DEBT FREE!!!

I don’t know what planet he’s on, but I’m pretty sure just about everyone with a mortgage, plus taxes and insurance, already fall into that $1500-3000 threshold.

 

He was trying to scare people...so hence I'm like bro c'mon now. Dave Ramsey zealot, what can I say.

 

I’d highly recommend the millionaire fast lane by MJ Demarco.

I remember growing up I saw my parents struggle significantly. I vowed that I would never be in any of those financial hardships.
Ive been working since I was 14. Right after high school I got a credit card but set a $500 limit. Still have that limit today. As I’m going to school I setup a payment plan, no need to take out a loan IMO for my particular school. My rule is if I can’t afford two of whatever item I’m buying in cash then I can’t afford it. I’ve since been learning how I can leverage my assets. Time is most valuable to me. I do have a business that I can use to write off all truck expenses, fuel, travel, insurance. That does come in handy. I’m 22 and it’s crazy to see my peers blow cash as soon as they get it. They always use their paycheck on the next gadget, meal, night out for short term satisfaction. As far as medical bills they rack up fast!!! I currently have a high deductible plan meaning I pay 100% of my medical bills until I reach my deductible $3,000. Then after that everything is 100% insurance no co-pay nothing out of my pocket. In addition to the high deductible plan I have a health savings account where I can place pre tax contributions to a debit card ( no more than $3,500 per year) for medical expenses only. My rule is to have $3,500 every year in that account so anything that may happen is covered so my checking account doesn’t see the hit. My tundra is the most debt I have but will be paid for by the end of the year as I chip away. Only reason it was purchased was because my Tacoma finally died on me and I didn’t see the justification in being 10k deep in a 15 year old truck that’s depreciating everyday so no way of ever getting anything out of it. Other than that I “Act my Wage” and do what needs to be done to get to my end goal. Huge congrats to you @Deuxlatch for your achievement.

 

^^^TRUTH brother^^^, GOOD LAWYERS ARE KEY!!! my mother in law lost everything after pops passed away last year. She had no will, no trust, her name not on the deed to the home. Now a probate catastrophe, she was Denied all death benefits from the VA..A complete & Total clusterf@@@. appeals pending, litigation inbound.

As for this thread I'm not debt free by any stretch of the imagination. Life laughed at my spreadsheet and told me to take a flying leap off a bridge .. facing a 75% loss of income (mine and my wife's) after a catastrophic work injury, she had to leave work to be my full time caregiver. We had kids in college a few years later followed by kids getting married... bills piling up floor to ceiling. And after many years of stall and delay tactics by my former employer..We're finally almost done.Thank you God! 7 years of litigation to square away my injuries received on the job. Prolly be closer to 8 by the time we see any money. We do have a kick ass attorney!

And when we finally finish this mess; I won't be rich, but we will be financially free of consumer debt. We will have three income producing properties and options we didn't have before. First thing we are going to do GOD willing is leave California for good. After years of searching we have settled on Georgia man I would have sworn on my kids it was going to be Arizona or Idaho. But after all is said and done we have decided as a family it's gonna be Georgia. Lastly throwing in some part time in Hawaii during July August and September!!!!!

I realize the journey is long and often painful for each of us; and we all have different starting points, I just thank God for the opportunity for the financial freedom coming down the road. I wish that freedom on everyone here! I wish everyone a glorious retirement filled with; Tundras, hot rods, Harley's and a fine assortment of weaponry!! (vroom vroom & boom boom) Cuz...Murica'

Cheers compadres!

 

@Jmad1997 That is kick ass to see you at your age doing this. I'm 41 and started at 30. I was never financially stupid, but I had my priorities wrong. I had to get shit on by a few employers before I got angry enough to make things happen. Check out Kiyosaki's book rich dad poor dad. I suggest that you VERY CAREFULLY find some mentors. I have probably got more than 6 mentors in my network to bounce ideas off of. Ironically not all of them are successful. Pick a few guys who have gotten divorced, burned everything to the ground, and lost it all. They are the most willing to tell you how not to do things. Tear a page out of as many play books as you can as you make your own. Finally get a good accountant and a better attorney. The attorney is not for litigation and lawsuits... They are for purchase agreements, trusts, LLC's, S Corps etc... I have at least one meeting a year where I pay my attorney and my accountant to sit down and make sure that the left knows what the right is doing. Last but never least, pick the right spouse. I didn't get married until I was 34. The right person will take you to your destination in much less time. Like construction 2 people can accomplish the work of 3 when working together.

 

What are the other four states, I'm getting ready to retire.

 

Very interesting thread.

 

Is there somewhere that isn’t hot in Arizona?

 

Arizona is a neat state you can be in Phoenix area in say December and be at 60-70 degrees and then drive 2-3 hours and be in the snowy mountain country. I love it here in AZ. Also back on topic with this thread. I’m a huge Dave Ramsey fan myself. And I think something to remember is once your debts are paid off make sure your investing your money. Make that money work for you. And the younger you start the better off you’ll be. I’m only 31 and my wife and I have set our selves up well by following Ramsey and other great financial motivators advice. I know people that make more annually from their investments then they do by going to work.

 

Something to consider for the debt free crowd. I took on 400k in debt 2.5 years ago in a home and...I now have almost 200k in equity in that house and that's just one outlet. Layer that and well....you can see where I'm going.

The "no debt" and "cash is king" is one way to look at it, I also have 2 Amex cards where I pull back at least 2-3 grand a year in real cash on rewards points just by using them for normal every day purchases.

Again, it's all in how you manage it but there are definitely other avenues to explore if you do it right. I think Dave Ramsey is a circus clown but to each his own.

 

I wouldn't call Dave Ramsey a circus clown, he does have great advice when it comes to money management. I don't just rely on his advice alone either, I listen to multiple financial gurus and use that knowledge to decide for myself what works best for me. I don't think one person has the best answer, that's why you need to listen and study multiple avenues. Just my $0.02

 

NE Georgia?

 

Congratulations on your new found financial status. For me, I’ve always been a sucker for the shiny and pretty stuff.. always had to buy it and it became impulsive and uncontrollable. Now, I’ve become impulsive at taking every last spare dollar and paying off any lingering debt.

 

I think that's the best thing you can do, looking at what multiple sources say. I personally, disagree with alot of Dave Ramsey's advice. His advice is great for people who are financially illiterate and drowning in consumer debt. But if you understand basic saving, good and bad debt and have some discipline his advice can actually become problematic.

 

I know people who use credit cards with little to no rewards. What a waste. If done correctly you can make out quite nicely with cards like the Chase Sapphire. You should be making money from using a card. The problem is that so many people are irresponsible with them and then blame the card. I have never carried a balance and pay my card off each month. My wife and I use the benefits to get a ton of free travel. I got the Sapphire card in March and already have around $800 in free travel. We will probably have enough points to pay for the majority of our trip next year for my wife's 30th birthday.

 

I have one but I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for. It requires manual entry which most people find to be too much work. I work in excel every day so it's easy for me. Others seem to prefer the Mint app since it does it for you automatically. I tried that app and didn't like it at all.

 

I tend to agree with you. I didn’t do college, but my wife did. It gave her a better head start, but I eventually overtook her in income. She made a lot more than I did for many years, but once I found something I was good at, I made up for it.
I think it’s mainly because a college degree isn’t as rare as it used to be. When we were younger, almost no one was going to college, now it seems like most do. It used to carry more weight.
It’s actually pretty depressing the amount of people with college degrees who apply for our warehouse positions. They graduate, spend time trying to find work that their degree prepares them for, and eventually just start trying to find something to pay the bills.
The biggest problem there, is I will almost never call someone with a degree in for an interview. I figure they’re only going to stick around long enough to find something better, so I’m not going to bother. I’d bet most employers do the same thing. It leaves them in a Catch 22. No jobs in their field, and no blue collar type companies want them either.
That’s why I’ve always stressed to my kids that if they go to college, focus on something that’s needed, and something that would make them happy. My girls are going for education degrees. While they won’t likely make big bucks, they’ll be happy and teachers are always needed.

There are a few guys in my company with degrees, but they could’ve gotten to the same place without them. Hell, the owner of our company was a music major in college....

 

I am from Texas, and I don’t want to chat or share steaks with anyone.

 

I’m sure we have one, but my wife handles all of that. I’ve got to get my money’s worth out of her accounting degree.

 

I agree to an extent. I have a 2yr associates degree in Industrial Technology and it opened a few doors for me, but my work experience made me the money. Education is something no one can take away from you and is a great investment but the price you have to pay for it these days is astronomical for what you actually get.

 

Not everyone makes $10,000-15000 a month and excess debt can be a burden for most. To quote Dave R. and the Bible, "the Borrower is Slave to the Lender".....

I wish I could get my wife on board with a more debt free concept. Other than a mortgage, a car lease, and a monthly Credit card we are debt free. We do pay off the Credit card monthly; having not carried a balance in probably 15 or more years - its our airline mileage program . We recently paid off a 0% $10k home improvement loan, and she is ready to do it again, another $10k-15k!!!

 

Here’s my story

I smoked Marijuana in high school and was a ditching master. I barely graduated and in fact had to go to summer school after my senior year to get my Diploma. My dad took me to the recruiting office and said it’s time for your ass to become a man. Keep in mind, this is back in the day when you got your ass handed to you for talking back. My first 5 years in the military was a credit nightmare. Our own fault. We used credit cards to finance every fuckin thing ! After 20 years in the military, I retired with those shitty credit cards. I then started another career and realized there was no way to pay the shit off unless we had another income. My wife then started and graduated from a LPN program making approx. 3500 dollars a month. Luckily we had never relied on a second income. I realized right away that was our ticket out. I finished my second career and retired at 51 years old. All of the bills were subsequently paid off with the exception of the 1200 dollar mortgage payment. I hold no secrets, My total income is 4400 a month.. Keep up the fight and good luck to everyone.

 

I listened to a podcast about student loans a while back. It’s pretty horrendous the way that industry is run. Nobody holds a gun to your head, but it’s borderline predatory.

https://www.stufftheydontwantyoutoknow.com/podcasts/the-student-loan-conspiracy.htm