- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Score Board
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- SEC Score Board
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
In debt to well off in 1 year
Posted on 1/1/13 at 5:58 am
Posted on 1/1/13 at 5:58 am
At this point last year one of my New Years resolutions was to get better with money. I was 25k in the hole. Between a credit card, truck payment and boat payment I look back now and wonder how I got by. I routinely had less than a couple hundred dollars in savings and checking combined and was not putting a dime in any investments. I picked up a book called the total money makeover by Dave Ramsey and it definitely changed how I handled money
It requires a change in lifestyle but I had to get over instant gratification and impulse spending. Going to bars and casinos every weekend wasnt helping my case. So I sat down and made a budget, I spent every dollar on paper before I got a paycheck. I cut up the credit card and paid it off first but then came the hard part. I love being on the water but a Malibu wake setter is a black hole for money and I knew it had to go. I posted it for sale and sold it for more than I pad for it 3 years prior.
The next month I used some of the money from the boat and paid off my truck. It's a strange feeling but for the first time in my adult life of 25 years I did not have any debt of any kind. It's absolutely liberating. Since I paid off the truck I started putting 15% into work sponsored RIRA's and another 10% in mutual funds which have earned about 7% interest since i started investing. I am pretty proud of how far I have come in 1 year. So for anybody staring at a mountain of debt it's not impossible you just have to work at it.
It requires a change in lifestyle but I had to get over instant gratification and impulse spending. Going to bars and casinos every weekend wasnt helping my case. So I sat down and made a budget, I spent every dollar on paper before I got a paycheck. I cut up the credit card and paid it off first but then came the hard part. I love being on the water but a Malibu wake setter is a black hole for money and I knew it had to go. I posted it for sale and sold it for more than I pad for it 3 years prior.
The next month I used some of the money from the boat and paid off my truck. It's a strange feeling but for the first time in my adult life of 25 years I did not have any debt of any kind. It's absolutely liberating. Since I paid off the truck I started putting 15% into work sponsored RIRA's and another 10% in mutual funds which have earned about 7% interest since i started investing. I am pretty proud of how far I have come in 1 year. So for anybody staring at a mountain of debt it's not impossible you just have to work at it.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 8:08 am to Janky
Congrats. Very commendable effort.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 8:49 am to Danchase
Good job. People on here will bash Ramsey because "he's for dumb people" but sometimes smart people just a jolt too.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 9:04 am to Danchase
Great job man! Very proud of you. Keep up the good work. You'll be glad you made these sacrifices in 30 years.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 9:32 am to Danchase
Congratulations. Congress could learn a very valuable lesson from you.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 9:55 am to Danchase
Impressive! Not an easy thing to do at 25 yrs old
Posted on 1/1/13 at 10:42 am to Danchase
Great job. I've never read Dave Ramsey but I learned very early to make a distinction between 'needs' and 'wants.'
Posted on 1/1/13 at 11:57 am to Zach
Well done sir. Well done indeed.
I'm 6k away from having all debts and college related debts being paid off.
I'm 6k away from having all debts and college related debts being paid off.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 12:21 pm to Danchase
Unfortunately, you will now not be allowed to run for a political position.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 12:41 pm to Danchase
Great job and a nice "up yours" to the Ramsey haters on here.
Yes, it really is that simple. Debt free. Excellent job sir.
Yes, it really is that simple. Debt free. Excellent job sir.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 1:01 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
Great job and a nice "up yours" to the Ramsey haters on here.
The only reason people hate Ramsey on here is because he doesn't shoot for the best return or savings for those who follow his plan. He advocates for the most simplistic.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 1:29 pm to Golfer
And some here think he means don't buy a house until you have saved the money to buy it cash.
Yes, he wants debt free. No he doesn't mean 0 debt all the time.
I am convinced the anti-Ramsey posters have more to dislike with his religous views and that's why they hammer him.
Yes, he wants debt free. No he doesn't mean 0 debt all the time.
I am convinced the anti-Ramsey posters have more to dislike with his religous views and that's why they hammer him.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 1:31 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
I am convinced the anti-Ramsey posters have more to dislike with his religous views and that's why they hammer him.
Interesting....
BTW....Thought you quit posting?
Posted on 1/1/13 at 1:35 pm to I Love Bama
May have been mj2 that said that. I haven't.
I'm still happily married and joyful enough regardless of what goes on around here.
I'm still happily married and joyful enough regardless of what goes on around here.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 1:49 pm to Golfer
quote:
The only reason people hate Ramsey on here is because he doesn't shoot for the best return or savings for those who follow his plan. He advocates for the most simplistic.
This. A lot of people don't like or listen to him or anyone else that advocates the "Needs v. Wants" assessment of ones own finances. Mainly because very few people are willing to put forth the dedication to doing what they know what needs o be done to get out of debt because a lot of people so desperately want instant gratification despite whatever hardships that may result due to the acquisition of the item because they have gotten sucked into the whole Keeping up with the Jones' rat race and feel as though they need to maintain some sort of image for others in order to be "satisfied". That or they have never developed true patience or discipline when it comes to spending because that's something that no one is born with or is very rarely taught leading many people to learn those lessons the hard way which was true for me as well.
I remember when my first credit card came in the mail my dad told me to cut it up and that if you can't pay for something with cash then you can't afford the item, or the debt needed to purchase the item. Boy was he right
Posted on 1/1/13 at 4:42 pm to drewnbrla
quote:
Well done sir. Well done indeed. I'm 6k away from having all debts and college related debts being paid off.
Keep up the work its a great feeling when you have that burden lifted and you get that next paycheck without strings attached.
As far as needs vs wants. This is the biggest hurdle I'm sure for anyone trying to get out of debt. Everybody I work with is under the assumption they will have a car and house payment their entire lives so they think its just normal
At this point it's conceivable for me to save upwards of 50% down payment on a home depending on how the market does in the next 5-15 year. I'd like to not buy a home at all while I'm in the military but that can change depending on several factors
Posted on 1/1/13 at 6:05 pm to Danchase
Nice post. I'm happy for you.
Posted on 1/1/13 at 9:32 pm to boosiebadazz
great for you. In Dec of 2011, i wrote down all my debt on a spreadsheet (except for the house) and i was able to pay off 3 cc's and will have another pd off in 5 months. I applied Dave's methods and attacked the smallest balance first and kept increasing the pymts as other bills were pd off. I wasn't proud of the debt that I accumulated but i feel better as they are pd off. Fwiw any bonuses i recd went to the cc's and i even reduced my 401k contribution from 15% to 10% and applied that 5% tp attack those bills.
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News