Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Paid my property off today...

... 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!

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.

Strong work!

Great news. Enjoy it.

FB

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.

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!!!!!

Congratulations, JKB!

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.

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.

Great news.

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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?