squirrel

" I'm 3k in front of my bike so even if I sold it today I'd come out of it with money in my pocket. " and if you wrecked it tomorrow? many people do not factor in risk into having an object that they owe on. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

[reply} Telling somone to take all their excess $$$ out of the market at a time like this is almost negligent. Most in are way down right now but it's only an on paper loss, that is unless they sell and not reinvest. well of course. if you have put in 125k and its worth 100k if you pulled it...that would add 25k to the cost of the purchase of the house. but if you had made 25K on a 100k investment, and had all the other things in place....3 to 6 months expenses, saving 15% of income, no other debt. yes, i would use the 125K to buy a home. then, i would take the amount that my mortgage would have been, and continue to invest that every month, at a minimum. follow? ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

you are far beyond what Dave Ramsey is all about. most people do not have a good savings plan at all, so his plan is all about them getting to a great starting point, and then going further. once you have your wealth building plan in place and are taking action...sure, you can, and will go beyond the basic steps. Ramsey is kind of like the "get out of debt for dummies"

are you saying you would borrow money to make a few points in the market? risky. personally, i would not do it. analyzing risk of the open market is very very ....well, risky. No. I'm not saying taking a loan to put money into the market. I'm saying taking a loan instead of taking money already in the market out.

are you saying you would borrow money to make a few points in the market? risky. personally, i would not do it. analyzing risk of the open market is very very ....well, risky. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

yes, it is true. i would call churchill mortgage. but, according to their web page, it has gotten more difficult, but can still be done. it seems that the reason it has become more difficult is because of all the defaults, from people that had credit scores....go figure. here is the web page about no credit score mortgages. http://www.churchillmortgage.com/info/no-credit-score.aspx i would agree that if you are going to have a credit score, yes, i have one, near 800, that you either make sure it is very very good, or zero. not having one at all is more easy to explain than having a poor one, agreed? not sure i would ever want to work for a employer who is going to run my credit score, but, i can't say for sure that it would not happen, the future is yet to be determined. hopefully, if i continue on my current plan, i will continue to be able to choose whom i do business with. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

Who said we are in debt???? WE have ZERO debt. And we do work on a cash basis. We live in a foreign country, we HAVE to work on a cash basis. you did... "and I'm only about $300 in debt right now." you may consider it small, but it is debt. no that was me. not all 20 yr olds are the same person. Sorry for the super thread jack! I'll make it up to you I promise

Who said we are in debt???? WE have ZERO debt. And we do work on a cash basis. We live in a foreign country, we HAVE to work on a cash basis. you did... "and I'm only about $300 in debt right now." you may consider it small, but it is debt. That was missbrz, not me. Sorry, I just did a major thread jack. whoops, and i just made a big boo boo. i was just trying to say that the education system in this country does not do its fair share to educate people on even how to balance a check book. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

huh? so. i work for myself, and am paid in green cash or checks, which is cash. not sure i get what you are trying to say. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

Who said we are in debt???? WE have ZERO debt. And we do work on a cash basis. We live in a foreign country, we HAVE to work on a cash basis. you did... "and I'm only about $300 in debt right now." you may consider it small, but it is debt. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

ok. good. your more on track than i thought. here is a suggestion. we periodically need new vehicles. most, if not all, do not "budget" for this, and it hits them hard if an engine blows, wreck their car, or whatever. how about making a "payment" to a car fund, in the form of a mutual fund for five years. then, if, and i say if, you need a new car...its paid for, and you have made interest. if not, like us, we drive a 262,000 mile car...you have more in the bank.

"Yeah, we know where our big "leak" is, but we don't consider it a leak since it's worked into our budget." really, budget? what kind of budget allows you to go into debt. well, the same one the US government operates on i guess. i mean really, come on, listen to what you just said..."its worked into our budget." maybe you should try the envelop system, where you put money into envelops labeled for each spending area, and ONLY spend what you budget. you are not on a budget if you are in debt. period. whatever happened to paying with cash for something?! sorry, i am just passionate about this. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

Hey NWFlyer...just noticed your in the bay area. I was up there this weekend.

But so many people do ... and then complain about how much they spend on food. Well, if you're buying a latte every morning, having lunch out every day at work and getting takeout at night ... yeah it's gonna add up. Yeah, we know where our big "leak" is, but we don't consider it a leak since it's worked into our budget. We have a lot of very good places to eat around here, and we want to try them all before we leave I'm just wondering what else we could be missing financially. A lot of people mention that they wish they knew what they know now back in their 20s. I know we're young, so most likely we're missing some key "thing," I just don't know what it is.... and with that statement, i see the failure of our education system. we can teach people how to do brain surgery, but not about how to manage their money. you sound like your smart, and close to being debt free. go pick up a Dave Ramsey, Suzie Orman, or other book on how to live debt free. I was in debt in my 20s, it sucked big time. living within your means is not hard, but, in today's society it is "uncommon." so you will not get good advice from most people. if someone gives you advice on how to spend your money, ask them to see their balance sheet, or how much debt they have...you have got to know where the advice is coming from. and if your "means" is not satisfying enough, then don't go into debt...make more money! ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

40K a year is perfectly reasonable in a lot of parts of the country, especially (as you've said) if your home is paid off. Like others here, I wish I'd gotten my financial house in order a little earlier, but it's in order now and I've got no plans to let it get out of order again. I pay myself first on every paycheck - max amount goes into company retirement plan, then 20% of my net pay goes straight into a savings account so I never see it - that's my short-term "keep myself afloat" account. I don't acquire a lot of "stuff" anymore - I prefer to use my money for experiences, some of which would be considered indulgent, but they're important to me so I choose to do them as long as I can afford them - skydiving of course, travel, concerts, my personal trainer. If I can find "stuff" I need used, all the better - sometimes the time/effort it takes to try to find something used makes me realize I didn't need it in the first place. i hear you on the "experiences." stuff is just stuff, our society seems to make people think that who ever has the most is the best. me, i don't really want to have a big pile o' crap that has to be hauled to the dump when i die.

Shah who? never heard of him. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

and i would guess that about 89% of baby boomers never expect to have a paid for home/condo/whatever, therefore this added expense in their older years forces them to keep working. an earlier post said a $40k a year income from a Roth IRA would not be enough. guess what, i sometimes have years that I only make that, or less, but since i have no debt, no mortgage, no car payment... its fine, my bills are covered. And, when the $ does roll in, it stacks up real fast because i have no debt. being debt free is kind of like trying to explain to a wuffo about skydiving, if you haven't done it, sadly you just don't understand. and it is hard and scary to do that first jump, (pay that first debt off), but after that...it gets better and better and better.

Other reasons not to rent. 1. Your Landlord can sell at anytime, forcing you to move. 2. Your Landlord may not make the mortgage payments (if there is one), the house will be foreclosed on, and you will be forced to move. (I deal with this weekly.) 3. Your Landlord can raise the rent. Unless you are a dumb ass and signed an adjustable mortgage, your payment will remain the same. But again, go ahead and rent forever, and make others rich. It works for me. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

"Yeah! 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch homes in my neighborhood are now listing with price tags of only $1.3M price tags and selling for just $1.1M." Dude, I know the cost of real estate. I grew up in 94022. Sure I would like to live there, but Prop 13 would not apply to me, and I refuse to pay taxes on a million dollar "ranch" Yes, there are always the upper and the lower ends of the market. I understand taxes, and cost of owning vs. renting. If you can insure that you will have a passive income, then rent till you die. But you better get busy investing, building a business, or something to pay that rent.. when you are unable to work anymore. "While real estate prices have dropped, there are still many places where the cost to "own" (rent most of the money from the bank) is over double what it costs to rent a comparable property in the same neighborhood and school district." True, but I would submit that if you don't get in now, you never will. "There are also places where it's much less expensive to buy than rent although I wouldn't want to live there." Yep, thats the price of real estate. But guess what, my 6 tenants are paying for my 6 houses, some of which will be sold, to purchase a house where I want to ultimately live. Sure I own rentals where I would not live...its business. From which you might be able to safely draw $40K/year in retirement income if you plan on living a while. Yeah, well I could go out and do what most Americans do, and get a car on credit and not plan for retirement, and hope the government or my kids will take care of me, but I guess I am just different. I do plan to live awhile, and if I don't the Roth will be left to my yet unborn children, or some charity. But once I pass the 5 year rule, should be all good, and if I do live awhile, it will be simply more money to add to the pot of my other investments...while others pay their ... rent. Good luck with your plan. Let me guess, you think we should all go out and buy gold. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

today i cooked, cleaned the bathroom, and did laundry. to bad we are not gay, i might be for you. 5'7", 27" waist, 125lbs. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

yep, me too. and my house, cars, bikes, scuba gear, ultralight, jump gear and all the crap in my yard, all run and feel "better" being paid for. i dont even blink when the cost of maintaining them comes up, and thats what people forget. i would hate to have a payment, and the cost of maintaining and item too. the thing about owing on an item is that it owns you. and, i don't let the things i own, own me. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

No worries there. The memories of Boogie in Belize 2010 will always be with me. we went to Belize, twice, not for the boogie but to dive, and paid for it up front with CASH. Its called a "budget."

In 2001 my realtor thought I was crazy for not buying the most expensive house for which I could get a loan. Instead, I bought a house that required about half that loan amount. 4 years later I paid off the 20 year loan early. bravo!!!! its a shame you realtor did not give you better advice. but most realtors are nitwits. we are a Dave Ramsey ELP realtor...that means trying to keep the client from over buying, 20% down at least, 15 year fixed, and so on. The only thing that is saving me while I am underemployed is the fact that I purchased a house that was cheaper than I could afford, was way ahead on my payments when the shit hit the fan and I live in a duplex. My tenants rent covers my mortgage and a good chunk of the taxes and utilities. Yep. excellent. very good. I used to build, and we had a 12 month emergency fund...the only way we got through. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?

Can i use my credit card to buy those? NO. His company only takes debit cards, not credit. and I believe the podcasts are free. ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him?