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[RumblingRosco]

Speaking of Dave Ramsey, I was actually watching this video (Top10 Debt Free Screams on The Dave Ramsey Show) a couple of days ago, and you feel the struggle that these people went through. The first part of the video shows where a couple started with 105k in debt, the husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the middle of their journey and passed away at the young age of 30 a few months before reaching their goal. But she was able to power through and finish a few months later in her husband's memory. Her life is forever changed. Yes, she lost her spouse but because of the sacrifices they made in that four years she is in a good place financially for the rest of her life..

I'm watching the video still, but I don't think they mentioned the interest rate on the home loan. If it was a low interest rate, it would seem to me that aggressively paying off the loan is a financial loss vs investing in an index-tracking mutual fund. It's certainly great to not have debt, but there's a very mathematically-logical argument which would suggest that having debt isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on the interest rate and your investment choices.

I'll say this though, it's still very impressive what that first couple managed to do, not even including the fact that they did this as relatively young people while battling an unimaginable medical diagnosis. I certainly don't mean to take away from their hard work, but I want to highlight that home loans, especially being historically low lately, can actually be "good" debt if you're investing money you'd otherwise be putting into paying off your mortgage.

 

[fatty]

I'm watching the video still, but I don't think they mentioned the interest rate on the home loan. If it was a low interest rate, it would seem to me that aggressively paying off the loan is a financial loss vs investing in an index-tracking mutual fund. It's certainly great to not have debt, but there's a very mathematically-logical argument which would suggest that having debt isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on the interest rate and your investment choices.

I'll say this though, it's still very impressive what that first couple managed to do, not even including the fact that they did this as relatively young people while battling an unimaginable medical diagnosis. I certainly don't mean to take away from their hard work, but I want to highlight that home loans, especially being historically low lately, can actually be "good" debt if you're investing money you'd otherwise be putting into paying off your mortgage.

You're right, they did not mention the interest rate. Ramsey's steps take into account human emotion and not just what is best mathematically. For example, he also recommends paying off the smallest debt first instead of the largest interest rate, the thought being that seeing less bills will provide more motivation to keep going.

I definitely understand where you are coming from. Just for myself, it is much more important for me to own my home outright than trying to make a little more through index fund investments vs. mortgage interest. There is always that element of risk involved and if you plan to pay off a home loan in 5-7 years there is always the chance that there can be a market correction where we have 2-3 down or not so great years. That and I just hate debt, haha. I'm planning to get into real estate in the next few years and I'm at a crossroads on whether I want to use leverage to purchase properties or not.

When I get some free time, I am actually planning on doing posts on mortgages (and the idea of "good debt") and credit cards.

 

[fatty]

How to Win Friends and Influence People is on sale for $.50 at Google Play and Amazon:

Google Play

Amazon Kindle

 

[thoseAREmySHOES]

Tagged. I'm currently 26, debt-free and have a healthy amount in the bank. Still renting an apartment though, and I just really don't like the housing market right this second. But essentially setting myself up for passive income sources in the next ~15 years is a serious goal of mine.

 

[Absinthe]

You're right, they did not mention the interest rate. Ramsey's steps take into account human emotion and not just what is best mathematically. For example, he also recommends paying off the smallest debt first instead of the largest interest rate, the thought being that seeing less bills will provide more motivation to keep going.

I definitely understand where you are coming from. Just for myself, it is much more important for me to own my home outright than trying to make a little more through index fund investments vs. mortgage interest. There is always that element of risk involved and if you plan to pay off a home loan in 5-7 years there is always the chance that there can be a market correction where we have 2-3 down or not so great years. That and I just hate debt, haha. I'm planning to get into real estate in the next few years and I'm at a crossroads on whether I want to use leverage to purchase properties or not.

When I get some free time, I am actually planning on doing posts on mortgages (and the idea of "good debt") and credit cards.

Great OP, subbed.

I'm with you on this. Being debt free other than my mortgage the drive to pay off my house ~13 years early is my primary focus. Percentage wise I could possibly make a little more investing but the freedom that comes with having zero house payment is too appealing.

OP pretty much nailed everything. I would say for me the greatest change towards financial freedom was starting a budget and setting goals. Once that is in place your perspective changes and you start living with purpose financially.

Tagged. I'm currently 26, debt-free and have a healthy amount in the bank. Still renting an apartment though, and I just really don't like the housing market right this second. But essentially setting myself up for passive income sources in the next ~15 years is a serious goal of mine.

Depending on where you live the housing market is ridiculously overpriced right now. Things should settle down in 2018 and balance out, but nothing like the crash of 07-08.

As for the passive income, I have a close friend who developed one app and is making 100k annually on it with some minor support here and there. It's pretty crazy the number of passive income opportunities there are nowadays if you can learn a few skills and dedicate the time.

 

[Splash Wave]

I have absolutely no debt (thank god) and I make a decent-ish amount of money given my simple lifestyle. That said, I don't do anything productive with my income: I put away a small handful of it each month into a savings account, but I know there's probably more I should be doing. I don't budget, either, which means that the amount of money I stash away always varies. And probably because I don't have any debt or major bills, I tend to spend my money pretty frivolously, and I want to stop doing that.

Can anyone send me any guides/links to getting financially "in shape," generally? What are the best ways to budget? Are there any apps/spreadsheets I should be using to better monitor my expenditures?

 

[ParityBit]

What do you guys prefer? YNAB or Every Dollar?

I am trying to get organized with a budget as my wife and I are closing in on becoming debt free (except for my car loan which I am bypassing to move onto other things).

 

[NoblesseOblige]

• 62% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings
  
• The average Near-Retirement American Household has 12k saved for its retirement

Man these stats are depressing. I feel pretty 'average' in what I'm earning but I still have 30~35 years before retirement age and I already have significantly more than $12,000 saved for retirement.

 

[NandoGip]

Almost debt free... started at like $20k one year and a half ago, and im at about $6k... not significant compared to some but I make under $40k so its taken a lot of sacrifice. Ive also managed to put away about $5k in my 401k. Next step is fix my credit and build up my savings.

Had to give up my car, say no hundreds of times to friends, go hungry some days, and more.. all worth it for the day my finances are in order

 

[Zips]

Great OP, subbed.

I'm with you on this. Being debt free other than my mortgage the drive to pay off my house ~13 years early is my primary focus. Percentage wise I could possibly make a little more investing but the freedom that comes with having zero house payment is too appealing.

OP pretty much nailed everything. I would say for me the greatest change towards financial freedom was starting a budget and setting goals. Once that is in place your perspective changes and you start living with purpose financially.



Depending on where you live the housing market is ridiculously overpriced right now. Things should settle down in 2018 and balance out, but nothing like the crash of 07-08.

As for the passive income, I have a close friend who developed one app and is making 100k annually on it with some minor support here and there. It's pretty crazy the number of passive income opportunities there are nowadays if you can learn a few skills and dedicate the time.

What does your friend's app do?

 

[RumblingRosco]

Almost debt free... started at like $20k one year and a half ago, and im at about $6k... not significant compared to some but I make under $40k so its taken a lot of sacrifice. Ive also managed to put away about $5k in my 401k. Next step is fix my credit and build up my savings.

Had to give up my car, say no hundreds of times to friends, go hungry some days, and more.. all worth it for the day my finances are in order

Paying off $14,000 in the span of 18 months while earning less than $60,000 is a huge amount paid off, especially considering you put $5,000 of that less than $60,000 into retirement. You devoted more than 25% of your income towards paying off debt, and it's an even higher percentage if that $60,000 is pre-tax. You should be very proud of that progress.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Thank you ! Subbed.

 

[NandoGip]

Paying off $14,000 in the span of 18 months while earning less than $60,000 is a huge amount paid off, especially considering you put $5,000 of that less than $60,000 into retirement. You devoted more than 25% of your income towards paying off debt, and it's an even higher percentage if that $60,000 is pre-tax. You should be very proud of that progress.

Thank you for putting things into perspective like that. I've also paid my way through school out of pocket... about $6k so far for about 7 classes. Luckily my rent and groceries are insanely cheap.

I'm proud of my self, it almost feels like I'm bragging, but being brutally honest, my motivation is the regret and shame I feel for getting into the position in the first place. I was making good money a few years ago but I was more than irresponsible with it. On the flip side, I've always been the type of person that has to learn my lessons hard and fast, so i'm kind of thankful at the same time.

I'm looking at being debt-free as a new start.

 

[Servbot24]

Subbed!

I've got 12k in student loans. It was 36k when I graduated 6 years ago, and the first few years I had to defer them because I was making around 10k a year. Thankfully I got a better job 3 years ago (made 35k starting, up to 60k now), so that's when I started actually paying more off.

I could have finished them off end of this year, but I decided I would do some traveling. I just kinda realized that I would never find the perfect time to do so and I couldn't keep putting that off. So I'm more likely to finish student loans a few months into next year now. I have about 6 months of living expenses saved.

My goal is to get out of my current job. It's a fine job, but it's not my career path (it's software development, I want to go into concept art). If I get my student loans paid off and at least one year of expenses saved up, I want to take a sabbatical in order to really boost my portfolio (it's maybe good enough now, I just want to excel). We'll see how it goes though, first thing is loans.

 

[clockworkinyou]

Almost debt free... started at like $20k one year and a half ago, and im at about $6k... not significant compared to some but I make under $40k so its taken a lot of sacrifice. Ive also managed to put away about $5k in my 401k. Next step is fix my credit and build up my savings.

Had to give up my car, say no hundreds of times to friends, go hungry some days, and more.. all worth it for the day my finances are in order

Good job! You're going to feel so great when it's all gone. Keep it up.

 

[ParityBit]

So what are the real differences between using Vanguard and Fidelity? I have my 401K in fidelity, so there is a level of ease with already have a form of account. But people talk about Vanguard a lot so I am unsure what to do.

I am leaving Ameriprise and consolidating what I have,

 

[tokkun]

So what are the real differences between using Vanguard and Fidelity? I have my 401K in fidelity, so there is a level of ease with already have a form of account. But people talk about Vanguard a lot so I am unsure what to do.

I am leaving Ameriprise and consolidating what I have,

They aren't that different. If you have a 401K with Fidelity, I'd move the other accounts there too, so it is easier to manage.

Vanguard has more mindshare because they were the pioneer of low cost index funds. For someone starting from scratch it may make sense to go with Vanguard, because the information you read on financial forums tends to be Vanguard-centric due to their popularity.

 

[ParityBit]

They aren't that different. If you have a 401K with Fidelity, I'd move the other accounts there too, so it is easier to manage.

Vanguard has more mindshare because they were the pioneer of low cost index funds. For someone starting from scratch it may make sense to go with Vanguard, because the information you read on financial forums tends to be Vanguard-centric due to their popularity.

Awesome thanks. I will do that then. I have a lot to learn here, like what to do with the money I am transferring/consolidating and how to go about doing it.

I also have to figure out this budget thing. People say it is easy, but it is really hard to figure out costs of stuff like clothes, kids stuff, etc.

Our goal is to distance ourselves from using CC's.

 

[RumblingRosco]

For anyone budgeting in the cost of kids, my wife and I did some of the legwork on that recently and found a few resources that help you estimate costs:

USDA kid cost calculator
BabyCenter cost calculator
CNN cost article (2014)
Forbes article (2017)

We found the Forbes article to align most closely with our cost estimates, which is about $14,000/yr for a kid, on average, from age 0 to 18. I recommend looking at all four of these articles, working out the costs based on what they say/their calculations/your situation, and maybe take an average of the four, or even looking at even more resources beyond this... but, this might be a nice start for people. We did our search about 4-5 months ago so newer stuff may be available at this point.

It's probably safe to assume that, if you live in the USA, you'll spend $250,000 to raise one kid to the age of 18, not including the cost of college.

 

[willow ve]

For anyone budgeting in the cost of kids, my wife and I did some of the legwork on that recently and found a few resources that help you estimate costs:

USDA kid cost calculator
BabyCenter cost calculator
CNN cost article (2014)
Forbes article (2017)

We found the Forbes article to align most closely with our cost estimates, which is about $14,000/yr for a kid, on average, from age 0 to 18. I recommend looking at all four of these articles, working out the costs based on what they say/their calculations/your situation, and maybe take an average of the four, or even looking at even more resources beyond this... but, this might be a nice start for people. We did our search about 4-5 months ago so newer stuff may be available at this point.

It's probably safe to assume that, if you live in the USA, you'll spend $250,000 to raise one kid to the age of 18, not including the cost of college.

That $14,000 a year figure assumes very low cost for daycare.

 

[RumblingRosco]

That $14,000 a year figure assumes very low cost for daycare.

It's an average over 18 years. Daycare, presumably, is less than five years of that 18 year span. But, regresses, I recommend people run the numbers themselves.

 

[tokkun]

For anyone budgeting in the cost of kids, my wife and I did some of the legwork on that recently and found a few resources that help you estimate costs:

USDA kid cost calculator
BabyCenter cost calculator
CNN cost article (2014)
Forbes article (2017)

We found the Forbes article to align most closely with our cost estimates, which is about $14,000/yr for a kid, on average, from age 0 to 18. I recommend looking at all four of these articles, working out the costs based on what they say/their calculations/your situation, and maybe take an average of the four, or even looking at even more resources beyond this... but, this might be a nice start for people. We did our search about 4-5 months ago so newer stuff may be available at this point.

It's probably safe to assume that, if you live in the USA, you'll spend $250,000 to raise one kid to the age of 18, not including the cost of college.

How do you model all the money you save due to behavioral differences with kids? You know, like:

- No nights out at the bar / club
- Not buying those concert tickets
- Not taking that trip to Europe
- Only needing to buy one game per year, since that is all you can play
- Cost difference of eating at McDonald's instead of that trendy new restaurant

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

That $14,000 a year figure assumes very low cost for daycare.

It's an average over 18 years. Daycare, presumably, is less than five years of that 18 year span. But, regresses, I recommend people run the numbers themselves.

I've only got to pay for two more weeks of daycare, then never again! Hallelujah! It's been 7 years in the making between my two kids.

 

[Hickbilly Deluxe]

I've only got to pay for two more weeks of daycare, then never again! Hallelujah! It's been 7 years in the making between my two kids.

Tank god my SO has a friend that will watch ours for nearly free. We just supply the food and diapers, than I think its 50 bucks a week?

 

[smisk]

Mr. Money Mustache is amazing! I stumbled across that blog my senior year of college and it's changed the way I think of almost everything related to spending, consumerism etc.
Currently save about 1/3 of my income, not as good as I could do, but still pretty happy with it. I'm definitely not as extreme as I could be, like biking everywhere etc.

 

[RumblingRosco]

How do you model all the money you save due to behavioral differences with kids? You know, like:

- No nights out at the bar / club
- Not buying those concert tickets
- Not taking that trip to Europe
- Only needing to buy one game per year, since that is all you can play
- Cost difference of eating at McDonald's instead of that trendy new restaurant

Jesus I've never felt worse about my life until I realized all the things you just listed are things my wife and I do/don't do anyway even without kids. I guess that makes budgeting easier...

I've only got to pay for two more weeks of daycare, then never again! Hallelujah! It's been 7 years in the making between my two kids.

Incoming kid #3 in 3...2...1...

 

[fatty]

Alright, I'd love to hear how everyone has been doing with their journey to financial freedom. I am really trying to pay off my house and one of the things I am considering is to really limit the use of my credit cards, to the point where it is just used for bills, groceries and gas (and a few items that require subscriptions).

I can see the responses already: "terrible decision","what about the 'free' rewards","you're throwing away money", and similar things.

I know where you are coming from...but I don't agree.

Maybe you are responsible with your finances and are able to pay off your credit card balances every month, but you are in the minority. The average credit card balance is over $6,000. I haven't had a credit card balance in years, but here is the thing, I know for a fact that using credit cards has made me think about my purchases less, thus causing me to spend more (don't ask me about my Black Friday spending). And I think this is the case for almost everyone, unless your name is Mr. Money Mustache.

I want to get really serious about getting out of debt, so I am thinking about mainly using cash in 2019. With cash you see and feel the effects of it leaving your wallet. You don't get that same feeling using a credit card, it's just another transaction.

Credit Cards Make You Spend More: Studies
It turns out that multiple behavioral economics studies back up these assertions. One of the most often cited studies is one conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, where the company found that people spend 12-18% more when using credit cards instead of cash. McDonald’s reports its average ticket is $7 when people use credit cards versus $4.50 for cash.

Spending 12-18% more to get back 1.5% (and sometimes 5%) rewards is not good math. It's similar to people saying you should keep a mortgage because you are able to deduct the interest.

I have two rewards credit cards and I have fallen into this trap. Spending small amounts on the credit card still add up pretty quickly but I find myself being more selective when I have to break a $20 in my wallet and stop to think if it is really needed.

I get the arguments about the rewards, like I said I have a couple, but now that I want to pay off my mortgage in the next three years and be completely debt free I am contemplating going to cash mainly and using the credit card just for gas, groceries and monthly bills that don't charge a credit card fee.

With my kids I am actually teaching them to not use a credit card, I think they will be much better off in the long run.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Making money has a nice ring to it.

Fortunately I have no debt anymore except for student loan debt. I'm officially out of the "need a credit card for extreme emergiences, rack up 1k debt" era.

 

[longdi]

Im working towards it, but disheartening to hear the stock markets will give half the annual returns going forward, looking at 4.5% pa being the most rosy outlook.

That said, i still use credit cards for their benefits and not for leveraging. I think they are useful so long you don't and shouldn't see them as borrowing future money.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Im working towards it, but disheartening to hear the stock markets will give half the annual returns going forward, looking at 4.5% pa being the most rosy outlook.

That said, i still use credit cards for their benefits and not for leveraging. I think they are useful so long you don't and shouldn't see them as borrowing future money.

For the average person it winds down to this: can you afford to pay it off, or can you not?

That's really the bottom line. If you make better income it's easier.

If not you'll justify why you can. "Oh I'll pick up OT, oh my bonus will go towards it, oh I'll start side hustling". This is especially true if you're in great need like having to pay for healthcare or your car screws up. 1k turns into 3.2k, and it becomes a battle.

And bam, you're in it.

 

[longdi]

Oh that's why you budget your insurance for those two items. If shit happens, you need to pay, may as well charge to your credit card and get some rebates.

I will stay away from frivolous expenses, like i can order 2 rtx2080ti off Amazon, so much easier than hauling my ass with bag of cash down a brick and mortar store. I don't even see my account balances until next month.

Imo Credit cards are convenient and even useful to track my expenses. Direct charge/debit cards however, you should avoid at all costs, as they provide little protection against e-theft!

 

[Crazyorloco]

Changing my phone plan to a prepaid plan because of this thread lol lots of good advice here.

 

[NahaNago]

I took a large trip this year and ended up using my credit card before the trip quite a bit for it and that messed me up. So I pretty much have wiped out what savings I had and the money left over from the trip to tackle it but It will take me 3 more months to get it back to what it was 3 months ago (Christmas doesn't help either). I wouldn't be so stressed about it if I hadn't gotten the travel bug and was planning on an even larger trip in a few months.

 

[Gander]

If you make anything, anything at all I highly suggest merchandising on You tube. There is a kid on You Tube right now that makes 20 million a year doing toy reviews.

 

[fatty]

It's been a while so I'd like to see how everyone is still doing.

My debt is currently down only to my mortgage, but that is still around $213,000. About two years ago my family started the journey of building a house (I was the general contractor, but we did the flooring, electrical, cabinets and what else we could ourselves). Went from debt free owning our house to taking out a construction loan for a house more than twice as big as our previous one.

Because I wanted to do it "right" (solar panels, foam insulation, etc.), the costs built up more than I had anticipated. After it was done enough to move in, I owed the banks $418,000. Being able to sell our previous house and apply it to the mortgage and with payments we are down to the current value but the house is not all the way done. Two of the big unfinished projects that remain are the driveway and basement.

We've been working on the basement a little bit at a time since we can do that ourselves and we're finally getting to the point where we can get the driveway done but that is another $10,000 that I had to save a while for. We vowed to not take out any more loans. Since construction started we had a gravel driveway but the city I live in requires it to be paved, with all of the rain we've gotten the past couple of years it's been a mess with the cars even getting stuck a couple of times, but seeing the concrete get poured this past week has been awesome. It's cured enough where we can drive on it today and no longer have to park in the grass.

Anyways, it is a work in progress but it will be worth it in when it is over. I hate debt and can't wait to pay this thing off. My current job (that pays me money, not the job of finishing this house) has me putting in a lot of unpaid overtime since I am salary and I want to get to the point where I can transition to a different job if I want to without having to worry about debt. My goal is 3 1/2 years. Gotta knock at this debt somehow.

 

[Super Mario]

How do you model all the money you save due to behavioral differences with kids? You know, like:

- No nights out at the bar / club
- Not buying those concert tickets
- Not taking that trip to Europe
- Only needing to buy one game per year, since that is all you can play
- Cost difference of eating at McDonald's instead of that trendy new restaurant

While I agree people need to watch those things, I still believe you can do fun things within reason. I can go to a bar/club and spend $10-$20 on drinks while pregaming at home on alcohol costing me <$5. Meanwhile, the next person is spending $200 on shots and bottles. Instead of being someone who either doesn't go out to dinner, or someone who goes out and spends a lot, cut out the extra drinks and appetizers. Going on a trip can also be a wild card. Finder a cheaper flight, hotel, food, etc and you suddenly have thousands in your pocket. Enjoyment in life doesn't necessarily come from spending hundreds and thousands more. I see people buying 1-2 cartons of cigs per day, coffee each morning, fast food every day, etc etc. I blew my girlfriend's mind when I showed her how to save $600+ a year if she stopped buying a bottle of expensive water everyday and to use a tumbler instead. Those "small" increments add up.

I pride myself on being financially free, and I have always been that way since I got my first job in high school. I always spent less than I earned. It was never an option to do otherwise. I think it helped growing up with two parents that were always frugal, because we didn't have a ton of money. Taught me how to save money. Taught me what is reasonable. I love to enjoy myself, but cut corners where I can. I go through nearly all expenses I have, especially the reoccurring one. Cable and internet is another fun one where people spend like they were born yesterday or cut it all out together. I pay $70 a month for Sling TV and internet, and honestly I have everything I used before. That saved me over $700 a year from the ATT bundle I had.

I'm 33. My home is more than halfway paid off. I have a sizable savings, checking, retirement, etc. My 2015 car is paid off. No student loans. Have a bachelor's degree. Go on 3-5 vacations a year (this one is on the up and up). Go out to bars/clubs almost every weekend. I do not make 6 figures. I also do not have kids or a wife.

 

[NahaNago]

I'm worse off than I was at the start of this year. It is kinda difficult to pay off a credit card when you are constantly using that credit card. I did pay off two credit cards but I increased my debts with the last one.I finally stopped using it last month and have finally started aggressively attacking that card's debt . My new goal is to be completely debt free by the end of next year no credit cards or car debt. I passed on the trip I was suppose to go earlier this year but I still have one planned for near the end of the year, but I will make it a little bit smaller than originally planned since I plan on visiting Asia a lot over the years anyways.

 

[fatty]

Some of you may be aware of this article:

60% of millennials earning over $100,000 say they're living paycheck to paycheck

Millennials known as HENRYs — high earner, not rich yet — prefer a comfy lifestyle, but a new survey found that means things can get tight.

www.businessinsider.com

And we have a good thread here discussing it:

60% of millennials earning over $100,000 say they're living paycheck to paycheck

https://www.businessinsider.com/high-earning-henry-millennials-six-figure-salaries-feel-broke-2021-6 That's partly because of lifestyle choices. Many of these millennials are likely HENRYs — short for high earner, not rich yet. The acronym was invented in 2003, but it has come to characterize...

www.neogaf.com

Reading both of these has made me want to revisit this topic. Does what I wrote back in March of 2017 still apply or has the world changed too much, where working toward financial freedom is too difficult? Has rising housing costs, COVID, and other crises made this goal seem out of reach?

I thought about this for a bit, and I still firmly believe that financial freedom is possible. If anything, with many companies now opening up to working remotely, being able to have the job you want and live in an affordable place has made it even easier. And reading over the tips provided at the beginning of this thread...I still believe they are all applicable. Even though we have people making over $100,000 a year, the biggest problem I see is lifestyle creep. This could be a long post just in itself, but we really need to get out of the 'Keeping up with the Jones' mentality.

Anyways, those of you who are on this path, I'd love to hear how things are going with you. A lot of things have changed in the last couple of years, how is it going?

For me, my oldest daughter moved out recently at 19 years old and got her own apartment so that is an exciting event in our family's lives. I have tried to emphasize how important having a budget is and of my kids she is the worst with making financial decisions. She loves to spend, but the good news is she has stuck to my advice of buying a used car with cash and having no credit cards. While her savings is non-existent, she is debt free and going to attempt to support herself financially. We'll keep working on the savings plan for her but baby steps.

My mortgage of $213,000 in June 2019 is now at $141,000 (started at $418,000). Back at my last update, I wasn't loving my job at all and while it wasn't bad either, I was working toward an exit plan. Now that my company has opened up the option of working from home, my outlook and well-being has changed significantly. I can still see myself working at this place part-time even if I technically didn't need the money. In the back of my mind I still want to get to my financial freedom goal as soon as possible, since management can certainly change and make it where I didn't like the work, but for now I am pretty content.

You've probably seen this picture:

I believe we need to expect and embrace the challenges along the way. It will never be smooth sailing and that is how we learn and grow. We can be the people that complain about our situation, and end up not doing anything about it. Or we can be the ones that learn how to take obstacles that come our way and turn them into an advantage. Our plan will always change.

One book I read (actually I listened to the Audible version) is The Art of Learning by Josh Waizkin. The audible version is read by the author and I definitely recommend listening to it. If you don't know who Josh is, he is the boy the film "Searching for Bobby Fisher" was made about. Josh went from becoming a chess champion to switching to an entirely different art (Tai Chi) and excelling in that as well. He details his struggles and how he was able to take different aspects such as investing in loss and was able to learn and shine.

I'm curious to see how other are doing and to hear your thoughts on your journey.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Thank you ! Subbed.

Yeah man, no problem.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Try not to get in debt it’s as easy as that.

 

[synchronicity]

Try not to get in debt it’s as easy as that.

Debt is the voluntary yoke of enslavement and many don't even seem to be aware of the degree to which they are bound.

 

[crazepharmacist]

Live at home with parents rent free for as long as you can. Do everything you can to stay on their good side. Do chores, take out the trash. Can easily save up a million dollars by the time you’re 30 by living at home.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Doing my best to retire at 60 tops. If I get lucky with some stocks and real estate investments the next 10 years, maybe I'll be done at 55.

There is no fucking way I'm going to force myself to slog through work at 65+ because I blew my money, am half broke, where my survival depends working with a cane and arthritis and living off monthly government cheques to buy things at stores on Senior Citizens Day 10% off. Or else I go broke and on the street.

 

[RoboEight]

I'm pretty excited next Thursday when I get paid I will be making the final payment on my student loan and it will finally be gone. Been paying this loan for 8 years and I'll be glad to be rid of it. After that I have a credit card with about 1800.00 on it left which is easily taken care of. Like most have said sitting down and really looking at what you're spending is the best way to truly understand the position you're in. I did this a few years back and I was blown away how much money I was wasting but tightening things up helped tremendously.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Doing my best to retire at 60 tops. If I get lucky with some stocks and real estate investments the next 10 years, maybe I'll be done at 55.

There is no fucking way I'm going to force myself to slog through work at 65+ because I blew my money, am half broke, where my survival depends working with a cane and arthritis and living off monthly government cheques to buy things at stores on Senior Citizens Day 10% off. Or else I go broke and on the street.

Aside from stocks and real estate, are there any other streams of income that you have?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Aside from stocks and real estate, are there any other streams of income that you have?

Nope. But at that time I plan on having some properties I can milk perpetual rent. The past 15 years, I've been more of a flipper.

Add rent to whatever I have already (stocks and company RRSP stuff) and then the government pension they give you later on in your 60s, and I want to live in a way I never have to dig into my principal amounts. Just live off stock appreciation, interest and rent.

I'd say my closest friends and fam, about 30-40% of them invest in properties too. Some have multiple and hit the jackpot buying properties at $300k that are now worth over a million. And not just investments, principal home too. Anyone whose bought a place in the Toronto area is up big unless you just got into buying places just now. Even if you bought a place during COVID dead time, it's probably up 5-10% already in 2021.

The same thing has been said for 20 years. Every year "home prices too high, got to crash", yet it keeps going up. I'd say anyone who bought a place just 5 years ago is probably up 30% alone. Maybe more depending where you live and what you got. That property at a record high price of $300,000 in 2001 is probably $1.5M.

 

[SireSmogMurk]

For years and years... everytime I save up $1000 in the bank, something goes wrong requiring $1500 worth of repairs. Worked lots of overtime this year, then got forced to work more overtime. Got my CC paid off in the fist half of the year. Not two weeks later $2800 worth of car bills and a cat vet visit arise. I work more overtime, then get forced to work more overtime. I will have the CC paid off this month.

I want to be hopeful about what I can start saving toward, but I am actually terrified about what is going to happen next.