I am not one to usually brag about anything but I have been working on this for a very long time, so I think its ok :thumbup
As of September 1st, 2010 I will be 100% completely free of debt. Since I was 16, I have been in debt for cars, credit cards, and store credits. This includes the business as well.
From this date forward I will never have a balance on a credit card that I can’t pay off each month and the only loan I will ever take out again will be for a house.
It’s a very strange feeling having actual Net Worth. I will be able to pay my tuition out of pocket and will be finishing my degree just to have it to fall back on if I ever need to. Once I graduate I will buy another fun “toy” but it will be with money that I have save and there will be no vehicle loan.
Anyway, at 25 years of age it feels pretty damn good :excited
Nice work. CC debt is the worst. Definitely look into homes now if you can, the rates are pure insanity.
As of this year, I’ve payed off my credit cards, payed off both cars, finished my student loan payments and managed to save a bit of money. Now have around $30-$40K equity in my house as well.
I should just do what that guy did, sell my house, cars, and buy a Lambo and just drive… Hmmm:ponder I may just buy a couple two families I’ve been looking at.
Buy a house and debt can start stacking back up again. All of my debt is tied up with my house with a few projects I have going on. Otherwise I make sure my credit cards are paid in full each month.
^^ Not a homeowner but from what I see and hear, house = one huge a$$ project.
When it’s a property for rental or investment, I could see it making a return but still over a longer period of time. When it’s yours and you don’t cheap out on stuff, I don’t see it returning quite as quickly!
Note this is for the average case and not for those who buy a property like in central Florida or one of the Gulf disaster affected areas where prices are like 30-40% down and somehow make a killing after a couple of years. Sure that can happen but it’s not common. Plus speculation like that is what can artificially drive up prices in the short term anyways.
I realize there’s money to be made in real estate but one definitely has to know what he/she is doing. It’s not like automatic money in the bank over renting if you don’t do it right…
^ Houses aren’t one huge ass project. If you buy a house that needs work, of course it’s going to be.
Only thing I’ve done to my house is paint, and remove the oil tank and convert to natural gas. I did put tile down as well in the kitchen.
Housing is a huge asset if you buy the right property. Too often I see college grads going out and buying $280,000 dollar houses out of school, new construction because they want NEW. NEW isn’t always BETTER.
This is really the post for that though, so carry on.
A house for yourself or as an investment is a great opportunity. As Ryan said, if you can afford to buy, NOW is the time! Mortage rates are extremely low. I locked in at 4.5% on a re-fi.
I understand it’s a great time to buy. I don’t anticipate being in this area for more than another year or year and a half given my job assignment. No plan to stay long term.
So buying’s not a realistic option for me.
It doesn’t seem to be a great investment unless you have at least 4-5 years into it or had some kind of MAD crazy down payment that lets you build equity more quickly. (Flipside is if one had that cash sitting around anyways- there are other ways to make money off that, perhaps risky as well but with higher return potential)
Of course having a good down payment for and buying a cheaper, not so new place, that needs only a small amount of work and is projected to stay or go up in value is going to be a winner. No disagreement there.
Congrats. I’m paying off the rest of my Vette loan next week! Just truck and land/house payment now! I just got my first credit card at 25 years of age.
Multi-families are the way to go IMO. It is one of the safest investments you can make and one of the rare cases you can make your money work for you, instead of the other way around, all the while building equity and eventually making a profit. I know a lot of people who have done this and it turned out really well for them by the time they were ready to retire. Houses were paid off and all the rent was extra income every month.
I never had TONS of debt, but i was paying out about…220-250 per month on a loan and CC’s but at the time i wasnt making much at all lol. So it was def nice when i just payed them all off and sold the vehicle with the loan and actually saw money accumulating…
CC’s are a waste in my opinion, if you have the money to pay it off every month, why not just use a debit card…
The one and only reason I would be keeping no more than two CC open is for credit score reason. It actually hurts your credit to not have at least two open lines in good standing. Up to 30 points.