DEBT FREE!!!

I may be the minority on here and TW, but truck mods can wait. There’s more important things if money is tight

 

Yep. Each of those 3 has squandered at least 1 semester. I did cut off the school money after that. If they want me to help pay for school, they have to pay for a semester on their own and show me they want to be there.

 

Yup, the rich stay rich for a reason. They know how to use the tax system. I have a home based business myself and it helps tremendously on my taxes.

 

Great advice, and yes I agree. My mom is an accountant and deals with trusts quite a bit with her clients.

 

@ColoradoTJ.... That is step 2..... I have an LLC with a trust. It is sad that debt is one of the best shelters for asset protection. A large umbrella policy is also a good investment.

 

Just have the house and 1.5 years on the tundra left. Paid off 30k in credit card debt last October it felt amazing. Working towards the rest now

 

Living the dream debt free is awesome, but there will always be bills to pay (expected & unexpected) so having a couple of rainy day savings accounts here & there is also awesome.

 

Medical bills are a huge issue these days that a lot of people don't realize. I know it was mentioned here a few times, but I mean the other who aren't on this forum. It doesn't take much to land in the ER or just a general easy in and out procedure, such my my carpel tunnel release, to rack up close to 7-10k in bills AFTER insurance over the 2 year course of doctor visits and procedures. We got slammed with bills last year from my wife going in, then me. Throw that on top of regular credit card use and you have a recipe for disaster. We're slowly chipping away and hopefully we'll stop the living paycheck to paycheck issue.

 

I am working on doing the same. Part of it is a discipline thing. I have to resist buying new toys and more expensive things than I need (no "dream houses"). Of course, paying $43k for my 2016 Toyota Tundra (paid for now) is one of those things I probably should not have done in hindsight (the most expensive vehicle I have ever purchased), and the same goes to the two motorcycles I have purchased (paid for but not smart to spend that kind of money). I now need to keep my truck for at least 10 years and drive my miles out of it and stop buying toys. Congrats on your debt freedom and thanks for inspiring others to do the same.

 

That is VERY smart to downsize. Too many folks want to live in their own version of there "dream house" or mini-mansion and spend way too much of their lives paying for it. A house is most folks largest expenditure and it is the best bang for the buck to make a huge change.

 

Very inspiring. I especially like how you downsized to a really small house. I have been daydreaming about doing something like that as well. I also like the idea of being somewhat of a "minimalist". The big problem with people is we want too many things which turns your life into a rat race and costs a lot of money for no good reason. I saw a documentary on minimalism and liked a lot about it, but of course one can do a less extreme version of it and the same with the tiny house. I don't want a tiny house on a trailer, but one may 700-800 square feet out away from large cities appeals to me. I have an extra incentive here in TX to have a small house because our property taxes are crazy high, so the less house the less you pay in property taxes.

 

This is my problem. I like expensive toys and trucks

 

It depends on what state you live in as to whether you get any liability protection from your own trust that you create for your own assets (self-settled trust). In Texas it does not work in general. You only get trust protection from a trust that was gifted to you by someone else or one where you gift your assets away to someone else--not one you create yourself with your own assets where you are the beneficiary of the trust. Fortunately we have strong statutory protections here in TX for homesteads, IRAs, 401ks, etc. that cannot be touched by creditors or lawsuits. By the way, I am an attorney so I do know something about this area.

 

What were the others?

 

Same

 

Off topic, but this reminds me of a class I took in undergrad. It was a "decision-making" class that was full of graduating seniors who took the class just to fulfill graduation requirements. Anyway, the course was at Colorado School of Mines, and near the end of the class, we all were supposed to present a big decision to the class that we were going to soon be making, then we would go through a pros/cons routine for each option for the presenter.

One of the kids was a guy from Texas and his decision was whether to take a job back home in Texas, or take one in Colorado. So, the pros/cons of each option were discussed. First up was Texas. The pros were mostly given by the guy from Texas:

pros: Weather, people are friendly, food, jobs, and I think someone said housing, etc., etc.,
cons: Hot as balls, flat, no good mountains, etc, etc, etc.

then we moved on to Colorado:

pros: weather, mountains, skiing, you are upstream from everybody, etc

when we moved on to the cons, one kid raised his hand and gave the first con: "Too many Texans".

That was funny.

Anyway, carry on.

 

We say the same about Californians

 

I like this idea as well. Look how many people can't even park their expensive vehicles in their garage. When you see it open it's completely full of useless garbage. Most of it could be thrown away and they would never miss it. My wife and I have been purging stuff from our house in preparation to downsize. We're hoping to go from 2000 sq ft to 1000.

Yep. I've visited Texas close to 10 times and each time I hate it more. I really thought I would like it as their "values" and outlook on things seem to line up with me. But my god, as an actual place to live, NO WAY! It's ugly, flat, and horribly hot. It's also extremely crowded and the property taxes are something you would see in CA or IL. TN beats Texas in every category except job prospects(for me). I think it might be the most over-hyped state in the union. It's just not as great as Texans pretend it is. And they are getting flooded from people from CA.

x3. When I lived in FL we said the same thing to all the New Yorkers that moved there.

 

That's true. To be fair, most of my experience has been in/around DFW which is like hell to me. I didn't find people to be very friendly. I'm sure I'd have a better opinion of Texas if I got outside the metroplex. I'd like to visit hill country.

 

Yeah the metro areas of Texas leave much to be desired, as with most big cities. Definitely visit the hill country or some of the more rural areas an you will fall in love.

 

A fellow Ramsey fan!!
Congrats!!

Just paid off my truck a month ago, not rolling over on one or two more CC’s and finally my wife’s student loans! Should be completely debt free in 5 years (ish)

 

Just my thoughts.

Many people think you have to save your way to success, or cut back and cut back more. I once had a conversation with a "financial consultant" who was in a room giving advice to people. He was like, if your expenses are $1500 to $3000 a month you are in a world of shit, you have to make drastic changes.

I'm like, maybe so, but what if my income is $10,000 to $15,000 a month? Is it that big of a deal?

Not saying one should NOT minimize BS debt and dumb expenses but there are ways to get out there are GET AFTER it and EARN your way to success instead of skrimping and cutting back and being frugal. People tend to believe they are boxed it and that isn't the case, it's about seeking those opportunities, taking risks and not being a dumbass.

Good luck to everyone. All debt isn't bad debt.