DEBT FREE

[yankee]

huntsober-good post. It is easy to see you are exuberant about your financial situation.

For the purpose of this exercise, what is the difference between wealthy and rich?

[huntsober]

OH thats easy. LOL

Shack Oneal is rich.

They guy that signs his check is WEALTHY.

[jacksbuddy]

+1 on the congrats. We have A car note, A house payment, and A bank loan. The car note and bank loan will be paid off in about 2 years at the most, and we cannot wait!

[DeltaCotton12]

Congrats. Debit free with a good night sleep sounds much better than a "good" credit score with restless nights thinking of who you owe.

We are starting to attack right now. Student loans and Truck.

[arduckslayer]

Dave will tell you the grass feels better under your feet when your own house is paid for.... What he doesnt tell you is:

A meal at Table 100 tastes better.

Maybe that's why I wasn't impressed with Table 100 and thought it was overpriced and overrated, since I still have debt.

[huntsober]

LOL it was pricey. Steak was good, but it was great for a first time celebration dinner.

[muddy650]

"keep a truck payment or house payment" for a rating score.... CRAZY. Pay cash for everything and soon your score will be 0.00. Cash is king always. Ask anyone wealthy (not just rich) if they have a car payment and they will laugh at you. Even its it 0 percent...

Building wealth is the name of the game not building a rating score! Ask any old retired person, they will tell you the same. I dont want to live/die in a state run nursing home with a 5.00 per hour democrat feeding me when she wants me to be fed and giving me meds when she isnt on her Obama phone.

I want to live with dignity and die in clean sheets.

Dave will tell you the grass feels better under your feet when your own house is paid for.... What he doesnt tell you is:

A meal at Table 100 tastes better.
A concert sounds better.
Kid programs mean more.
Sex is more exciting.
Cars run better.
Sleep is more restful.
Vacations to the same places are different.
The job is no longer stressful.
People dont piss me off as much.
Giving feels sooo much better.
And beleive it or not....our income increased.

Its goes on and on.... We will never go back!

I just wanted to highlight a few things that I have immediately noticed since I am debt free but the house. Amazing the weight off of a mans shoulders. Plus I got puddin 3 times this week since I sold my F250 to b debt freee

[Bonecollecter1111]

i agree to be debt free would/is great, but a man with 10 dollars and crappy credit just has 10 dollars, but a man with a lil debt and good credit will always have cash!!!


just sayin

[kb7722]

I believe you can be debt free and still have good credit. Just because you have a credit card doesn't mean your in debt. Pay the thing off every month. Just about everywhere you look there are interest free loans. Save the money for the item, take out the loan, and pay it with the money you saved if you need to build credit. I am down to a mortgage. Paid off my truck earlier this year and still put the payment back for the next one.

[onyoside]

Congrats man! The wife and I paid off our house and never have had a car payment since we been married....then I found a steal of a house in a neighborhood that sells for 100 per square foot and bought at 65 per. Sold our old house and put equity on new home. Now we have a house payment again but should knock it out quickly. We currently have about 300k in equity in our home that will be on the market about April. (more home than I want or need just bought to live in 2 years and resale at market price I hope) Anyways I went in debt again but on a investment basis which is where I disagree w Dave to an extent. Most homes are liabilities but I feel like in this situation its an investment.

[huntsober]

Actually Dave says a home is the only reason to have debt. Just pay it off fast. Congrats on your positioning. In todays economy being debt free is the only way to have any security.

[JDgator]

Congrats! I am envious because I have student loans.

[Negotiator]

Kudos.... I've burned all my mortgage papers too.... house, cars, the works.

The trick is to save... my Dad never made over $65,000 a year and he's got millions. Every bit of it from saving.

[SB]

Congratulations, Huntsober! I will say you are in the minority of the U.S. population and maybe the world’s population, the debt free minority!

Some interesting topics have come up in the replies. I do believe debt can be “ok” if it is profitable and managed. I’m debt free other than my house and could pay it off tomorrow if I chose to, but I don’t think that is the best use of that “extra” money. As low as my mortgage rate is, I can make a greater rate of return on that “extra” money, thus it would cost me money (lost revenue) by paying the house off.

Dave Ramsey does give good info. It works for everyone but does not fit those individuals well who know “better” debt from bad debt….I’ll use the word “better” debt rather than good debt to steer clear of the argument of good vs. bad debt. Better debt is used to make money. That man who owns the NBA franchise that signs Shack’s check did not get that wealth by not having some form of debt.

I only hear Dave talk about term life insurance and whole life, with term being the better of the two. How come he never talks about being self-financed when it comes to life insurance? Self insured would be one’s net value being equal to or greater than their life insurance amount need.

[huntsober]

I agree being self insured is better than buying insurance. As for good and bad debt...DEbt is a behaviorla issue and not so much a spending issue. Same as when I have cash in my pocket vs a debt card. Research shows we spend less if we are stroking off cash bills vs pulling the debt card which is still the same thing. Its a psychological thing. Keeping things visual where I can see and FEEL the reality enables me to change my behavior. When I leave with a 100 bill in the mornign and return with 20....I have to wonder where did it go.

Just yesterday, I put 135 gas in my fat booty bronco....walked in and paid cash instead of using the card at the pump....I "felt it" even touched that gas pedel a little softer and wasnt interested in hearing those pipes roar. All because I felt the pain of stoking off the 20s to pay the girl.

If I allow myself to be clouded and shielded from the reality and pain of paying for everything I buy...I will zombe walk right back into the comfy world of debt. Just my experience...not everyones elses.