Yeah not northeast That won't get you a building lot. much less one with water power etc..... why so many young people are moving.. Yeah a I got 30 yo house out of foreclosure so I am easy 300k owing about half that.. anything similar 3 car garage 30 x 40 barn 22 acres 4 bedroom 3 bath post beam starts with 4 easy.. but Boston and NYC come here aND say it so cheap!
Hard to be debt free at a young age in Mass if you are a homeowner. We are OK, my goal is to do it by 40 but my math says 41. Now I'm kicking around a long term project of a garage add-on which would change those estimates unless I bite a little off as I go and just pay cash. It is a strong thought, but I like a large safety net too. Do I need it? No. But I can't take my money to my grave and we'd really enjoy the addition.
Even though I have never had a mortgage, if I had lived in one place for very long while younger, I likely would have. Often it is worth the loan for a home in order to get to the goal. But then kill it!! My situation, with many moves until I was almost 50, did not allow home ownership, but it did allow me to accumulate what I needed to buy my first and second home (when I moved again after 2 years! ) with cash. There is more than one way to the goal, but the less debt and the less time in debt, the better.
I will defend the younger folks debt a little. Our society has created the atmosphere for it to happen. Advertising bombardment everywhere and I mean everywhere for all the things they *need. It is now "keeping up with the Jones's while they do their best to stay one step ahead of you." Any society that places importance on what a man or woman has, rather than what they DO is not good. The fact that a dollar isn't worth much these days doesn't help either. I am not trying to make excuses, just stating my opinion on this matter. The kids in expensive college debt...oh my! $100,000 for an education? The emphasis on secondary education is partly to blame IMO as well. Never hear much about the trades anymore. I am not in great financial shape, but I'm working on it. Currently working to reduce my debt to $0 and am not far off from it. When that goal is achieved I plan to break ground on a modest new home. I have seen the ugly side of credit card debt, and don't wish it upon anyone. There is a trend of irresponsibility with money in America these days, no doubt....and it's not just the citizens. Monkey see, monkey do?
This is a HUGE part of it. In the "good old days" when people used to work hard and walked uphill barefoot in the snow both ways, you didn't need a secondary education to get a Good Paying Job - they were a dime a dozen. So you could start life debt-free and still support a family. Most of those jobs got shipped off to China. Nowadays, a secondary education is an absolute requirement for the vast majority of the jobs that pay enough to support a family. So, starting life debt-free is almost impossible. Choosing your career path can cost you a lot of money, and hopefully choose the right one so your gamble pays off and you end up with a job when the music stops.
I agree but at the same time disagree. My wife has a master degree in uhhhhhhh yada yada yada business. After she got out of college, she couldn't find a job good enough to pay for her student loans, now she has surpassed multiple people with 10+ more years experience than her and got multiple promotions over and above them. She now makes way more than enough to pay for her monthly student loans and also carries her weight in paying the everyday bills. These days she makes way more than I do and continues to climb in the company. And I beleive this all happened because of hard work, and also because she has a college education. Again just my opinion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I agree 100% that trades should be pushed more. My brother did very well as an electrician before he got tired of the union BS and changed jobs. But even when it comes to college, everyone wants to go to prestigious schools and go away to get that "college experience". All of my friends from HS went away to expensive private or expensive public colleges and lived in dorms or apartments and are still paying off debt. I decided to find the cheapest college that I could commute from my parents house, which happened to be a community college. Then I picked the cheapest university after that, also within driving distance. I was only forced to take out $5k in loans to pay for my junior year. My parents fed me when I was home and helped with gas for the first 2 years, everything else was 100% up to me. Some of my friends laughed at my degree since it was from a no-name college, but employers don't care as long as you have good grades and experience. I'm 33 and have worked as an engineer for 2 of the largest companies in the nation, most of my friends are still job-hopping and paying off loans.
I screwed my last post all up. This quote was supposed to go along with it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Getting the right degree can be wonderful for your earnings potential. Getting any old degree, not so much, and then the crushing debt. I think we are in agreement.
I think mattjm1017 had a good discussion on this topic also. What say you , Matt? How are you making out?
Awesome to hear that you wife is doing good! She is in the minority I think though. I have friends who went to good schools. One of them is a co-worker of mine. I didn't finish college and we make the same money. Another, who had went for physical therapy works in the oilfields with his degree. I think chances of success with a lofty degree increase if you live near a big city...out here...not so much. If I'd have been wise beyond my years, I would've went to adult education or tech school for maintenance. Snag a job at a school or municipality. Secure, decent pay & good benefits. My grandfather was a janitor for 38 years...he had $70,000 in the bank when he died. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Of course he didn't want or need the latest and greatest in material goods either. Good values. It's a shame that you essentially pay a job tax (student loans) in order to secure good employment nowadays. The ROI just doesn't make sense to me I guess. An engineer! Good choice! I don't have the math for that kind of work. I want to guess the companies... Lockheed? Walmart? I could be way off there. Honestly...my best choice would've been to enlist and get free college afterwards... That's what I tell the youngsters now. Sign up, get paid to learn stuff, then further that with college. A Veteran with a degree is someone who will get attention when their resume goes on the desk...at least it would on mine.
I also wanted to say that the actual cost of college has gotten rediculous which is in part why the loans are needed and the chaining debt is there. I actually feel pity towards some families I know whom are going to be sending kids off to college in 10 or so years. 3 kids = 1/4 million in education...maybe more...yup, the m word comes into play. Ludicrous.
I am planning to build a home. I thought I was close last spring (2015), but when I ran the numbers, I was not happy. The bank looked at me like I was crazy-the were willing to finance the entire cost of construction-I own the 10 acre lot and have a 30x50 pole barn on it already. I only wanted to finance about 50% of the cost, not relying on the sale of my current home for money and paying cash for excavation, well drilling, permits, etc. I also wanted to have enough money left over in my accounts for short term emergencies, etc. Just because the bank would loan me the money, didn't mean that it made sense to me and the way I want to live. I think too many people let lenders make the decisions for them, instead looking at the impact the payment will have on their lives- what % of income is the payment, what would happen if them or their spouse lost a job, how does it affect retirement planning, etc.
Same here. Took both of us working full time and 6 years for me to get a degree, graduated with $29K in school loans, with him typing/editing my papers on his days off (yes, still used typewriters back then). My degree opened more doors for me career wise, but twice he was hired too and quickly caught up to my earnings and then exceeded mine, without finishing his degree. In. The. Same. Job. Title. In 1990 we were we not yet married, but pre-approved for a home way over our comfort level, I think around $150K, huh? We ended up finding a cabin in 1993 for $67K despite the higher preapproval. Also, add diseases and chronic illness, its worse than losing a job, most are never able to work again, bigger percentage than anyone realizes.
1. Debt free is still the best. It is great at the end of the month knowing the only bills you pay are phone and electric. Of course then there are taxes and insurance and you do what you can to keep them as low as possible. I say live as cheaply as you can but be comfortable too. If you must have some debt, pay it off as soon as you can and don't create more. We really shake our heads when people talk about they can buy such and such a truck or car for only $xx.xx per month. Same for home. Mortgage a $200,000 home even at low interest rates then figure out what that home actually cost you....but still people will say they only paid $200,000 or whatever amount. Same for auto or truck. No, what you paid is that figure they gave you plus the interest you pay on top of it. Then you have insurance usually on the load, etc., etc. One of the best pieces of advice we ever stumbled upon was written by an old man by the name of Thoreau. He said something like, "The true cost of anything is the amount of life you have to give for it in return." That really sums it up nicely. Sad, but in my youth I had no parents to lead me down the right path; no advice at all and no help at all. Most kids that ended up in my situation would have really turned bad....and I came very close to it; maybe still am! When it comes to finances, yes, I made some mistakes in my youth but learned from it. My wife and I have been together now for 54 years and we bought our first home (yes, had a mortgage) before we were married. We also had made many of our life plans before we were married. One was that I told her if she would marry me, she would not be working outside the home. Her job was to be a home maker for me and to raise my children. For that, we lived on less money than most folks but we got along just fine. In addition, many times I turned down jobs that would have paid more than I was earning at the time but they were not worth it to me because we would have had to move into a city. Sorry; we are country folks and I hate even going into a city. Shoot, I hate even going to Marion Springs and it has one store and one house plus one closed bar. We'll happily stay in the country. One more thing is what we have. Compared to most folks, we have very little but we are happy with what we have. Funny though that most folks think we are rich but they would probably crap if they knew just how little we live on. Both of us are in our 70's but sadly, I lost my earning power almost 32 years ago because of an accident. (What would we have done had we no savings at the time?) Still, we keep on and we don't think we are living all that badly. We have a beautiful home, plenty of land and a nice car (bought new a couple years ago with no loan). We have most of what we need for our retirement years. Yes, some things could be easier if we had more dollars but we get along pretty well with what we have even if it is little. The biggest thing is we are happy with what we have and the friends we have too. Priceless.
I'll add I know young/middle aged/and elderly people in serious debt and still living beyond their means. The sad part is some of the middle aged and obviously the elderly have no chance to work it off,.
