disneysteve
DIS meet junkie
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2002
I'll make this short. You are living beyond your means and you need to stop NOW!
You earn a comfortable income and your debt load really isn't that bad. When we got married and bought our house, our debt was actually a little higher than yours and our income was lower. But all of our debt was "good" debt - mortgage and student loans. We did have the remnants of a car loan but that was minimal.
But somehow we managed to pay all our bills on time and in full, invest a percentage of our income for the future, and make substantial extra principal payments on my student loans to pay them off nearly 13 years ahead of schedule. During that time, we furnished a home, raised a child and took regular vacations including 16 trips to WDW as well as numerous other places.
How did we accomplish that? We lived below our means. What exactly does that mean? It means we bought store brand groceries, cooked most meals at home from scratch, didn't have cable tv or any add-on telephone services. It means we accepted that we couldn't live in our dream home. When we traveled, we drove, stayed in budget motels and ate PB+J sandwiches for lunch. We shopped at yard sales, flea markets and thrift shops.
We've now been married for over 13 years. We still live in our first home. I've been a licensed driver for 25 years and am currently driving my 3rd car. We currently invest 16% of my gross pay and 75% of DW's gross pay. By the way, DW just went back to work this year after being a SAHM for nearly 10 years.
It is all doable if you change your mind-set. Good luck.
You earn a comfortable income and your debt load really isn't that bad. When we got married and bought our house, our debt was actually a little higher than yours and our income was lower. But all of our debt was "good" debt - mortgage and student loans. We did have the remnants of a car loan but that was minimal.
But somehow we managed to pay all our bills on time and in full, invest a percentage of our income for the future, and make substantial extra principal payments on my student loans to pay them off nearly 13 years ahead of schedule. During that time, we furnished a home, raised a child and took regular vacations including 16 trips to WDW as well as numerous other places.
How did we accomplish that? We lived below our means. What exactly does that mean? It means we bought store brand groceries, cooked most meals at home from scratch, didn't have cable tv or any add-on telephone services. It means we accepted that we couldn't live in our dream home. When we traveled, we drove, stayed in budget motels and ate PB+J sandwiches for lunch. We shopped at yard sales, flea markets and thrift shops.
We've now been married for over 13 years. We still live in our first home. I've been a licensed driver for 25 years and am currently driving my 3rd car. We currently invest 16% of my gross pay and 75% of DW's gross pay. By the way, DW just went back to work this year after being a SAHM for nearly 10 years.
It is all doable if you change your mind-set. Good luck.