... It ain't much, but it is my slice!
Sure feels good not having any debt at all
Makes sleeping so much easier
Congrat's!!!!!! That is one nice feeling for sure. Now... convince your county officials that it is a worthless piece and get those taxes as close to zero as possible.
NOW you need to buy more toys for your place!!
Congrats Phil. I can't wait to pay off my property and house. It will be a monkey off my back and I can start seriously expanding my aquaculture.
Congratulations. We did it back in January. What a feeling to get the deed in the mail.
We became debt free 2 years ago. We have no tax deductions and no interest payments.
However, we sure seem to have a lot of expenses.
However, we sure seem to have a lot of expenses.
Ain't that the truth! In a way, I'm glad I'm 25 miles from town. Otherwise it would be four trips to Lowes and Costco a day, rather than two or three a week.
So far I'm only semi retired, and my wife just plain quit her job. I'm worried about real retirement. Any good hints from the Ayatolah of Muleshoe?
Congrats!! That's got to be a great feeling.
It's a great feeling, congratulation also.
Thanks!
Now I can move on with my list of (cash) projects.
Ken, it seems that $100 in my pocket goes really quickly. And, I can seldom figure out where and how it disappeared. Right now I think I have $2.00 in my wallet. My gas gauge always seems to get close to empty in a hurry. I try to combine trips but it doesn't seem to help.
Most of the retirees that I know start playing more golf or fishing more or traveling or..... Then they/we realize that the money they spent will never be replaced. The opportunity to outlive your $ is an unsettling feeling. That seems to curb a lot of going.
Planning for retirement is the most important thing. I believe that credit cards sink most retirement plans. Loss of a job at a critical time/age is also a killer. I recently read that the average household is carrying $29,000 in credit card debt. Paying 25% more for things that you "need" is not all that bright. We started paying off the credit cards and reducing debt quite a few years ago. Had we not done that I could never have retired.
Seven or 8 years ago I bought 51.5 acres next to my original 133 acres. It is a neat place and I really liked it but bought it as an investment. When I sold it the profit allowed me to pay off the house, original 133 acres and my pickup.
My Wife is still working and loves her job. She makes pretty good money as a Paralegal in a large Dallas law firm. If we won the lottery(I don't play it) I'm not sure she would quit the job. When I moved my office to my home about 10 years ago I started doing most of the housework. I'm usually loafing around the house and she isn't. I refer to myself as the house bitch and heyboy.
The property was the last thing I had on credit. I am going to spend the next few years developing this into my retirement place. Nothing fancy at all, and only what the cash in my pocket will buy.
Many years ago, I had a very smart friend tell me there are 2 basic ways for the average person to be wealthy. One, cut your expenses and live within your means, or two, work more and live within your means.
We were drowning in credit card debt, and made the first decision. It was a hard struggle, but it was well worth it.
The thing we found out 15 years ago when we paid off our home, was that the expenses really didn't drop much. Taxes, Insurance, maintenance, etc, was almost as high as our mortgage, and we had no interest to write off.
Dave, I'm right behind you, and am planning on retiring late this year. My problem is that my pension, although very outstanding, is a target right now, as defined pension plans are under attack in both the private and public sectors. There's nothing to say that my pension will remain intact several years from now, and that makes it really hard to make long term plans.
Luckily, my wife also has a great job she's very happy with, so I can keep her working while I play. That's if playing is doing the laundry, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and feeding the cats is considered playing.
EDIT MY ME: I've already been told, that blowing out the house with my backpack blower is not considered cleaning.
It's unfortunate that the Great Depression gene was not transmitted from one generation to another .... never believed in "free money" (credit cards) - made payment to Credit Union to pay cash for cars and stuff .... payed off house early .... lived within our means ... saved and invested ...
I remember too well living in the country during "The Depression" when I was a kid - no indoor plumbing and a well for water ... I had a worn ot pair of cowboy boots that I paid a WWI vet 25 cents for repair - my Mama found out about it and cried ...
Don't owe nobody a dime to this day...
Hard times teaches good lessons - too bad present generations are learning the hard way.
It's unfortunate that the Great Depression gene was not transmitted from one generation to another ....
George, it's sad to say you're absolutely correct! We have lot's of "new hires" come rolling into the fire station with $60,000 new trucks, new iPhones, monogrammed gear bags, and they have no idea if they'll even have a job in a year.
Several years later, they get married, can't afford a home, and wind up riding overtime ambulances, working part time in hospital ER's, or cash sub for other guys in a failed attempt to keep their heads above water.
If they had lived through any of the struggles, maybe they would have a clue. My parents, who grew up in the depression era, still won't buy Blue Bell. They say it's to expensive.
JKB,
Congrats on paying off the house! The mrs. won't let me retire until we pay off the house (eta, 5.5 years).
I agree that "kids these days" are the "entitled generation." We have 4 children between 21 and 25 and they are good kids (no drugs or arrests, as far as we know) but they all seem to qualify otherwise. They want everything without having to "pay the price" first.
The one thing that puzzles me is that our parents probably said the same thing about us.
Congrats
JKB! What a sense of freedom you must now have. My land is paid off too, but has no house/cabin. So down the road I will have a cabin payment of some sort, but being single with no dependents and debt free I should be ok.
My parents raised my brother and myself with good values, and a value for money and how to earn it. They taught us how to set goals and achieve them.
One thing I'm glad I did, maybe unknowingly, was to get an Amex card when I was in college. The main point being that you had to pay the bill each month; there was no option of letting debt ride, or a sense of 'free' things.
I feel that my kids, while very intelligent and well rounded, are already spoiled. At my Mom & Dad's house, my Mom one time gave my two kids and my niece & nephew each a $100.00 bill; generally my Mom thought to give this money to the kids each Wednesday; I asked my Mom what thee hell she thought she was doing!!!??????? I had too wrestle that $100 bill out of my daughter's hand!!
Remember when you could impress a girl by slapping a Ben Franklin down on the bar?
I'm glad that I learned a while back what credit card debt will do to the budget. Now the only debt is the mortgage, everything else is paid off, and even tho I have credit cards, everything is on a cash basis. No carrying a balance on them. I'm also throwing any extra $$ towards the principal knowing that every $ more counts down the road.
I've got a buddy that's single. His philosophy is that whoever dies with the most toys wins, and he can't make ends meet if he doesn't work OT. I can't believe he has that mindset because he's got a Master Degree in Finance.
Congrats JKB, now you can afford to spread the wealth around.
Scott, there's a lot of difference in book learning and education.
Hey guys the wife says we can't get an exact amortization from the credit union according to them due to various factors. I say bull****. I want to know how much time until I pay the house off to the month.
Thoughts?
BS indeed. Whether fixed rate or adjustable with a balloon at the end,
they should be able to give you the info you need in seconds....
Credit Unions don't have to play by the same rule as banks! They can jack your principle up with fees that they deem appropriate at any time. Trust me!
Credit Unions can get away with a lot of stuff
Cecil, that also sound like BS to me. Every lending institution understands loan amortization.
However, if you know the remaining principal and interest rate, you can find a lot of free loan amortization sites.
I'm on the BS train as well. I can go on-line with my lender and the information is there in my account profile.
BS indeed. Whether fixed rate or adjustable with a balloon at the end,
they should be able to give you the info you need in seconds....
Fixed rate.
Congrats JKB
From a Dave Ramsey listener.
"If you live like no one else now......later you get live like no one else"
And "Now you get to Give like no one else"
Scott, there's a lot of difference in book learning and education.
The engineering field proves this. It is interesting the difference in "acquried" knowledge and "real-world" knowledge.
jludwig, those words are SO true!!
I had an Engineer try to tell me how to weld once. I said, "Well, if your way is so much better, here's the helmet and gun. Show me how to do it." His reply? I don't know how to weld....
Same guy would say "Here's my idea. Can you build it, and draw me a dimensioned sketch? I'll turn it into a print."
Ok, sure............. NOT!!!
Same guy would draw parts and assemblies but never check for interference fit. Not good when the parts have to be made from aluminum extrusions and extruding molds aren't cheap!
You guys have it right, try to get out of debt and stay out of debt. I never made big money but I learned this early in my 20's and practiced it all through life. So I retired at 58, that was a little chancy and I had to buy expensive medical insurance until SS kicked in, but I have had a really good life to my now 78. So the other part of this equation is having good health so you can enjoy your retirement and that takes some work just like being out of debt does. I eat vegan which has driven my cholesterol and blood pressure numbers down to super low levels and I walk and workout on weights twice a week. Throw some luck into this mix and this formula has worked for me.
I am in veterinary school right now. My wife is a teacher.
We have no debt... Oh wait, except for the 250,000 dollar debt I will have as a direct result of my education.
We save and put about 10k in the bank a year on her teacher's salary, but staring down 250k in debt is scary...
Reality is starting to kick in, and I am liking it!!!
Just wanted to add:
The amount of money you earn during your lifetime is finite. Same as heartbeats! How many heartbeats are you paying in interest and fees?
Hope that don't cause any trouble.
Maybe I've got it all wrong but I took out a loan for $150,000 for my property and if I pay the minimum amount after my mortgage is up I will have paid in $450,000. It almost seems criminal to me to make that much money when you get it in the first place from the feds for a low as 0.0 percent! Yes some banks are getting money from the feds as low as zip right now!
There's an abandoned house two houses down. The landlord went bankrupt. The bank got the house and kicked out the renter. Now it sits in 6 feet of weeds and is falling apart. Wouldn't it have made sense to keep the renter for the rent money and to keep up the house? A neighbor says the bank would rather write it off or is getting money from the government, which made it a better option to kick out the renter. Anyone see anything wrong with this picture?
Managing an active account on a rental property thru a bank is not what they are in business for.
The Sole Purpose of a financial institution is to Violate/use up the finite heartbeats one has to actually enjoy life, as intended.
May be pretty deep here, and only God knows how long I'll be hanging around, and that is cool! I just ain't gonna give my heartbeats to a financial institution.
I'm with ya Phil. I'm slowly expanding my aquaculture business with my own funds bit by bit or from investments in the family. I refuse to go to a bank and have some bean counter breathing down my neck. LOL
Been so busy I forgot to mention that my deed came in the mail. It looks pretty beat up tho, crossing many desks and being transported to different agency's.
My dad tells me that the county assessor was out a couple day's ago. Not one, but two! They are traveling in pairs now.
I suppose they do that, because one may just run faster than the other one
(If you don't get that, tax assessors are a nervous bunch, and the county may need backup info. if one don't make it)
Let me put it another way. Every one up there owns many more guns than they need, shoot all the time, and have dog's that are not confined in a pen! Big Dog's! Watch Dog's!
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