Debt free! Sorta.

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Maverickhawk

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Joined
May 1, 2020
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225
Don't like debt. Went through a bankruptcy after losing a business in the 08 thanks to the banking debacle. Don't get me started!
Bought a 07 pick up to go to auctions and try dealing in antiques for some extra money. Knew the market would crash at some point so we only collected farm antiques that we liked and could use. The truck payments bothered us knowing that were being charged $100 a month interest. So we dug into savings and paid it off. We bought 3 acres a couple of years ago. It was on a 5 year note and we paid it off in 23 months.
Good news this past week, we received notice that our home interest rate is going down to 3 percent. Our payment's will be under 400 a month. 20k left to pay. We will now need to replace the savings. Bad news is we need to increase our prepping needs. Keep in mind we both make under 20 bucks an hour. I have an AR but no ammo. Don't have any hand guns. Spent our Trump Bucks on a drive culvert and gravel at the land. Hoping to move two shipping containers we own to the land this fall. I'm going to try my hand at building a container barn there.
 
I am not quite debt free, however my debt is minimal. 1 car paid off, one with 20 payments left at $240/month. I have debated paying it off early, however due to the current uncertain environment of my employer I am simply stacking cash to combat possible unemployment. Currently I can withstand about 1 year easily, or a bit longer if I were to implement extreme spending reduction. My issue is that I need expensive maintenance meds to survive and if I am unemployed my insurance only lasts 4 months. My meds are about 800-1000 cash/month at current prices.

After a marriage break up and other financial issues I have become extremely debt averse. I believe the only good reasons for debt are housing, transportation, and business. My credit card is paid off every month or two months, depending on the situation. It is used only for hotels and flights which I am reimbursed for by my employer. Debt is slavery. I prefer my money to work for me, not for anyone else...
 
I'm not entirely debt free either.
But 1 more payment and my student loans will be completely paid off.
Then the money that was making student loans payment will be split into 2 payments.
1 payment will go into savings, the other half will be principle payment on car.
I save money for big purchases, only emergencies goes on credit card.
My new to me 2015 Fiat 500 Lounge is my only debt which I bought in 2017.
When I bought my new to me care it had 31 miles on it.
It still has less than 10,000 miles on it now.
Besides monthly bills: rent, groceries, car payment, insurance, internet.
And I pay all this on $1000 monthly and still have money in savings.
Maybe not a lot but something.
I am extremely frugal.
I use what I have, remake what I have, or repurpose what I have.
Hate to waste anything.
 
Congrats! Mostly debt free here, I hated buying a car on note, but they offered 0% interest, so I took it.
Cars are just too much money to pay cash. In a couple years I'm hoping to buy a truck. I'm thinking 5-6 years old, 50-60k miles. No frills, no leather, no sunroof. If I'm lucky I'll be able to pay cash. Or I may need to borrow a few thousand. But if I do borrow it will be on a short 36 month note with better interest. Cash is power and I intend to use that power...
 
Cars are just too much money to pay cash. In a couple years I'm hoping to buy a truck. I'm thinking 5-6 years old, 50-60k miles. No frills, no leather, no sunroof. If I'm lucky I'll be able to pay cash. Or I may need to borrow a few thousand. But if I do borrow it will be on a short 36 month note with better interest. Cash is power and I intend to use that power...
Spike,
My new to me Fiat has all the bells and whistles.
It was supposed to be graduation gift to young man from his parents.
He ended up taking his dad's old pickup to college.(spoiled).
Red and Ivory leather interior, heated seats,mirrors, turn signals.
Red and Ivory leather trim, BEATS stereo(like that means something to me, but it impresses the heck out of nieces and nephews). Sunroof, with shade cloth so your head doesn't get sun burnt. A trunk, backseat holds a car seat.
When I bought the car didn't know about the grand daughter that was on the way.
 
Spike,
My new to me Fiat has all the bells and whistles.
It was supposed to be graduation gift to young man from his parents.
He ended up taking his dad's old pickup to college.(spoiled).
Red and Ivory leather interior, heated seats,mirrors, turn signals.
Red and Ivory leather trim, BEATS stereo(like that means something to me, but it impresses the heck out of nieces and nephews). Sunroof, with shade cloth so your head doesn't get sun burnt. A trunk, backseat holds a car seat.
When I bought the car didn't know about the grand daughter that was on the way.
I like all that stuff, I just don't want to pay for it. I just need heat, A/C and Cruise Control. Oh, and I've discovered that Bluetooth is important too. But power this and automatic that just adds cost. With any luck my car will only have about 80k miles when I pay it off so it will last a good long time and if I can pay cash for a $25,000 truck I'll be set for years to come, without any more payments. I drive around 50,000 miles/year so I have to have reliable low mileage vehicles. My little SUV should have around 170k on it when it's time to buy a truck and I'll probably hand it down to my kid then as she will be getting her driver's license at that time...
 
I own my home, three cars, a garage and a shop. The only debt I have is a credit card and it is paid off each month. I have decent health other than some pain and my wife is strong enough to take on whats got a hold of her. We have love, family, a few friends and food enough. The creator has given us "enough". We have enough to live happily and enough love to share with friends and family. No matter the challenge we have enough.
 
I am debt free
My car is paid for, my home and land is paid for
I owe no one anything except utilities and groceries



do you have credit cards that you want from out under?
I had a 20K credit card debt. and received an insurance settlement. I called up the credit card company and asked if they would cut the amount down by 75%
She told me NO, HELL NO,
So I told her OK....I am going to prison for 20 years and jut wanted to settle my affairs before I went, Thank you for your time. She said WHAT?
I said lady. I am going away for 20 years, if you want to settle this 20k for 5 then i will do that. If not, you are going to get zero. we settled. BUT tell them to send you that agreement as an offer before you turn the money loose or they can say they never said that CYA
 
I had over 4k on a card. I paid it off in one payment when I got a Return of Premiums on an insurance policy. Since that time I've live by the rule of not putting more on the card than what I can pay off in 3 months.

Come to think of it, I will get another return of premiums in 10 years. I need to make a plan for that chunk of change...
 
Well done @Maverickhawk and as I say slow and steady wins the race and you will over time get the things you need.

Debt free here apart from our mortgage on the home property here and other than that paid for everything else in cash. Had the home loan for 18 months and are 13 months ahead on payments :) .
That's cool!
 
Cars are just too much money to pay cash.

I have not had a car loan since the early 1990's and we buy a recent model vehicle every 5-6 years or so. Of course we make our cars last 10-12 years too. I make a monthly payment into a savings account, which I earn money on, until I have enough to buy the vehicle I want. Then I withdraw the funds and pay for it. No banks, no loans, no fees, no interest, etc. Then the following month I start making payments again. A few times I was able to stop making self payments, move the money in an account with a greater return, and watch it grow while I waited until I needed a new vehicle.

The average American pays an average of 14% of their income on interest and fees. We keep that 14% and earn money on it ourselves. We are not debt free however, we do have a fixed mortgage with 2-3 years left on it. We could pay it off any time we wanted to, but our current interest rate is 2.3% while our average return on savings/investments is over 9%. That's easy math. Plus it will be paid off soon enough and then that money will go into savings/investments too.
 
One of my goals was to be debt free before I retired

I tell my kids and the younger officers all the time, the single most important aspect of retirement planning is to go into retirement debt free.
 
@Sentry18 yours and my thinking are alike about cars. Perhaps I should have said, cars are too much money for most people to buy without a loan. At least, new or slightly used cars are that way.

See my posts about my plan to get a truck. If my income was significantly less, I wouldn't be able to save the 25,000 I'm planning on spending for that truck. I just hit that 25,000 mark for savings and checking combined. I'll get serious about looking for a truck when I can keep that 25,000 plus 6 months expenses, plus another small slush fund. I am fortunate to be paid enough to be able to put at least 500 and usually closer to 1000 toward savings every month. Keeping my other debts low is why I'm able to put that money in savings - I don't have to pay it to some clown in a corner office in a New York high rise every month...
 
I was set to be debt free by Jan of this year, worked several years to meet that goal. That was the plan anyway, got within $2K of meeting that goal. Then… Last year was a bust, between June and this January I had 4 MRI’s and 3 CT’s. I had one hospital stay, 6 expensive outpatient procedures. After insurance I was out about $8K.

The big cost, most people wouldn’t think so but it was the extra day to day costs. It’s amazing how quick cash goes when suddenly your eating out 2 times a day. You can’t get a decent meal for less than $7. I had to be in town for this or that appointment. I had to make separate trips for meds. Eating out was costing me $600 a month easy. Gasoline was an extra $300 a month. Money I would have been saving was flying out the door. Even after I got my health issues under control my expenses increased. My elderly parents developed serious issues.

Their issues started last November. Both parents were in the hospital that month. Mom got better but dad got worse. In december he was back in the hospital, in January he spent 22 days in the ICU… then the hospital another month, then the nursing home. Several thousand miles of extra driving... eating out almost daily. Even if I ate at home it was partially prepared expensive foods.

My mom never took care a bill in her life, dad took care of the $. Mom didn’t know which of their accounts to pay bills from, how to move money here or there. She was getting huge bills… I ended up paying for their household bills, buying groceries, paying for their prescriptions in many cases…. And then covid…

Well, now I’m 17K in debt again… So much for the plans of mice or men. Now my debt free goal is the fall of 2021. And if I have to buy fence posts one more time or repair equipment that boy tears up, I’m going to start tearing him a new one. I have to take a chainsaw to town today he tore up, couldn't put a clutch cover on correctly. :mad:
 
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My mom's gone that way with bills, too. So I handle her medical, and one of my sisters handles her finances. But all three of us do have access to both of those things. I don't want her drugged up, or have a living will with a DNR. I'm very conservative with her health, and make sure she makes her own decisions and knows what's going on. But the nurse has to call me first about any little thing.
 
I like all that stuff, I just don't want to pay for it. I just need heat, A/C and Cruise Control. Oh, and I've discovered that Bluetooth is important too. But power this and automatic that just adds cost. With any luck my car will only have about 80k miles when I pay it off so it will last a good long time and if I can pay cash for a $25,000 truck I'll be set for years to come, without any more payments. I drive around 50,000 miles/year so I have to have reliable low mileage vehicles. My little SUV should have around 170k on it when it's time to buy a truck and I'll probably hand it down to my kid then as she will be getting her driver's license at that time...
My soon to be 3 year old grand daughter tells her dad, that my car is Granny's and hers.
MY new to me car has heat, air, you can hook you phone up to talk on speakers, cruise control etc.
I went to buy a four door car, ended up with a jewel 2 door.
Hopefully it will be paid off sooner than later.
I try to make regular car payment then about middle of month try to make extra principle payment.
 
I bought old cars. I went through the suspensions, brakes, transmissions and engines so they were reliable and safe. I can do all the work myself although the only things I have done is change oil and tune them up. Like all good Fords they just keep running.

I paid off the home we had in Seattle and then sold it at a good profit. Moved to the Walla Walla valley and bought the land, house and built the garage and shop without debt. We are still debt free and in good position to remain that way... unless my wife gives up which she tells me is NOT going to happen. We have been married for 17 years - 18 in August and we have yet to have our first argument. We are still on our honeymoon and displays of our love are frequent and special. We have even gotten applause from folks at the grocery store when I open her door and give her a hand out of the car and then kiss her hand. People aren't used to seeing an older couple so much in love.
 
Well, there's nothing wrong with clunkers as long as they are road worthy and safe. My car is a bit of a clunker but my wife's (they are both 1973 Fords) is a nice car that needs paint. My 1966 is in the shop and waiting for parts to assemble it. It won't be a clunker either but My wife tells me that she can't drive a stick because of her legs. She has nice legs.
Uh hum, she can use my Maverick whil I do a touch of body work and paint hers. The my Maverick goes into the shop for some major body work and paint. Then we will have three cars on the road, well not all at the same time. ;)
 
Always drove clunkers before.

You call 'em clunkers, I call the 4 wheel long term investments. ;)

In 1997 I purchased a 1995 Chevy Tahoe, drove it for 13 years and put 175,000 miles. Was in a accident or would probably still be driving it. We bought a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer in 2005 and sold it in 2018 with 260,000 miles on it. The guy who bought it still drives it every single day. We still have a 1998 Honda CRV we purchased in 2000, it is still on the road and still looks great. Has 325,000 miles on it.

It's all about choosing the right used car, doing the proper routine maintenance, and fixing things when they break.
 
Married with children I drove junk and made sure the wife had a reliable car.

When we became empty nesters I bought a two-year old truck for a very reasonable price. Today it's 15 years old and still my main transportation with just over 100,000 miles on it. It will last me for another 10 or 15 years. Told my children that it's the last truck I'll own before they (the children) will have my driver's license taken away (ha ha).

Found a 2018 car (to replace the wife's lemon) at a Dealership. From research I had a good idea what it was worth. I told the Dealer if we agree on a price there will be NO add ons (other than state sales tax). Asked the Dealer why the the sticker on the window was higher than the price on their web site? Funny look on the Dealer's face as he checked their web site and confirmed what I had told him. He said the sticker price is what it's worth and the web site price is what they are asking for it. I said OK that is your asking price, what is your selling price? He came back with a lower price then what I would have settled with. I said sold. Then he started telling me about the added benefits of have all the glass etched (VIN) in case the car was stolen and extended warranty plans. I sat there not speaking with a smile on my face. Didn't take him long to realize that when I stated earlier "no add ons" I meant it. He wrote up the paper work, I drove to my financial institution to get a check. Car should last us at least 20 years and it too will be the last car for us.
 
You call 'em clunkers, I call the 4 wheel long term investments. ;)

In 1997 I purchased a 1995 Chevy Tahoe, drove it for 13 years and put 175,000 miles. Was in a accident or would probably still be driving it. We bought a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer in 2005 and sold it in 2018 with 260,000 miles on it. The guy who bought it still drives it every single day. We still have a 1998 Honda CRV we purchased in 2000, it is still on the road and still looks great. Has 325,000 miles on it.

It's all about choosing the right used car, doing the proper routine maintenance, and fixing things when they break.
My last clunker was a Ford Ranger XLT 1993.
I bought this truck from my dad. I was second owner.
My dad bought it new.
My oldest son bought it from me when I could no longer drive it safely.
I bought it back, when son need money.
It had over 389000 miles on it.
4 speed, clutch, roll the windows down air, heat.
Very basic truck, loved that truck.
I worked on my own truck, until I couldn't get up and down easily anymore.
My mechanic always winced when I got down to pull drain plug for oil changes.
He was never sure I was going to be able to get back up on my own.
My mechanic is trying to convert that old truck into an automatic for me to keep driving.
I bawled like a baby when I had to give my truck up, cause I knew I couldn't drive it safely.
Working on trying to figure out how I could restore that little truck.
I would love to have my home with a fenced yard, garden spot.
Some place where Strawberry and I could live out our golden years.
 
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We did the same with no add ons last week when we bought our new Ford 150. Our old Ford has 165K miles on it, new engine at 100K miles. It'll be a beater truck for the farm. It runs ok, but do not trust it towing a long distance, like 10 hrs. It took sooooo long to finish the paperwork on the new truck because of the haggling and the no add ons. We had a problem with the salesman telling us one interest rate, and the sales manager telling us another. We did not pay cash, or we couldn't get the $6K discount. And we have to pay payments for 3 months, before we pay it off to keep the $6K discount. And the paper work had to be filled out to finance it for 5 whole years just to get the lower interest rate (1/2 percent lower). Just need to pay payment for July, Aug, and Sept, and then we can pay it off. The games they play.
 
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