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Bought a huge house with a 3 car garage and a pool!

LeftBench

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And now I'm up to my eyeballs in debt.

I make a decent living from my Slowlane job, but obviously its not what I want in life, which is why I am here. Recently my family and I upgraded to a much nicer home on a bigger piece of land. I knew that money was going to be tight, but didn't realize it was going to be THIS tight. We've been racking up some debt on the credit cards and are just barely able to cover all the bills. I have a few loans that will be paid off soon, making it easier to make sure all the bills will be paid, but I'll definitely still be living paycheck to paycheck.

This is possibly the best thing to ever happen to me though. I needed a kick in the a$$ to get myself back into the Fastlane mindset. Now that I'm feeling the heat knowing that I need to be making extra money to keep this roof over my family's head, I KNOW that I will succeed.

Thanks to the MF book and this forum, I have a much different MINDSET than I had years ago. I am making different CHOICES and I am experiencing a level of MOTIVATION that I've never experienced before. Old me would be blaming my poor choices on bad luck, my job, someone else, etc. New me is using this as a motivator to go out there and find some needs and kick some a$$.

Have a great night all.
 
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JasonR

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So...you're bragging about your Pool and 3 Car garage in Jersey, except you can't pay the bills?

Have you thought about selling the house and renting, and putting the rest of the money into a business?
 

Gsuz

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I think you're tricking yourself here. Having almost all your money attached to debt and bills is one of the worst positions to start a business IMO, because you can't really afford to lose anything. I also don't really understand why you decide to upgrade after knowing cash is gonna be tight. Good luck
 

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ZCP

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So the numbers did not work and you made the decision anyway?? Do that in business and you will not be in business long.

Moving on...... What is your plan of action?
 

jlwilliams

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OK. Your feeling the pressure and you are pumped to take some action to get past this self inflicted debt storm. I don't get the impression you are bragging about your position, I get the impression you are owning up to it. I believe I get it.

You can't just tease us like this. You tell us you are in deep and that you have the proverbial gun to your head. That's what they call a 'cliffhanger.' We need to see the hero of the story (that better be you, since you are writing your story) save the day and beat the villains who's names are Debt and Mediocrity.
 
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OscarDeuce

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I'll be the contrarian here. No need for despair at all. Every day, LeftBench wakes up to ... motivation! Beautiful surroundings that he provided for his family. Now, this provides motivation in a couple of ways. Yes, there's the negative motivation of wanting to hang on to it and not slide backwards. On the positive side, his surroundings should create a "prosperity consciousness" that will drive him to create the wealth he desires. Some here think he's boxed himself in because he doesn't have the funds to start his fast lane business. However, just glancing at the threads adjacent to this one on the forum, I see several providing advice on how to generate income right away with little or no upfront cost, in one's spare time. Would an extra $1,000/week help the OP pay down some of that debt and fund a "fast lane" start up?

Cheers,
O-2
 

LeftBench

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Haha well I feel like an idiot.

So...you're bragging about your Pool and 3 Car garage in Jersey, except you can't pay the bills?

I'm definitely not bragging. In fact, I'm admitting that buying this home was a mistake. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself I'm using my mistake to motivate myself to work harder. I created the thread title to get people to click on the post, and I immediately admit in the post that I've screwed up.

Have you thought about selling the house and renting, and putting the rest of the money into a business?

Yes. Right now if we sell we will take a massive loss. We are seriously thinking about selling, though, as soon as it makes more sense financially.

I think you're tricking yourself here. Having almost all your money attached to debt and bills is one of the worst positions to start a business IMO, because you can't really afford to lose anything. I also don't really understand why you decide to upgrade after knowing cash is gonna be tight. Good luck

Thank you for your good luck wishes. At this time I'm focusing less on starting "that big business" and am focusing more on passive (and non-passive) income systems online. Blogging, podcasting, etc isn't very expensive to get going. It's also something I can work on during downtime at my Slowlane. Once some money frees up I may consider other options, but for now I am keeping it cheap because of the position I've put myself in with my bad decisions. I'm also doing less Fastlane stuff on the side to make as much side money as possible. This will not last forever.

When did you buy the house?

We closed in January of 2015.

So the numbers did not work and you made the decision anyway?? Do that in business and you will not be in business long.

Yup. You're absolutely right. In life, like in business, we all make mistakes. This was probably one of my worst ones. But I will work hard and rebound from it. I am not in the position where I will lose my house, I am able to get by. I just have to keep working my a$$ off and I will turn the tables.

Moving on...... What is your plan of action?


Work my a$$ off and put some more money in the bank. Non-Fastlane stuff. Work lots of OT at the Slowlane. All while doing the Fastlane stuff on the side. Don't want to get into too much detail as to what my current projects are, but I'm working. I just need to stick with it, keep a high level of motivation, and keep chipping away and working hard. In the past I've let myself get lazy. I'm not going to let that happen again!

OK. Your feeling the pressure and you are pumped to take some action to get past this self inflicted debt storm. I don't get the impression you are bragging about your position, I get the impression you are owning up to it. I believe I get it.

That's definitely it. Not bragging at all... I know a big house with a 3 car garage means nothing here. There are folks on here with millions in the bank, driving Lamborghinis. Me buying a house I can't afford isn't really something to brag about. I'm sorry some felt that I was bragging, that definitely was not my intention at all. I just made that thread title to get clicks so I could share my story. I am definitely motivated.

You can't just tease us like this. You tell us you are in deep and that you have the proverbial gun to your head. That's what they call a 'cliffhanger.' We need to see the hero of the story (that better be you, since you are writing your story) save the day and beat the villains who's names are Debt and Mediocrity.

Thanks for this! I won't consider myself any type of hero until I can give my family the type of financially free life I've been imagining for them, but I sure will be working my a$$ off against those damn Debt and Mediocrity villains. :)
 
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LeftBench

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I'll be the contrarian here. No need for despair at all. Every day, LeftBench wakes up to ... motivation! Beautiful surroundings that he provided for his family. Now, this provides motivation in a couple of ways. Yes, there's the negative motivation of wanting to hang on to it and not slide backwards. On the positive side, his surroundings should create a "prosperity consciousness" that will drive him to create the wealth he desires. Some here think he's boxed himself in because he doesn't have the funds to start his fast lane business. However, just glancing at the threads adjacent to this one on the forum, I see several providing advice on how to generate income right away with little or no upfront cost, in one's spare time. Would an extra $1,000/week help the OP pay down some of that debt and fund a "fast lane" start up?

Cheers,
O-2


Thanks for this post! I'm definitely focusing on debt reduction before funding my fast lane start up. A lot of the success stories you see out there happen after someone fails at something, makes a large mistake financially, or is at rock bottom. While I'm definitely not at rock bottom, I screwed up and am going to put a positive spin on it and come out just fine.
 
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Get Right

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Work my a$$ off and put some more money in the back. Non-Fastlane stuff. Work lots of OT at the Slowlane.
This scares me worse than buying the house. Why, oh why man.
 

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My impression is your place is quite spacious - any way to AirBnB or sub-let it to ease your financial burden? Rent out parking spaces? Use the pool for swimming lessons for neighbourhood kids? Turn your liability into an asset. Make your weakness your strength.

Then you won't need to OT and you'll get more time to work on your fastlane project.
 

LeftBench

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This scares me worse than buying the house. Why, oh why man.

With all due respect, you didn't quote the next sentence, which stated I'd be working on my Fastlane venture as well. Bottom line is at this point in my life I still need to focus on the slowlane as well until I get my finances back in order. Instead of bootstrapping to earn the funds to start a business, I will use my overtime funds to do so (after bills are taken care of).
 
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LeftBench

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My impression is your place is quite spacious - any way to AirBnB or sub-let it to ease your financial burden? Rent out parking spaces? Then you won't need to OT and you'll get more time to work on your fastlane project.

I will look into these ideas. Thanks!!
 

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Talk is cheap. Start an INSIDERS thread and get specific or put a counter in this thread and list daily how much debt has gone down.

Just working some OT is not a fastlane plan.

Just working some OT .... AND starting a hustle thread ... AND importing two product samples .... AND doing some side consulting work for a fee is a fastlane plan.
 

LeftBench

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Talk is cheap. Start an INSIDERS thread and get specific or put a counter in this thread and list daily how much debt has gone down.

Just working some OT is not a fastlane plan.

Just working some OT .... AND starting a hustle thread ... AND importing two product samples .... AND doing some side consulting work for a fee is a fastlane plan.

Good post, you make a lot of great points. Working overtime is definitely not a fast lane plan.... If it was I'd be a Fastlane billionaire!

I'm definitely hustling... I will consider making threads about my endeavors or getting more specific about my debt. Like I said, right now I'm focusing on blogging and podcasting. A semi saturated market at the moment but there is lots of money to be made in the right niches.

I've been working side security gigs, OT at work, and selling unneeded items online, but these things are definitely not part of my Fastlane plan. Just bringing in extra money.

As far as a counter:
CC debt is about 18k
We will focus on that for now and I will keep folks updated. Will get more specific about other bills/debt when I get a chance to sit down.

First time using Tapatalk, hope this post works.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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MJ DeMarco

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You've been here nearly two years. You've bought this house just a few months ago. A true Fastlane mindset would have not "upgraded" to the bigger house and instead waited until you could have afforded it via your biz ventures, or high paying Slowlane gig.

If it were me, I'd sell the house and move somewhere where I can focus on debt and increase my available time.

Since you just bought it, your loss can't be too much since the market hasn't really changed. Throw it up on an MLS listing service ($500), give the buyer agent 3%, and sell it yourself. But I'm going to guess that doesn't really interest you because lets face it, you love where you live and it justifies your pain and turmoil.

In the end, you've upgrade your stuff, but downgraded your choices, your free time, and your dreams. Again, lifestyle servitude (the hedonic treadmill) is mentioned over and over in TMF , and around here-- once again, this is evidence that people don't act by being told the fire is hot, they act when they burn.

right now I'm focusing on blogging and podcasting.

These aren't businesses, but marketing mediums. And both are grossly saturated and overdone. IMO, it's not leading the crowd, it's following it.

Action and meaningful action are two different things.

Good luck, I hope we hear positive updates.
 
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LeftBench

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You've been here nearly two years. You've bought this house just a few months ago. A true Fastlane mindset would have not "upgraded" to the bigger house and instead waited until you could have afforded it via your biz ventures, or high paying Slowlane gig.

If it were me, I'd sell the house and move somewhere where I can focus on debt and increase my available time.

Since you just bought it, your loss can't be too much since the market hasn't really changed. Throw it up on an MLS listing service ($500) and sell it yourself. But I'm going to guess that doesn't really interest you because lets face it, you love where you live and it justifies your pain and turmoil.

In the end, you've upgrade your stuff, but downgraded your choices, your free time, and your dreams. Again, lifestyle servitude (the hedonic treadmill) is mentioned over and over in TMF , and around here-- once again, this is evidence that people don't act by being told the fire is hot, they act when they burn.



These aren't businesses, but marketing mediums. And both are grossly saturated and overdone. IMO, it's not leading the crowd, it's following it.

Action and meaningful action are two different things.

Good luck, I hope we hear positive updates.

Thanks for the good luck wishes. I'm definitely not here to make excuses and I definitely did not adhere to the Fastlane mindset when I mistakingly upgraded to a bigger home.

Thanks for the brutal honesty everyone. I've got a lot of work to do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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Can you rent it out? I don't know jack about real estate, but renting things out is the best money tree seedling in the book. I would assume big a$$ houses aren't the typical rental property though.
 
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luniac

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This scares me worse than buying the house. Why, oh why man.

This reminds me of when my coworkers gloat about how they worked SO MUCH OT that their paycheck was HUGE!

LMAOOOOO!!!!! im like "well you did put in massive hours into that "HUGE" check!!!"....

Silly stuff...
 

LeftBench

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Can you rent it out? I don't know jack about real estate, but renting things out is the best money tree seedling in the book. I would assume big a$$ houses aren't the typical rental property though.

I'm going to look into it but I don't know if I'll get enough as a rental to make it worthwhile. Selling it might make more sense. We will see though.


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LeftBench

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This reminds me of when my coworkers gloat about how they worked SO MUCH OT that their paycheck was HUGE!

LMAOOOOO!!!!! im like "well you did put in massive hours into that "HUGE" check!!!"....

Silly stuff...

Good point. I have co-workers who work so much overtime that they don't get to see their kids play any sports, miss huge family events, etc. I have always worked some OT but haven't taken it to that level. I will kick it up a notch, though, to assist in getting me out of the hole I've dug.


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luniac

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Good point. I have co-workers who work so much overtime that they don't get to see their kids play any sports, miss huge family events, etc. I have always worked some OT but haven't taken it to that level. I will kick it up a notch, though, to assist in getting me out of the hole I've dug.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My bad I wasn't directing it at your OT, I fully agree you should definitely do everything in your power to solve your debt problem as fast as possible.
 

jlwilliams

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IMO, you need to earn your way out of this. While there is some wisdom and much good meaning in the advice to cut and run for a better position, that would be reactionary.

Create a cashflow. Use the blog to move a product or something along those lines. Use the time you spend on security shifts to contemplate. (I did security for a while. It's mind numbingly boring. An overnight watch is a good place to think through the next day's actions. That may be where you figure out what your product is.) Use that cashflow to pay down the debt a bit and create an equity position in your house. Use the time that takes to brace your family for the reality that this is too much house and as soon as you get ahead enough to make a move, rent out the suburban palace and move into a duplex or a triple) with your family. Spend a couple years in it, then move back to the palace and rent both sides of the duplex. If you hold onto your current property for a couple of years you can pull this off. It's about a 5 or 6 year (or 10 or 12 year) plan. You just have to not drown in the mean time.

You could maybe flip this house and move into a duplex if you are not going to make it work where you are. One thing I learned expensively is that holding on to a bad house out of stubborn pride and hopes that appreciation will make me whole again can backfire spectacularly. I lost a bunch of money that way not long ago and it stings. If this house is too much, let it go. if it's almost too much, then earn your way into the position where you can make it work.

That's my free internet advice.
 
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You got some tough love from the guys ( which is their role, and let's just say that they do it pretty well ), keep your head up, focus and good luck ...Keep us informed about how you plan on managing your debt.
 

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With all due respect, you didn't quote the next sentence, which stated I'd be working on my Fastlane venture as well. Bottom line is at this point in my life I still need to focus on the slowlane as well until I get my finances back in order.

It seems that many people relate working on a job to slowlane. The job itself is not! A job can help you build capital to be used toward your overall goal. You have trapped yourself in as you are already aware. Just keep plugging away on your fastlane plan.
 
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To be honest, you don't sound happy.

You have the "looks" and the "stuff" but it looks like at a huge cost to your freedom and progress on the fastlane.

If I were you I would sell the house and rent a 2 bedroom apartment close to where I work so that I could probably get rid of the car too.

You are throwing a lot of time and money into something(mortgage, job, debt) that is going to frankly return very little.

I rather be time rich and poor than be "rich" and be time poor.

Don't worry though, I think everybody here has made these kind of mistakes.

Best of luck to you.
 

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Not seeing the mindset shift........ 'Just work some more OT'..... Seems like you could put together a better plan...... Time to get J Ault's waiter's pad out and do some brainstorming.....
 

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