I'm thankful for my hubby who had a lot of wisdom when we first got married in this area.
First of all, we decided we'd never be in debt. We do use a credit card but we always pay it off in full each month. Our house is a debt -technically- but early in our marriage we were able to pay it off early and use that big chunk in investing in other houses. (More on that later) We also consider a house an investment instead of a liability. Most all the time you can sell your house for more than you bought it for. I say most because the market is unpredictable and it has been known to drop.
We've never owned a new car or had college debt. New cars are usually a liability because the depreciation on them is enormous! And most people are still paying off their college debts way into their 30s and aren't even using their degrees!
Now, the kicker is this- most people when they are trying to get out of debt are trying to get their money to zero. They would like to not be under water anymore but just tread water. My hubby's great wisdom has always been this-why just be at zero when you can be way ABOVE zero!
Our thinking has never been.."Well we have $100 what can we spend it on?" or "Do we have enough to go to the movies tonight?" If you have to think if you have enough ..then you probably shouldn't go.
So how do you get to that point? Well, we did a lot of scrimping and saving in the early days. We rarely ate out and if we did nobody got a soda and we had a $2 per person limit on what you could get. We tried to find all the free things we could do and rarely spent money on stuff for the kids and big outings, amusement parks etc. They never asked us for anything either because it was just understood that mom and dad wouldn't buy them anything while we were out and about.
We also always had the mindset that we are to leave an inheritance not just for OUR kids but for our children's children! Can you imagine!! Proverbs 13:22 says "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children"
We always tried to look down the road 10-20 years not just to the next payday.
My hubby had plans upon plans and backup plans upon backup plans for when he lost his job, when big expenses came up etc.
When we first got married, I knew I would want to stay home with the kids. So I was working, but we pretended like I didn't make anything and just stashed all that money away so that when we did have kids we would be used to living on one income AND we'd have a stash to start out!
As we paid off our first house, we used that capital to start investing in other houses. These houses we've always known to be for our kids later on. They aren't making that much money in the short term but eventually over the long haul they will be paid off (by other people paying them!).
Now it's never too late to get started. I highly encourage everyone to not just get to zero but go way above that!
Save, invest, think long term, don't get caught up in status symbols, think drastically--maybe getting rid of a smart phone, or cable, or going down to only one car, or moving to a lower income side of town where the housing is cheaper! These are all really drastic things to do!
Now I'm not saying you've got to live like misers and reuse paper plates! But just think ahead and count the cost of decisions. Luke 14:28 "28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—"
And long term they could have a huge ripple effect on not only your kids but your kid's kids!
