What's your financial story?

[TxAg]

A very, very small percentage of people that use credit cards actually have the money to pay them off at the end of the month.. Yes they are a huge problem because they are to easy for anyone to get..
1 trillion in debt should be proof enough...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...sjglJJaawStLaF

Credit cards are tools. Lots of people do things incorrectly. That doesn't make it the tool's fault.

[tdwinklr]

A very, very small percentage of people that use credit cards actually have the money to pay them off at the end of the month.. Yes they are a huge problem because they are to easy for anyone to get..
1 trillion in debt should be proof enough...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...sjglJJaawStLaF

count me in then, we pay the balance every month on ONE card. We only use it to buy online stuff since many of the things we need are limited in stores, or they don't have it, or we just want it delivered. If it ever gets to the point that I can't do that, I'll throw it away.
Other than that, we only have 1 debt pmt. which is property that we plan to build on some day.

[TxTechBowhunter]

For those of you that follow Dave Ramsey and want to do the envelope system but would rather use it online instead of actual envelopes, check out www.youneedabudget.com.

[ctom87]

College I was recruited to play baseball at a ton of D3 private Christian schools. The issue with that is that there is no athletic scholarships, and those schools are around $30,000 a year to attend. I was told, "We'll get you some academic scholarships, don't worry about that," with no real plan on how that would actually occur. So I chose to go to one the least expensive schools in the country: Northwestern Oklahoma State University. I changed degrees twice and due to Tommy John surgery, I graduated at 25 years old with a degree in Mass Communication and $23,000 in debt. That's 7 1/2 years of college and out of pocket I only owed a Kia car payment. Not bad for not receiving any help at all from parents or any savings accts that were set up for me. My first year, I used about $2,500 in bonds that had matured over 18 years.

I worked 4 jobs throughout the week, was a full-time student and had baseball practice/games daily.

Student Debt $49,000 was my first salary. I didn't negotiate that number. Coming from a family that never had tons of money, $49k a year at 26 years old felt like a dream. When I told my dad what I made, he said it took him over 40 years to make that, and I remember those days. He was working 7 days a week 10 hours a day at the GM plant in Arlington. I felt like I had made it...then came expenses. $49k ain't NOTHING in today's world in the city. I figured that after taxes, 401k, insurance, and everything that is taken out of your check, I ended up with only 63% of my salary, or $30,800. That's only $2,500 a month. An apartment is going to cost roughly $900, gas is another $150, Internet and phone is another $100, food is about $250, $350 minimum on my student debt, electric and water another $150...the list goes on and on. How can you save money to buy a house and settle?

I ended up not upgrading my truck - had a '97 Chevy I still drive today. I moved in with my then girlfriend, took up a second job coaching a 10u baseball team and I put every extra dollar onto my debt. I paid off my 10-year student loan in 24 months.

Marriage I married someone who is well beyond my level of frugality. It amazes me...She bought a house on her own at 25 years old in 2009, and now together we're about to pay it off in about 4 years. We're currently putting an extra $1,200 a month on top of the $1,100 mortgage. We're closing in on 6 figures in our savings accounts and we're planning on using it to buy land. I'm slowly convincing her it needs to be dual purpose...I want to hunt the land we live on!! There's no secret or money that was given to us regarding the savings accounts...we just keep putting in $800 a month.

I designed her wedding rings which ended up savings me about $18,000. I also used an heirloom diamond for the center stone... the one her dad (who is no longer with us) gave to her mom.

We don't eat out but about 5 to 10 times a year, and when we do, it's usually using gift cards that we've accumulated. We go out of our way for a deal...for instance, I just bought a 1-sandwich per week deal at Schlotzkey's for $30 which I'll use for lunch once a week for the next year.

Everything elseWe have credit cards, but they pay us 1% cash back on one of them, and Miles on Southwest for the other. When we travel, it's basically free. We stay at cheap hotels and don't eat fancy. We both feel we went crazy traveling this year as we've gone to Italy, Grand Cayman, Chile and a ton of places domesticly (I also work for an airline so we get free travel that way as well).

It's kind of our unspoken dream to open a BBQ joint... I make some really really good brisket that I would put up to anyone else's in the state.

We're just really blessed with what we have. Everything we do is either on sale, or we do it ourselves, or we use giftcards, etc. Nothing we do is at full price. We don't have anything too fancy, and we save a lot.

Cars Almost forgot about cars... I am paying off my Dodge Ram 1500... I bought it "used" for $27,500. It was valued at $31,000 and the dealership honored a mistake in their online pricing. We also paid cash for a used 2014 lexus my wife drives. We plan on driving them 'til the wheels fall off, atleast 200,000 miles. We just don't see the point in buying a newer car every year or so.

Shed This is probably also worth mentioning as it reinforces the whole "I'll do it myself" mantra I've got going. I designed and built my shed in the backyard for about $6,000. A toughshed with the closest dimensions and what not started at $12,000 and didn't have electricity.

Bottom line We do everything ourselves, don't buy anything at full price, pay off credit cards at the end of the month in full to gain the points back, etc.

I'm more than happy to talk about it in further detail if anyone would like to bounce some ideas off me.

[Quackerbox]

I'm one of the lucky ones that has managed to out-earn my own stupidity.

My hero!!!


I make more than I spend and feel like I spend too much. Theres always plenty money leftover at the end of the month. I owe on my house and a boat. Since my truck is paid for each of those are paid more than the note. Hoping to have only a mortgage in about 6 months so we can build possible retirement home at the age of 40

I also work a little on the side for toys. Other than the boat, hunts,guns,bows,vacations etc come from side money

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[150class]

Working on ours currently

Big bump in classifieds postings is my sale to help with debt.

Hit a big bump yesterday buying the Mrs a new camera lens... Wanted a special gift for Christmas for her and caved.

[Jcjohnson]

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[Radar]

I pick up aluminum cans and haul donkeys for people

[2Lazy2P]

I buy high and sell cheap. I started with nothing and have most of it left.

[EastTexasMan]

I'm down here in Mexico sick as a dog,
My head is poundin' in this border town fog,
Down to my last dime and comin' apart at the seams,
I'm messed up in Mexico, Livin' on refried dreams..

Broke and living on Refried Dreams baby!

[McClain]

A very, very small percentage of people that use credit cards actually have the money to pay them off at the end of the month.. Yes they are a huge problem because they are to easy for anyone to get..
1 trillion in debt should be proof enough...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...sjglJJaawStLaF

Sorry, I don't follow your logic. The credit card is not the problem, it doesn't run up the dept -- undisciplined folks are the ones that accrue the debt beyond their ability to handle it. If you are saying that some folks shouldn't own a credit card because they can't or won't control their spending, then I agree, but the technology is not the problem. Clearly, some of the fault lies with the institutions that make it too easy for irresponsible people to obtain credit, but again, the problem lies principally with the individual.

[CRM_95]

On a good day I can get a 6 pack of Stones AND a couple dollar menu burritos at Taco Bell. So I'm doing all right.

[Radar]

On a good day I can get a 6 pack of Stones AND a couple dollar menu burritos at Taco Bell. So I'm doing all right.

I ain’t riding in no pickup truck with you after all that mess. Dang

[Kooter80]

Here’s how we started. I got a few friends and purchased 100 to 250 acre tracts of land. Bank requires 20% down, split that with your buds. Finance the balance with a one year interest only ballon note. Make small payments, wait a yr so you pay long term not short term gains then list it. Leased to hay rights to make some of the payments. Play,hunt,enjoy the place then sell it. Made 300k on two places. Of course that was split with my partners.

[bowhntrmatt]

I’m 30 and my wife is 34. I have never owned a credit card in my life (and my credit score is north of 800).

The only debt we have left is our house, and our house down at the coast we just bought this year. We live within our means, and make paying stuff off a priority. I don’t think we live extremely frugally, and certainly can overspend sometimes, but at the end of the day we stay well within our comfort zone.