- quote -

I missed it the first time to, but I *knew* it was there somewhere ;-)

- quote -

Beleive it or not I took your advise to heart, and I thank everyone for
their help. I was just being a little sarcastic... it doesn't always come
across very well through newsgroups, email, etc..

I think I differ a bit in that I don't want to expend all of my energy
paying down a mortgage... looking ahead 25 years and have to give up my
hobbies, fun activities etc... (you know the stuff that makes the work week
bearable).

My goal isn't to have no mortgage in 5 or 10 years. It was to get rid of
unsecured debt (I stress unsecured since I still have the car payment), so I
sleep better at night, and in order to save for a wedding so we wouldn't
start our married life in a financial hole. Also I felt after reading on
this newsgroup that it was important to put savings together for
emergencies, vacations, vehicle repair etc... instead of relying on a CC to
bail myself out. Proactive... not reactive.

I don't feel a small mortgage payment, and one car payment (hers is paid
off) is too horrible for a couple our age (30 next week). I don't exactly
drive a luxury car. I feel we are better off than a lot of people our age,
then again that may just be because my generation is not very good with
money. I see too many friends and acquantinces out of control in spending
and debt. Just thought I was starting to head down that same road.

But I take your advise about saving as much as possible for the future to
heart. After the wedding next May, my vehicle will get paid off early (and
I plan to continue to drive it). I can build more savings, and max out my
401K, I'd also like to start an IRA. I'll probably still have more left
over at the end of the month than when I was saddled with the CC payments.

In article <h1MSc.18$gt1.18561[at]news.uswest.net> , ks
<co_big_cheese[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -


Ooooops. I owe an apology to "co_big_cheese" here. When looking
up my posting on Google, Google only shows the first 50 lines. The
remaining 65 lines were hidden. In my ranting and raving section
at the bottom of the message, I did say exactly that which is quoted
above. I apologise for getting on your case yesterday. But my
advise from both May and yesterday are still valid, and I stand
behind that advise. You may not understand the repurcussions of
being head over heels in debt today, but when you are in your
50's and heading towards retirement with little savings and still
have that debt dogging you, you are going to wish that you had
behaved differently with money in your 20's and 30's. Money has
a time component to it that cannot be replaced once the time has
passed. A vast majority of the population retires with little
savings, living on government handouts, and not even having enough
money to burry themselves when they die. Don't be one of these
people. Put a way a little gold for those golden years.

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

- quote -

Only one person ever called me EZ that I can think of....same person used to
call me "sawed off"! And this would be the right kind of forum for him to
be lurking around on.

Email me at my listed address..... long time no hear.

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote in message
news:110820042144218769%john[at]johnweeks.com...
- quote -

Really???? He says he's out of debt. How can you say he still has a spending
problem? Being miserly doesn't really mean you're better at handling your
finances, you know.

Elizabeth

I honestly don't think so. I went a little haywire after I bought my house.
I also honestly do have too many expensive hobbies. So I cut back on some
trips and a few activities and just really tried to cut out some of the crap
like expensive dinnners, lunch out (I live close enough to work to go home
for lunch), etc.... It really wasn't that bad.


"Michael" <mike1174[at]comcast.net> wrote in message
news:dfd40822.0408120447.1b66f372[at]posting.google.com...
- quote -

And I quote....

"You need to sell that car and get something reasonable. You need to call a
realtor and
see about selling your house and getting one that you all can afford."

- quote -


- quote -

The debt is gone... but I guess I'm not serious about paying it off. Now
all the "extra $$" is going into savings instead of being spent... but I
guess I still have a problem.

Yes I still have a house payment.... yes I still have a few years left on a
car payment. That's our only debt! After we save enough to pay for our
wedding in cash, my car is getting paid off early. So I guess I don't see
that the sky is falling. I guess we'll just agree to disagree John.

Good for you! I'm doing the same thing! Mostly cutting back on
vacations to get rid of my CC debt. By the end of the year is my
goal.

Do you think you'll ever fall back into so much CC debt that your
daily activities will be cut back again? This is my second time
digging out, hopefulyl the last!


"ks" <co_big_cheese[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<EeySc.314$dm1.32359[at]news.uswest.net> ...
- quote -

"ks" <co_big_cheese[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:EeySc.314$dm1.32359[at]news.uswest.net...
- quote -



EZ? That you?

In article <EeySc.314$dm1.32359[at]news.uswest.net> , ks
<co_big_cheese[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Please go back and re-read the postings--they are still on google.
I told you that you overspent on your car, and likely got a bad deal,
but I never told you to sell it. I also pointed out that you had too
much house for your income level. You said that you were considering
upgrading to a more expensive home. I said that if anything, you should
consider downsizing. But I didn't say to sell your current home.

What I did say is that you are spending far too much money for what
you earn. Many others agreed with that observation. In fact, I know
that you still have this spending problem since you are hardly making
a dent in your debt. $11K over 13 months is only about $800 a month.
If you were serious about paying off debt, you would be paying down
twice to three times that much money.

I don't want to blow off your accomplishment, it is great to pay down
debt, but you still have a spending problem, and it is going to dog
you for the rest of your life until you get that devil under control.

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

"ks" <co_big_cheese[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:EeySc.314$dm1.32359[at]news.uswest.net...
- quote -

Congratulations. There are plenty of lurkers who will be encouraged by your
success, so thanks for sharing.

Elizabeth Richardson

Sorry, no real point to this post. Just patting myself on the back.

Ok, technically I have need to make one more payment at the end of this
month, but my CC debt is gone. I even beat my goal by 2 months. I paid off
$11,000 in 13 months without having to make major lifestyle changes.

Next up is saving enough cash for our wedding next year, then paying off my
car loan early. I also started putting some emergency funds into savings.
It's not much yet, but it's a start.

P.S. - Sorry Mr. Weekes, I didn't have to sell my house, my car, and all my
posessions to do it. I did it exactly how I said. I spent more wisely and
cut back on a few hobbies.