Good basic principles and it's a great feeling not having any debt.  Also great for the marriage. 

However, Dave Ramsey's name and ideas should be banned from any Arima, fishing or boating site.  Come on guys most of the winter fun is helping others spend their money.  I don't want the guilt that I helped talk him into something they can't afford. 

Mile2885
Sounds like you have some hard decisions to make !
spending time with your kids should be priority number one .
And in my opinion being debt free would clear up a lot more time and headaches then being in debt.
Allowing you to spend more time with loved ones and the money you made after being debt free could be used doing great things with the wife and kids.

As for Dave Ramsey , his principles work / flat out
As a guy that bought my first boat at 18 years old and bought my second at 24 years old and just got my new arima at 28 years of age I can say if it wasn't for Dave it would have never happened .
I was saving for a new boat many years before I ever bought one . I personally know how hard it is to be young and Save for a day that you can't really see comming true .
It took a lot of will power and a lot of people freinds/ and family gave me a hard time for it .
But I can't tel you how nice it is to be 28 and debt free .
Now I'm way ahead on saving for a home and things like that.
My goal is to build the home and have it be paid for at around the age of 35 .
Trust me people think I'm crazy !!!!!!!

But at the end of the day I always tell people this .

(You can't finance fun )

Quote from: FishAddict on January 14, 2019, 10:41:04 PM


However, Dave Ramsey's name and ideas should be banned from any Arima, fishing or boating site.  Come on guys most of the winter fun is helping others spend their money. 

   Funny you should say that, Addict.  I can almost picture Streamfixer sticking pins into a Voodoo doll.......the likes of which, closely resemble this Ramsey guy. 

Yat

Mile, is that Baby Island out your front view?

That's Long Island off of Lopez. Cattle Point/Shark Reef is to the right, Iceberg Point to the left.  I get the spotting scope out to check for boats out there to see if it's time to shrimp.  Makes it easy.

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But just think about how nice it will be to call dave and yell "I'M DEBT FREEEEEEEE!" :D

If you do end up selling let me know.  I feel the 2-foot-itis coming on.

Think the plan is to keep it ans make the property work for us. We'll see how it goes.

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Quote from: Markshoreline on January 13, 2019, 05:12:40 PM
Of all the debt you can carry, a home loan is the best one especially if you have one around 3% or a little more.  Mortgage interest is still tax deductible.

Mark is a wise man.  Our goal was to be debt free but making more money on our investments overruled that. 


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Quote from: Mile2885 on January 15, 2019, 10:19:47 PM
Think the plan is to keep it ans make the property work for us. We'll see how it goes.

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I highly recommend that you and your wife take the nine week Financial Peace course.  No matter what you decide, the course will help you work together.   It has been the best $100 I ever spent.  Frankly, since you are thinking about it, you'd be a fool not to do it!

As for the mortgage interest deduction:  spending 4 dollars to get 1 back, will never make you rich. 

Quote from: First Cabin on January 16, 2019, 08:59:11 AM

Quote from: Mile2885 on January 15, 2019, 10:19:47 PM


As for the mortgage interest deduction:  spending 4 dollars to get 1 back, will never make you rich. 

   Absolutely correct, FC.  Never create a bill in favor of a tax deduction.  Only the very, very wealthy stand to benefit from such a maneuver.  :whistle:

Yat

We have all the FPU materials and have gone through them. I do intend to take the class when offered.

I didn't intend for this topic to make folks think we're struggling or in jeopardy of losing items such as boats, trucks, houses, and vacation property. I'm fortunate to be in the position I'm in. Just could be making  better financial decisions. I think using our cabin as a source of income will be something I look into since it's in a prime location.
     
As far as selling the boat, I think many would probably laugh at my asking price on the boat if we did decide to sell.


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Hey, it's all good!  The fact that you are studying it means you'll be successful either way.  My wife and I use the EveryDollar App on our phones.  It's great! Can't recommend it enough.  After a few months, it really dials things in.  Impossible to hide boat and fishing purchases though!!!!!!

Sounds like you just want to tighten things up.  You can probably knock the boat out quickly.  Home and cabin mortgages should be paid later anyway.   I played the credit card points, HELOC, mortgage, 0% financing game for 20 years.  Turning it around and dumping debt really changes the game.

Give it a go....if you don't like it, it's very easy to go back in debt!

Quote from: First Cabin on January 16, 2019, 11:44:27 AM
Impossible to hide boat and fishing purchases though!!!!!!

Well, there's a disadvantage!!!   

Mile-  We'd consider renting our place if it wasn't our primary residence as we have all of our personal belongings here.  If it was a vacation home that only had essentials I wouldn't mind renting it.  I'd charge enough to make it worth it and require a deposit to cover damages.

Unfortunately there is a lot of items to consider and hoops to jump through before I can rent it. San Juan County now has a requirement for a vacation rental permit that is around $2300. Additionally, I need to notify neighbors - which may be a sensitive subject since it's a private bay and owner mantained road.  I don't want to cause any issues with the relationships I've formed with neighbors.  Once all that's checked off, finding a local reliable cleaning person and emergency on-call maintenance person is the next step. Even through location is prime, it's not as easy as putting up an ad to rent.  First world problems.

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Lots of communities are starting to clamp down on the short term rentals.  We have one in our neighborhood that we rent for family visitors which is convenient.  But its a pita to have folks you don't know wandering around your property every weekend.

Dave Ramsey's plan is crap. My plan is to break even when I die. ;-)
-Shawn

Quote from: wedocq on February 09, 2019, 07:20:38 AM
Dave Ramsey's plan is crap. My plan is to break even when I die. ;-)
-Shawn

Lol.....maybe I should think this way as well, if I did I would already have a new fishing rig :applause:

Quote from: wedocq on February 09, 2019, 07:20:38 AM
Dave Ramsey's plan is crap. My plan is to break even when I die. ;-)
-Shawn

Funny Shawn,
A chief engineer that I worked with a few years ago lived in Mexico during his time off.  He had an old retired friend/drinking buddy down there that he would help with mechanical things on the buddies boat.  The guy told him "Damn I didn't think I'd live this long."

Kimbrey,
I am so lucky to have been a Teamster Union member since I was 19! I honestly didn't even think about what retirement funds I was going to have when I retired until well into my 30's. Fortunately, we have one of the strongest pensions in the nation.  I make PEER in December, which means I am eligible to retire. (I am only 49!) I think I am going to hold out til I am 55, and continue to build that pension.
-Shawn

Shawn you may well live until you are eighty or more....
With inflation the cost of living keeps on going up and pensions tend to not keep pace so keep that in mind on when you plan to retire.

X2. Also, health care plans ain't cheap either.

Good points guys. Have you ever heard the old saying, "retire at 50 and live to 85, retire at 65, and live to 67"? It's not just a saying, the pension numbers from our plan bear that out. I plan on retiring early, but I won't touch my 401k until much later.
-Shawn

I almost cried when I got my last 401k statement. That market drop the last month or so hurt. 

I know, right? I am fortunate that my 401k and SS will be supplemental income. Even then, it's a bit unnerving when it takes a sudden drop!