i bought a house this year, 1800sf 3 br/3b. its a 30yr mtg, but i’ll have it paid in 10 yr 1 month. basically when i retire, no more house payment. I plan on retiring at 74, which means I can get full SS plus a little if I don’t claim till I’m 70 and I plan on putting every penny of it into eliminating debt while I’m working.
1 Like
One idea that helps some people:
Plan on putting some protion (sucha s 100%) of your federal tax return into pre-paying your mortgage.
Some people overpay for houses either through bidding wars or buy at the peak of the market. Both usually apply. If you ever have to sell, you’re screwed if the market came down.
I despise debt and or payments of any kind. Some can’t be avoided like with houses and sometimes cars. But you can do your best to keep payments low and pay it off quick. I would never be house poor. That’s a choice people make.
I don’t remember what was available back in the mid 80s. But my parents didn’t have enough money to put me through college, and either did I, so I didn’t go. Taking on debt wasn’t even considered.
OT
These days it is not too difficult to get a full scholarship
BUT:
- The scholarship usually requires you apply for and accept all aid offered, and
- Tt won’t be offered by a school where you ‘barely qualified.’ It will be offered by the schools where you are a shoo-in
I would imagine spending to be up in many categories for Gen Z. People are using credit cards and apps like Klarna as an extension of their income as opposed to an alternative. Back in the 80s we had CCs too. But the conditions were different.
Just a factor to toss out there about vehicle insurance.
In my day many (most) young people starting out were not driving cars that needed full-coverage insurance. You found a beater that worked, and drove it until it died. And all you needed was liability insurance. (And to some extent, more repairs were also done by the owners themselves because cars were simpler. And that hearkens to the " I just learned something about cars" thread.)
Nowadays it seems that younger drivers are in cars that need full insurance because they are newer and are financed, and therefore full insurance is required by the lender. So not only are insurance costs disproportionately higher, but likely car ownership in general since more people have much bigger car payments. (Never mind that by some measures, the average cost of a new car is $50K, which is more than the cost of my first house.)
2 Likes