YUP! This is a good thing we've got here, we've got younger RE wannabe's, young RE's and older RE's and older RE wannabe's ! Quite the wealth of knowledge here, for sure, and I think most of us have been bouncing around boards since the TMF days at least. Many of us are too cheap to pay the TMF fee, that's for sure !
I am definitely in the mode of building the foundation for RE/FI. I've never been a big spender, most of my hobbies are either cheap, or make me money. I am a big DYI'er, so I did buy my own house, extremely cheap foreclosure house. Due to sweat equity, it's about doubled in value now. Not for everyone, but living in the NE, rents have been skyrocketing along with house prices. I pay about 1/2 what rent would cost me, plus I really need a garage for my hobbies. Of course, other costs have gone up, but I ain't gonna get in the rent vs buy debate, to each his own !
I have no debt except for about 60K of mortgage debt. Life is pretty easy and the nest egg has been growing lately. Of course, if I was married or had a live in girlfriend, much of what I have done would not have been possible. The house I bought was pretty bad at first, and I ripped out the one bathroom and the kitchen right away ! Don't ask how I lived there, it wasn't easy !
I've learned tons by the people here and from the other boards, and plan to keep on learning and give back when I can. I am especially interested in Dory's way of life, and would very much like to hear more about the lifestyle, costs involved, etc.
Good luck to all,
Panhead
I am definitely in the mode of building the foundation for RE/FI. I've never been a big spender, most of my hobbies are either cheap, or make me money. I am a big DYI'er, so I did buy my own house, extremely cheap foreclosure house. Due to sweat equity, it's about doubled in value now. Not for everyone, but living in the NE, rents have been skyrocketing along with house prices. I pay about 1/2 what rent would cost me, plus I really need a garage for my hobbies. Of course, other costs have gone up, but I ain't gonna get in the rent vs buy debate, to each his own !
I have no debt except for about 60K of mortgage debt. Life is pretty easy and the nest egg has been growing lately. Of course, if I was married or had a live in girlfriend, much of what I have done would not have been possible. The house I bought was pretty bad at first, and I ripped out the one bathroom and the kitchen right away ! Don't ask how I lived there, it wasn't easy !
I've learned tons by the people here and from the other boards, and plan to keep on learning and give back when I can. I am especially interested in Dory's way of life, and would very much like to hear more about the lifestyle, costs involved, etc.
Good luck to all,
Panhead