About |
To obtain my piece of the American Dream, I embarked on a successful financial empowerment philosophy, that I now have named “E.I.”, at a very young age. I would not live from paycheck-to-paycheck. I would accumulate savings and be debt free. I was determined to make this happen.
I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. As an adolescent, I quickly grasped the concept of saving taught by my parents. My mother recalled, “Jeremy took my discussion about the importance of saving money literally; his brothers would spend their allowance as soon as they could, but Jeremy would just save his allowance week after week.”
I began attending Louisiana Tech University in the fall of 1997 to study mechanical engineering. In addition to obtaining my degree, a top priority was to graduate debt-free. I set out to accomplish this goal by living as frugal as possible. My mentality in college was very simple – “get only the things required not desired.” Focusing on the required necessities of college many times lead to discussions with my peers. I frequently got into lengthy discussions with my peers regarding the fact that I refused to spend my money on what I considered “wants”. Several peers began to refer to me as cheap and/or tight. I was disenchanted with the negative connotations regarding my financial wisdom. I came up with my own way of describing my financial ways. As a sophomore in college, I referred to myself as Economically Intelligent or E.I. for short. I used the concept of E.I. throughout my college and graduated with a Mechanical Engineering Degree with virtually no debt.
After graduation, I studied Personal Finance and Economics. I eagerly continued to practice the principles of E.I. In 2001, I accepted employment in Washington State with an engineering firm that offered me a very rewarding sign-on bonus. Being 21 years old, it was very tempting for me to buy a brand new car. Instead, I purchased a used car and saved the rest of the money. I purchased a 1989 Plymouth Sundance and I performed my own routine maintenance for nearly five years. This saved me thousands of dollars!
In 2005, I began developing my concept of E.I. into a full-blown Financial Empowerment Philosophy. My book, “E.I. = $: 10 Steps to Become Economically Intelligent (E.I.) and Live a Financially Successful Life” was published in winter of 2008. My book has helped thousands of individuals improve their financial situation. Since publishing the book, I have been on the forefront in strengthening financial literacy. I have traveled all over the U.S. teaching the philosophy of E.I. at high schools, colleges/universities, churches, detention centers, etc. In 2009, I was named the Symposium Author of the Year by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority organization for my literary work. I received this honor in Las Vegas, NV.
Currently, I reside in Delaware. I write articles on personal finance, investing, and other E.I. strategies and continue to conduct financial seminars teaching individuals how to achieve the American Dream simply by being E.I.