Quote:
Originally Posted by sid
Next month I celebrate my 30 year anniversary of being debt free. I decided back in college that I would own my own home and be debt free by age 30, and I accomplished it with a couple months to spare. I still feel that was the best financial decision I have ever made in my life.
The weird thing is, back then, I was ridiculed by almost everyone for doing this. Everyone was telling me how I should have kept the debt and invested the money instead. Many of those same people have lost their jobs, a lot of their savings, and some their homes over this past 30 years. Many of my neighbors and friends are now aggressively trying to get rid of their debt after seeing how well I have made out.
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Yeah, in the '90s
everyone was saying if you weren't all-in in the stock market you were an idiot. If you didn't pull all the equity out of your house to dump into the market you were an idiot. Well I knew my investing track record- dismal, fail, suck- and by that time I also learned why they are called stockbrokers: because they leave you broker- so I went after debt reduction/equity building instead. Aside from potential opportunity cost, it's a sure thing. Didn't make it by 30 (partly because I treated myself to my first new vehicle as a bucket list thing to have by 30; partly from not finding my career start right out of school. P.S. also my first "career" position paid poorly) but not too far off. Being dragged into the child suppoort system didn't help one bit either.
If only I was as good a dumpster diver then as now... the government helped me become a master scavenger by teaching me that they can take all my income and liberty should they choose to. Yay.