What is your "Debt Free Date"

[300UGUY]

We had the choice between paying off debt OR investing in a volatile stock market OR trying to pick up distressed properties.

First off if we invested and the market died, wed be screwed. Not that we dont have some money invested, cause we do. Just not the entire nestegg.

I looked into distressed property, but i REALLY dont want to be a landlord. This and the fact that every one we looked at looked like it was used as a meth lab, made me real leary of trying to fix them up and rent them out... just to have them look like this again by some crappy renters.

I figure that by paying off everything, then investing in other stuff later, that no matter what happens, the house and ranch will be safe from repo.

That's pretty much where we are at. We recently bought a commercial building close to our home, for my wife's biz. Seems to be a very good buy, we bought it for about 1/3 of what it was last sold for in 2006. It will take about 40 miles per day off her work commute, and has more space, better parking, and better visibility. We paid off our home several years ago, so we were able to save pretty easily. I am thinking about buying a new truck, I might wait for the 2013 Chevy / GMC or buy a 2012. But we can get 0 percent on those things, usually, and we drive them for quite awhile. But other than that, no debt, especially credit cards!!!

 

[beppington]

Debt free since 2004, except 1) my tractor which I financed because I analyzed the pro's & cons of the 0% financing offer & it made enough sense to me, and 2) property & income taxes. They may not technically be a "debt", but they might as well be since a) as soon as you take ownership of property, the very next day you already owe taxes (the tax man generally waits until the end of the tax year to try to collect all 365 days worth), and b) as soon as you work one day, the very next day you already owe taxes (again the tax man waits until later when it's more convenient to collect the tax due)

Rather than borrow, I lend. I realized how incredibly expensive it is to borrow, & how incredibly enriching it is to lend. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it

 

[two_bit_score]

Debt free since 2004, except 1) my tractor which I financed because I analyzed the pro's & cons of the 0% financing offer & it made enough sense to me, and 2) property & income taxes. They may not technically be a "debt", but they might as well be since a) as soon as you take ownership of property, the very next day you already owe taxes (the tax man generally waits until the end of the tax year to try to collect all 365 days worth), and b) as soon as you work one day, the very next day you already owe taxes (again the tax man waits until later when it's more convenient to collect the tax due)

Rather than borrow, I lend. I realized how incredibly expensive it is to borrow, & how incredibly enriching it is to lend. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it

I think you are exactly right about taxes representing a personal debt payment. Most people don't want to think about it or admit it but it is.

.

 

[beppington]

Blame Bush, Blame Clinton, Blame the Dems, Blame the Repubs.....

What the **** happened to blaming the people who signed the LOAN papers. Let them grow and prosper, orrrrrr let them FAIL.

Quit pointing the blame at everyone else. My granddad used to say that every time you point a finger at someone else.....there are 3 more pointed back at you!

And Bankruptcies..... we had a receptionist once that bitched because the bank wouldn't give her a decent rate on a house mortgage. I overheard it and had a good friend working at a local credit union. I called him to see what they could do to get her and her hubby into this house. He looked her up and said WHHHOOOOAA . She had defaulted on a loan with them. Owed them 2500 bucks. THis was in 2002.

The next time she bitched, i politely said that if she paid her debts, she would get better treatment. THat shut her up for a long time..

Totally agree. We might have gotten a worse recession/ depression, but at least we'd all know where we stood & maybe not be as suspicious of every politician, lobbyist, govt employee, corporation, etc etc.

 

[lilranch2001]

We are in this mess because laws, rules and regulations were not followed or broken. And enforcement is just not happening.

We are also in this mess because corporations are not spending money or making new investments.




The government only played a helping hand, it certainly is not the sole cause of any one of our current financial issues. Especially the housing crisis. I hope you agree on that.

As far as government controlling a lifestyle? Where does that come from? People will always have choice.

I would dispute this, when the DEMS via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made the banks make loans that the banks KNEW were bad, that is GOVERNEMENT causing the housing debacle!

 

[MossRoad]

Excellent point about using a mortgage to get back more on your taxes. I worked with all sorts of guys who thought that it was smart to have a mortgage so they would get a bigger refund on their taxes, but they never did the math on what they where paying on interest for that loan every year compared to how little that adds to their return. It's simple math, but for whatever reason, nobody wanted to run the numbers.

Eddie

As for getting large tax refunds.... yikes! I want no tax refund at the end of the year. In fact, I would rather owe some money than get a refund at the end of the year.

 

[beppington]

As for getting large tax refunds.... yikes! I want no tax refund at the end of the year. In fact, I would rather owe some money than get a refund at the end of the year.

Me too :thumbsup:

Getting a refund means you loaned the govt money all year interest-free.

If you owe taxes, the govt loaned you money all year interest-free (well, as long as you don't get a penalty for under-payment during the year, that is)

 

[MossRoad]

That's pretty much where we are at. We recently bought a commercial building close to our home, for my wife's biz. Seems to be a very good buy, we bought it for about 1/3 of what it was last sold for in 2006. It will take about 40 miles per day off her work commute, and has more space, better parking, and better visibility. We paid off our home several years ago, so we were able to save pretty easily. I am thinking about buying a new truck, I might wait for the 2013 Chevy / GMC or buy a 2012. But we can get 0 percent on those things, usually, and we drive them for quite awhile. But other than that, no debt, especially credit cards!!!

Good God, man! Don't buy that new truck! 0 percent interest on something that will lose 10% or more of its value in the first 1 second after purchase is NOT a good investment. AAAHHHHHH!!!!!! :laughing:

But seriously, 0 percent seems like a free loan until you look at it like this. Also, factor in the sales tax, plates and insurance VS a 3 year old truck with 2 years of factory warranty left. Add all the number up on a spread sheet and see if it doesn't shock you. Let some other sucker eat the depreciation. :thumbsup:

 

[grsthegreat]

Good God, man! Don't buy that new truck! 0 percent interest on something that will lose 10% or more of its value in the first 1 second after purchase is NOT a good investment. AAAHHHHHH!!!!!! :laughing:

But seriously, 0 percent seems like a free loan until you look at it like this. Also, factor in the sales tax, plates and insurance VS a 3 year old truck with 2 years of factory warranty left. Add all the number up on a spread sheet and see if it doesn't shock you. Let some other sucker eat the depreciation. :thumbsup:

agree 110%

Two years ago i bought a then 3 year old F350 ... used with 27,000 miles on it. It was a 4 door, 4x4, diesel automatic.

They wanted $24,000 but i got it for $16,000 CASH out the door (plus sales tax and lic and insurance though). So heres a 3 year old truck for 16,000 that has the original sales sticker inside the glove box that read $48,500.

So some other schumk wasted 32,000 of their money and i get a nearly new truck with very low mileage for a song.

Except for a transmission temp sensor, the truck has worked flawlessly.

 

[gilbertmsg]

Hard to believe you purchased that truck for $16,000. Someone must have lost their mind for the day.

Eddie