Finance Dave
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2007
- Messages
- 1,864
1) Bought 1st house on 15-year fixed loan and put 25% down, even though bank said we could afford much more house if we went to 30 year loan. Then, we paid off the 15 year loan in 12 years.
2) Learned to do nearly all home repairs myself...rarely hired a contractor except when highly specialized tools or knowledge were needed
3) Other than our house, only bought items that we could easily pay cash for. This included our wedding...we had a basic wedding and invited 80 people...all paid with cash
4) Used bonus (variable compensation) money from work to buy "needs" rather than "wants". For example, the guys at work made fun of me for buying a set of Tupperware with one of my first bonus checks.
5) Worked as much OT as I could when I was hourly....which caused me to miss out on some events with friends
6) Drove junker cars for the early years. One car had a rusted out floorboard and I had to tell a girl I picked up for a date not to put too much weight in the center of the floorboard because there was a hole there the size of an apple. She called that car my Fred Flintstone car...and she is now my wife
7) I took an executive MBA program (28 months) while working FT. We planned our wedding between semesters, and went on a honeymoon to Europe. I had assignments over the break, so I spent all travel time (such as in the plane) studying and preparing assignments.
8) I did all my college education at night while working FT. It took me 11 years to get my Engineering and MBA degrees, but my company paid for it all so I had zero student loans. I also had very little social life for a few of those years.
I don't regret a single one of those decisions. I was about as focused as could be for that early period...and as a result I can now do nearly anything I want, any time I want.
2) Learned to do nearly all home repairs myself...rarely hired a contractor except when highly specialized tools or knowledge were needed
3) Other than our house, only bought items that we could easily pay cash for. This included our wedding...we had a basic wedding and invited 80 people...all paid with cash
4) Used bonus (variable compensation) money from work to buy "needs" rather than "wants". For example, the guys at work made fun of me for buying a set of Tupperware with one of my first bonus checks.
5) Worked as much OT as I could when I was hourly....which caused me to miss out on some events with friends
6) Drove junker cars for the early years. One car had a rusted out floorboard and I had to tell a girl I picked up for a date not to put too much weight in the center of the floorboard because there was a hole there the size of an apple. She called that car my Fred Flintstone car...and she is now my wife
7) I took an executive MBA program (28 months) while working FT. We planned our wedding between semesters, and went on a honeymoon to Europe. I had assignments over the break, so I spent all travel time (such as in the plane) studying and preparing assignments.
8) I did all my college education at night while working FT. It took me 11 years to get my Engineering and MBA degrees, but my company paid for it all so I had zero student loans. I also had very little social life for a few of those years.
I don't regret a single one of those decisions. I was about as focused as could be for that early period...and as a result I can now do nearly anything I want, any time I want.