flipping through the channels watched 1-2 episodes of some dude that claims financial planner status on couples that don't have a clue how to pay bills.... I guess this is a subtle sampling of America? Most folks here are trying to save on heat - and we justify up front costs. anyone need help balancing a budget please feel free to post away - vent, plans, no idea? please keep all responses non condescending
I'm still paying a college loan, a credit card my ex-wife took out in my name when we were still married, and medical debt. Not fun. Head barely above water.......barely.
Eric I started with the college loan, added car(s), cash advance for a real estate purchase(investment), bought&sold houses, then bought a house I wanted to live in....I spent money like flowing water finally said FU bank(s) and I'm paying this chit off
It's slow and steady for me, basod... I'm beating it down, a month at a time. Thankfully, my better half has excellent credit.
10 or 12 years ago I was driving along and I heard this guy on the radio named Dave Ramsey. Listened and learned and have cleaned up alot of debt. Only now left with a home loan and a equity line that we used to pay our last promised tuition payment for our son. In about 5-7 years I will get to yell to Dave Ramsey, "I am debt free!!!" Check him out guys, it can be done. Debt free living is hard to get too but is SO WORTH IT. I'm here if you want ask questions.
I've heard him on some radio show somewheres... Trying not to file bankruptcy here.... Have a child support payment, too....it's not low enough, but it is what it is. And I haven't seen my 16 year old son since fall of 2013
Got sick of paying for credit card debt, truck loan, siding and windows, all purchases that were made and needed but didn't have the cash due to buying a house, from Christmas for 3 months this year i put in 25 hours of overtime per 2 week paycheck, at least 25 hours, paid off the truck, credit card, couple other bills I was falling behind on, and was able to start saving, until the fiance's car went to heck, bought new Subaru to avoid further wrenching nightmares, now I'm on the 25 hours or better plan until my line of credit is paid down and I have a safety net, luckily work has all the ot I can ask for currently. Feels great when everything gets paid off!!!
Many thanks to my wife and her common sense approach to our finances. We're young but within 10 years of finishing off our mortgage (if that, we've owned our first home for 7 years now). We bought her van (2013 Honda Odyssey) in Nov '15 and just finished off the small loan we took. We financed my truck ('13 Chevy Silverado) back a couple years ago and that was only because I needed to replace my previous truck a couple years ahead of schedule due to a bad accident. The next pair of vehicles are likely to be cash purchases but hopefully that's well down the road for us. It's VERY comforting being able to take care of the things that need doing without worrying too much about where the money is coming from. While I make a good living for someone with no more than a HS degree, I am by no means a rich man. (She is a full-time mommy of three!) But some diligent saving and the occasional sacrifice has absolutely paid dividends. Budgeting is key, building awareness as to on what and why you spend your money is the first step to meaningful change.
Debt free living is totally possible. I have lived debt free since about 1989, when I paid my school loans. That includes house purchaes (twice), cars (used), graduate degree, etc. I love the freedom of being debt free, and would encourage you to work towards that goal! It is so worth it.
We're currently debt free. I've never owned a home and we have only one car, BUT I am totally free to pick up the grandsons whenever it's needed or I want to take them to the woods for some exploring! I am self employed and live very meagerly and don't have all the cool gizmo's, but I am FREE!
We paid off our house a couple of years ago and we have no other debt. My goal is to never barrow money again. Last year we bought my wife a new car and we paid cash.
I listen to Dave Ramsey sometimes, just last night in fact. We have 8 yrs left on our mortgage @ 2.75% so that ain't bad. I bought a new F-150 last fall and put $14,400 down and financed the rest at 0% interest for 72 months . That is free money to me. Hell I might not even live that long. Not much credit card debt and I feel I'm in good shape. Things could always be better, but they could always be much worse. I believe a man's true worth is in the value and number of his friends, in that case I am truly blessed. And now I have you guys to include as friends.
54, 100% debt free,, if I do not have cash I do not do it. period. credit score takes a hit when you pay everything off, under 800 for the first time. it is wants vs needs.
I would say American is the wrong word to use. I am thinking spoiled millennials, entitled generation......... us older people, worked for what we have. now all you younger guys don't get your panties in a bunch we here on this forum have the same mindset, that is why we are here burning wood.
I haven't owed anyone a dime for anything since my 32nd birthday. I can't imagine life any other way now. People say it isn't about how much you make....it's about how much you spend. For me it's about how much you WANT to spend. Once you get that under control life gets much easier.
Some of us younger folks work pretty hard for what we have too, and finding a good paying job isn't quite as easy these days. Remember: your generation raised em - "reap what you sow". I am thinking a lot of it is education, or the lack thereof. I paid off my college loans last year, 5 years early. I've never had a credit card or a car payment - I pay in cash. My only debt is my mortgage, and I have a pretty good interest rate on that as I was able to put nearly 20% down. I get it done through savings - I "pay myself first". For the last 15+ years, at least 10% of my pay goes into my savings and investments. I currently have more than enough in there to pay off my house if I should become disabled or lose my job. So, I'm practically "debt free". The other nice thing is, if I do need a loan for a large purchase, I don't need to ask the bank - I can "borrow it from myself".
I'm not picking on you Shawn. (We also got close to but not quite to 20%) But I do feel it's worth mentioning that there was a time where if you didn't have 20% down, you were not eligible for a mortgage. And there was some pretty sound reasoning behind that. In an age where an unexpected expense equivalent to one weeks pay is a financial disaster to many, think about the repercussions of that policy. That would mean you need to come up with $30,000 plus closing costs (another $4-8k) before you could seriously consider buying a livable 2-3 bedroom house around here. Judging by the number of people financing basic, Sub-$20k cars, that would be a tough nut to crack for the vast majority of the population.
