, tapes or seminars. I did it the same way you will: one hard-fought paycheck at a time.