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

[LeftBench]

We've moved the close date up to March 17th. Almost out of here. Already have 85% of our stuff moved out and split between storage unit and my parents' house. They are excited to have their grandkids living with them. I'm excited to be living mortgage/rent free for a bit and kill off this debt.

Edit: Just wanted to say that I'm very blessed to have two loving parents willing to take the four of us in and help us out.

 

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[Bananas]

Already have 85% of our stuff moved out and split between storage unit and my parents' house.

Just read this part here and after tearing out my hair my brain exploded.

Questions:

Is your storage unit outside or indoors in a temperature controlled environment? You know what happens to stuff stored in outdoor units? Bugs, rodents like rats and mice, extreme temperature, moisture, theft... in other words, if you leave that stuff there long enough, it won't be worth shit or even usable when you get it out. You'll have paid storage fees only to come out with garbage.

Is the stuff you are storing even viable for your new downsized lifestyle? Will it fit in a smaller house or apartment? You really don't want to be in a situation where in a year or two, you've paid $1,000s to store a dining set that isn't usable in your new space, and it's resale value is $200. And that's even if it survives, which isn't likely if the unit isn't indoors in a temperature controlled environment.

By selling this stuff now instead of keeping it, you'll save all the storage fees you would have otherwise incurred and also you'll have more money to pay the debt down faster. There are some great hustling threads on the forum.

 

[LeftBench]

Just read this part here and after tearing out my hair my brain exploded.

Questions:

Is your storage unit outside or indoors in a temperature controlled environment? You know what happens to stuff stored in outdoor units? Bugs, rodents like rats and mice, extreme temperature, moisture, theft... in other words, if you leave that stuff there long enough, it won't be worth shit or even usable when you get it out. You'll have paid storage fees only to come out with garbage.

Is the stuff you are storing even viable for your new downsized lifestyle? Will it fit in a smaller house or apartment? You really don't want to be in a situation where in a year or two, you've paid $1,000s to store a dining set that isn't usable in your new space, and it's resale value is $200. And that's even if it survives, which isn't likely if the unit isn't indoors in a temperature controlled environment.

By selling this stuff now instead of keeping it, you'll save all the storage fees you would have otherwise incurred and also you'll have more money to pay the debt down faster. There are some great hustling threads on the forum.

Hi Bananas,

I should have mentioned that we have sold tons of stuff. When I said 85% of our stuff has been moved to the storage unit and my parents' house I really meant 85% of what is left. We've sold / thrown out / given away a large amount of our belongings. TONS of stuff... I'm actually really proud of myself because in the past I've been the type of person who has a hard time getting rid of stuff, I always seemed to find some stupid reason to keep things. Not anymore.

All couches have been given away or thrown out (except one left that is being given away the day before closing). Kitchen table and chairs will be stored at my parents' house but it can be taken apart and takes up minimal space. The only furniture we have put into storage is our dining room set, which was pretty expensive when we bought it (for us). Mostly all other stuff we are keeping in storage is in boxes.

Our storage unit is outside but has been lined with protective plastic wrap which will help greatly with the moisture. The extreme cold or heat should not affect anything in there as far as I know. As far as rodents are concerned we have put a mouse poison trap inside the unit but have also been advised that there is rarely a bug or rodent problem within the units. Most of the stuff inside should be unaffected hopefully. We've done a storage unit at the same place in the past for about one year and had good results. We got a 10x15 foot storage unit which costs $138.00/month after taxes. My co-worker's brother works there and was able to get us a deal at $104/month after tax. While it would be nice to have the $104/month to put into the debt, I figure it's a small price to pay to hold on to some personal belongings that I can't fit into my parents' house. Especially since after the house is sold we will have $3500-4000 per month freed up to dump into the debt.

Hope it didn't hurt when your head exploded But seriously thank you for the advice.

 

[LeftBench]

Another small update I forgot to mention. Purchased a used Jeep Grand Cherokee that is in really good shape. Co-worker's daughter used it as a daily driver. I got it for a steal at $1k. It's currently at the mechanic shop to find out what type of work it needs (Mechanic is my wife's cousin thank god). It's an old car, 2000, but in good shape for what it is and low mileage for that year. Basically I just need something with 4WD that will get me back and forth to work which is about 2 miles from my parents' house. My wife's car will be the one we drive the kids around in.

I am selling my pickup truck as soon as we close on the house sale (been using it a lot to move stuff). I owe just under $16k on it and the two dealers I spoke to both said I can get about $23,500.00 for it. $525/month payment gone and a few bucks in my pocket which will go to jeep repairs and/or debt paydown.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

My stress levels have gone down tremendously and my wife is much happier too.

I am selling my pickup truck as soon as we close on the house sale (been using it a lot to move stuff). I owe just under $16k on it and the two dealers I spoke to both said I can get about $23,500.00 for it. $525/month payment gone and a few bucks in my pocket which will go to jeep repairs and/or debt paydown.

Dude, great job -- your progress here is definitely a foundation for greater things to come. Glad to see the wife is onboard as well.

 

[LeftBench]

Dude, great job -- your progress here is definitely a foundation for greater things to come. Glad to see the wife is onboard as well.

Thank you, MJ. I've got a long ways to go but it feels good to be making solid progress and to have the feeling of a huge burden off of my shoulders. I've learned a lot of great things from this (and many other) thread and am very excited for the future.

 

[Bananas]

Hope it didn't hurt when your head exploded But seriously thank you for the advice.

Haha. Really, reading that you're paying for a storage unit makes my hands twitch and it's an effort to keep my blood pressure from going up. Thanks for providing followup information.

Sounds like you've got an outdoor unit, which you've put a moisture barrier in (good) and a mouse trap. Since you've determined it's definitely necessary to store these items, the best thing I can tell you now is that you or your wife needs to stop by and check the unit one to two times per month.

Checking the unit includes completely opening it, going inside, and moving things around. It's important to move stuff and not just make a quick glance over. If you get rats or mice (one trap won't help if you get an infestation) they aren't going to be sitting there nice and polite and in your face waiting for you to see them. They'll dig into the bottom of some box, of course the side that's facing the corner, and build up and you'd never know until you moved the box. The same is true for moisture, or something leaking in from an adjacent unit. You just won't have a chance of seeing it without a good investigation.

One other thing, when you go by, take a look around the dumpsters on the property. If you see a bunch of bulk trash there - that's an indicator. No one is driving their things to the storage facility and then deciding to throw them away there. When you see bulk trash like that, know that it is from people who are giving up their units but deciding all, or most, is trash, so they dump it. This will let you know if the facility has a lot of problems with their units or not.

Also, it was good to read about your Cherokee. I've got much more respect for a person driving an older car cash paid, than someone driving something new or flashy that's got a huge loan against it (except in certain circumstances, like they have the $ to back it up but got 0%).

 

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[LeftBench]

Haha. Really, reading that you're paying for a storage unit makes my hands twitch and it's an effort to keep my blood pressure from going up. Thanks for providing followup information.

Sounds like you've got an outdoor unit, which you've put a moisture barrier in (good) and a mouse trap. Since you've determined it's definitely necessary to store these items, the best thing I can tell you now is that you or your wife needs to stop by and check the unit one to two times per month.

Checking the unit includes completely opening it, going inside, and moving things around. It's important to move stuff and not just make a quick glance over. If you get rats or mice (one trap won't help if you get an infestation) they aren't going to be sitting there nice and polite and in your face waiting for you to see them. They'll dig into the bottom of some box, of course the side that's facing the corner, and build up and you'd never know until you moved the box. The same is true for moisture, or something leaking in from an adjacent unit. You just won't have a chance of seeing it without a good investigation.

One other thing, when you go by, take a look around the dumpsters on the property. If you see a bunch of bulk trash there - that's an indicator. No one is driving their things to the storage facility and then deciding to throw them away there. When you see bulk trash like that, know that it is from people who are giving up their units but deciding all, or most, is trash, so they dump it. This will let you know if the facility has a lot of problems with their units or not.

Also, it was good to read about your Cherokee. I've got much more respect for a person driving an older car cash paid, than someone driving something new or flashy that's got a huge loan against it (except in certain circumstances, like they have the $ to back it up but got 0%).

Thanks for the kind words and I really appreciate the advice regarding the storage unit. I will make sure to move the items around and keep a keen eye on the inside of the unit. Luckily the unit isn't super JAMMED with stuff so moving things around shouldn't be a problem.

 

[LeftBench]

Good news regarding the Jeep. My mechanic called me back and advised that it needs under $300 worth of work to make it a reliable daily driver. He said that it must have been very well taken care of (which is what I was told by trustworthy co-worker).

 

[Danyer]

Wow, you made some tremendous progress in a short period of time. You stuck to your word and fought your way through it (and are still fighting). I know this is something that will forever change your life, for the better. Good luck with paying off the rest of your debts! Looking forward to reading how the rest of your story unfolds!

 

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[LeftBench]

Wow, you made some tremendous progress in a short period of time. You stuck to your word and fought your way through it (and are still fighting). I know this is something that will forever change your life, for the better. Good luck with paying off the rest of your debts! Looking forward to reading how the rest of your story unfolds!

Thank you for the kind words, Danyer!! It is definitely a life changing experience, one I hope to never replicate! lol

 

[StevieB]

Dude, this is unbelievable. You came a long way in this thread and it's great to hear stories like this.

My girlfriend is constantly barraging with wanting to "buy more stuff". I've increased my salary by a large amount the past year so it's really made her wanting to purchase more stuff. I've had to push back constantly, we'd easily be living on the sidewalk but thankfully she's smart enough to let me control the finances so in the end I have the last say when it comes to that. I should seriously have her read this thread.

I view almost all 'more stuff' as garbage. There's a few things I really like. Computers, projector, bed and a good computer chair. I don't even have the projector, sold my 73" and haven't replaced it. Not that I have cable but I like watching occasional movies and anime.

Short of the basics like appliances everything else is just garbage or toys to me.

I want a couch. TV for occasional movies. Computer. Bed. Grill for company and a kitchen and 1 bedroom to sleep in. And a car that goes from point A to B.

That's it. Once I have enough in the bank and the passive income then I can buy all the toys.

Right now I live in a 3300 sq. ft. house (before this always had 1-2 bedroom apts.) and it's just more to clean and maintain BUT I purchased it WELL under what it's worth so when I sell it I'm looking to make 40k+ and my mortgage is what I'd be paying to rent anyways.

The only reason I made the purchase? 139k in a good neighborhood. 4 bedrooms / 2 1/2 bathrooms at 3.25%. Complete steal. Purchased it from a company just looking to get rid of it because they were re-locating the previous owner on the companies dime out of state, plus they had gap insurance.

Glad to see things are coming together for you.

 

[LeftBench]

Glad to see things are coming together for you.

Thank you for the kind words and your post. I hope all works out for you as well, it sounds like you got an awesome deal for yourself and your family!

 

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[LeftBench]

Some hard work, discipline, and openly talking about everything with the wife has made this much easier than expected. We are paying this down pretty quick. I see us being debt free or very close to it one year from now.

An important thing I learned is that if you are having financial problems, talk about it with your significant other. I had a bad tendency of playing it off like things weren't really as bad as they were. We both have full access to our credit cards and bank accounts so she saw all the numbers and also pretended like things were ok. I think we were afraid to admit there was a problem. Now that we talk about things it makes dealing with them much less stressful.

We are crushing it. We've even begun talking about future goals and risks we would like to take as a family after the debt is paid off.

 

[LeftBench]

Small update. We closed on the sale of our house today. After all fees and what not we are walking away with just over $27,000.00 which will be used towards debts.

The amount of happiness and relief we are feeling right now is incredible.

We have been staying with my parents for the last week. It's an adjustment but it has been going extremely well.

Next step is sell the pickup truck.

 

[LeftBench]

Another small debt related update for anyone following my progress.

Yesterday, on Easter, we handed my Grandmother a $20,000.00 check. Felt awesome.

I just paid $7,000.00 into another credit card about 2 minutes ago.

Got a text from my mechanic today, the Jeep is ready. Meaning I will sell the pickup truck this week, hopefully leaving me with about $7,000.00.

 

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[JonnyC]

Been following since your original post, great job on taking the steps necessary to get in a better position! Keep it up.

 

[LeftBench]

Been following since your original post, great job on taking the steps necessary to get in a better position! Keep it up.

Thanks JonnyC! I appreciate the kind words... and I still feel silly when I think about some of the posts I made early on in this thread. Being on the right track feels good though.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Small update. We closed on the sale of our house today. After all fees and what not we are walking away with just over $27,000.00 which will be used towards debts.

The amount of happiness and relief we are feeling right now is incredible.

We have been staying with my parents for the last week. It's an adjustment but it has been going extremely well.

Next step is sell the pickup truck.

Another small debt related update for anyone following my progress.

Yesterday, on Easter, we handed my Grandmother a $20,000.00 check. Felt awesome.

I just paid $7,000.00 into another credit card about 2 minutes ago.

Got a text from my mechanic today, the Jeep is ready. Meaning I will sell the pickup truck this week, hopefully leaving me with about $7,000.00.

Thread upgraded from Notable to GOLD.

Incredible progress. I'm happy for u an the wifey! Although your progress isn't about building a business, it is about building a discipline and a long-term vision. Very Fastlane.

 

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[LeftBench]

Incredible progress. I'm happy for u an the wifey! Although your progress isn't about building a business, it is about building a discipline and a long-term vision. Very Fastlane.

Thank you, MJ! Your kind words really mean a lot. I really want to stress how much this forum has helped me and pushed me towards making these life changing decisions and actually take action on them.

 

[Andy Black]

Inspiring thread. Thanks for updating it @LeftBench.

Good to hear your progress.

Great advice on communicating with your significant other too.

 

[LeftBench]

Good to hear your progress.

Great advice on communicating with your significant other too.

Thanks Andy!

An important thing I've learned is that sometimes having the hard conversation now will pay off big time later!

 

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[andviv]

Awesome thread.

Some quick notes:

1. You and your wife both have a great support system, and I am glad to see you appreciate that and please, please, never take it for granted.
your grandma's loan was a life saver.
your parents' willingness to take you in is also great.'
The monetary value of just those two aids is huge.

2. Be mindful of the tax implications of the house sale. You made a profit and lived in it for less than two years, I guess you have some taxes to pay on it. Owing to the IRS is terrible (remember Al Capone!)

3. I admire the way you took the criticism and harsh comments during this thread. I just found it today, but the way you handled it, and the way you considered the feedback, tell me you have learned a lot and your ego shouldn't be an obstacle for you anymore in this life.

and last but not least, thank you for keeping us up to date.

I have learned a lot from you and this thread.

 

[Unknown]

Awesome thread. There are plenty of ways to get started with almost no money when you're ready. I recommend finding products at a discount and selling them on Ebay. It's a great way to start making extra money. Many people on the forums have used writing to get started (every time I try I manage about 3 pages before I'm staring at the computer at the same line for an hour ), and that's something you can do for very little money.

I used to use the Ebay approach every time I wanted to buy something. It was well before I found TMF , so I only ever did just enough to get whatever stupid thing I wanted to purchase next. You don't even have to leave your house to pull it off (I suppose you might have to walk to the mailbox or maybe go to the post office). Join a deal website and start checking each night for deals that you could turn a profit on. It'll be hard to spot a deal at first, but eventually you'll start seeing the profit before you even check the Ebay price. It's not necessarily fastlane, but it can help you get there.

Getting out of that much debt is an impressive feat in itself.

 

[LeftBench]

Awesome thread.

Some quick notes:

1. You and your wife both have a great support system, and I am glad to see you appreciate that and please, please, never take it for granted.
your grandma's loan was a life saver.
your parents' willingness to take you in is also great.'
The monetary value of just those two aids is huge.

2. Be mindful of the tax implications of the house sale. You made a profit and lived in it for less than two years, I guess you have some taxes to pay on it. Owing to the IRS is terrible (remember Al Capone!)

3. I admire the way you took the criticism and harsh comments during this thread. I just found it today, but the way you handled it, and the way you considered the feedback, tell me you have learned a lot and your ego shouldn't be an obstacle for you anymore in this life.

and last but not least, thank you for keeping us up to date.

I have learned a lot from you and this thread.

Thank you for the kind words. I've learned so much and still have a ways to go, but I'm on the right track. And you are right, I am SO fortunate to have such a great family / support system.

 

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[Andrew87]

Awesome job!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LeftBench]

Awesome job!

Thanks, Andrew!

 

[LeftBench]

Small update:

Sold the truck. Was going to get $22-23k from the dealership and kelley blue book valued it at $27k if I sold it privately. My Dad offered me 25k. I owe 15k so I now have 10k in my pocket now which is going towards debts.

I've been driving my $1k jeep around with no problems!

 

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[andviv]

I've been driving my $1k jeep around with no problems!

you gotta post a pic of the jeep... I like them.

 

[lowtek]

Great work dude. You've got the right stuff.