"How we paid off our house in three years"

[lealgen]

Thought this was an interesting article...even though it's unrealistic for most people, it's pretty amazing that someone was able to do this!!

"In this excerpt from the MoneySense Guide to Buying and Selling Your Home, a book in the Best of MoneySense series, Perry Goertzen tells editor Duncan Hood how he and his wife went from being $37,000 in debt to being debt-free and owning a $420,000 home in three years."


Read the story here--> http://www.moneyville.ca/article/991...in-three-years

[carebearhamm]

That wasa very interesting article - we have an option to make a lump sum payment onour mortgage and were saving as much as we can. Makes you really think abouthow you live. My one critic would be the lake of time together as a couple -that can be very dangerous

[MortgageQueen]

Frankly, I think it as a miracle their marraige didn't fall apart, that he didn't get into a car accident and kill someone from lack of sleep, didn't acquire some sort of illness from such a ridiculous lifestyle and just as bad, didn't advise or support the troubled teens or anyone else, properly.. . as his job required him to do.
I would never recommend this course to anyone. . .regardless of their energy level.

[sweet sparrow]

I think I read that article in a magazine a month ago. The author does say that he wouldn't recommend those hours for most people, but he felt it was worth it for him.

I feel it's up to the individual circumstances. If he's able to help others, doesn't have to travel far, his wife is supportive of it, then it doesn't have to feel like work. I don't think I'm explaining it properly, but if it worked for them, then it's their personal success story and they'll have a debt free beginning with their first child. Good for them!

For us, we could never do that and the author makes me feel lazy. I feel the same way every time I see a jogger. Then it passes and I remember how I'm not overheating or feeling any bodily pain.

[ashedfc]

Frankly, I think it as a miracle their marraige didn't fall apart, that he didn't get into a car accident and kill someone from lack of sleep, didn't acquire some sort of illness from such a ridiculous lifestyle and just as bad, didn't advise or support the troubled teens or anyone else, properly.. . as his job required him to do.
I would never recommend this course to anyone. . .regardless of their energy level.

True, being mortgage free is just a process not a destination..
When you rush too much, & at the cost of loosing your health/peace of mind/etc, it isn't worth it..
What if he is discovered with a terminal illness due to the undue stress he has taken...

Life is a journey.. & one should enjoy it (mortgage free or no mortgage free, it doesn't matter............ (if you can afford to pay it now, chances are you will be able to pay it off later), its the financial discipline which is more important..

[matrix82]

I don't know, I have at different points in my life worked 90 hr weeks for months. Sometimes you do what you have to.

I am looking at 60 hr weeks once I move, same with my husband. That way we can afford to pay our student loans.

[Shwa Girl]

My father did a similar thing like the guy in the article. He wanted us in a house and out of an apartment. He had a first and a second mortgage. He worked full time during the week, part time every other weekend at job#2 and worked for an agency every other weekend (#3). He hated the second mortgage and got rid of that quick.

He got "the fever" and continued to work at the mortgage and paid it off in 9 years. My mother worked too.

Then when the mortgage was done, they both upgraded their education going to school at night and working during the day. So they got more pay because of the extra schooling.

[MiaowTheCat]

This article is actually a reprint from last year's edition. DH and I read it back then and now he's always bringing up "don't you think it would be worthwhile to try and do what that guy did...?" I'm torn, DH is already a workaholic and leans toward a nervous disposition, so I don't know how I would deal with trying to save like 90% of our income

[sweet sparrow]

Ok, you got me. I borrowed it from the library and read it a few months ago. I have no idea when it actually came out.

I've been really tempted as well, considering our situation. I've also decided against it considering our situation.

Is DH saying you should get involved in this as well? Does he have high blood pressure concerns? Are you both getting enough sleep as it is right now? Do you wish you had more quality time to spend together?

The article might be one of those things that sound good at the time, but in practice might not be such a good idea. It's great that he's even on board with sharing that common goal with you. If you think your relationship would be better if you didn't, maybe you should hold off. There's tons of other things you can do without going to the extremes.

Or you could give it a try, doing something with flexible hours at first and see how you like it.

This article is actually a reprint from last year's edition. DH and I read it back then and now he's always bringing up "don't you think it would be worthwhile to try and do what that guy did...?" I'm torn, DH is already a workaholic and leans toward a nervous disposition, so I don't know how I would deal with trying to save like 90% of our income

[Gsxrboy]

I would rather read Shwa Girls story about her parents than the article mentioned. The reason being is that I hate reading about DINKS (Dual Income No Kids). Though I was happy to read that the young couple in the article did extremely well with their income, it is easier for DINKS who make a decent wage save like that. Shwa Girl if you could maybe write an article on what your parents sacrificed when you were around, that would help all of us here learn what it takes to succeed when it comes to savings and being debt free.

[GeorgiaK]

I would rather read Shwa Girls story about her parents than the article mentioned. The reason being is that I hate reading about DINKS (Dual Income No Kids). Though I was happy to read that the young couple in the article did extremely well with their income, it is easier for DINKS who make a decent wage save like that. Shwa Girl if you could maybe write an article on what your parents sacrificed when you were around, that would help all of us here learn what it takes to succeed when it comes to savings and being debt free.

Totally agree with you. We waited 5 years before having DS (he was planned) since we wanted to pay off our debts, other than the mortgage. We succeeded because we were DINKS and made decent money. It feels really good not to have the debt hanging over you and I am now able to stay home with DS for a bit longer.

[MiaowTheCat]

LOL, DINKS acronym made me

sweet sparrow, sorry, didn't see this until now. Yes, DH is already a bit of a nutball (he's trying to build his own company with a few others so really, his mind is never "off" of work). We spend all our time when he's off "together" but it's not really quality time because you can see his mind is always spinning. We've been together almost 8 yrs and he still has to fight the urge to not suggest that our vacations coincide with a work convention He's the type that if you don't find something concrete for him to do during the wkend, he will just spend it working. So it's a MUST that I tell him "let's do this, gotta do that, etc" if I want him to be present mentally for the rest of the day. He used to think it was absolutely normal that he worked from 8AM-9PM/10PM every day. Just getting him to cut back to 6:30 PM (for most days, some days are still longer) took about 3 yrs and even now, he feels guilty a good amount of the time! When stuff is really busy at work, it's not unusual for him to wake up from a nightmare at 4-5AM in the morning, jump from bed and start his breakfast/head to work early , even if he went to sleep at 1AM the night before. He agrees he has to learn how to budget his time better, and until that happens, I do not believe it would be wise of us to do like that couple in the article.

[sweet sparrow]

http://freefrombroke.com/reflections...japanese-life/

Here's a post similar to my parents' story. They were hard workers, with four children, and my dad told me he worked 20 hour days at one point. He purchased a restaurant with my grandfather, while my mother became head chef. With four adults, including my grandmother, the kids were always supervised by one of them, and there was always time to toss around a ball, or play games in our quiet town, with evening trips to the nearby park or the library.

It embarrasses me a bit when long-time residents say they remember me for crawling into their booth and asking them to colour with me or play a game, but they seem to have pleasant memories. I can't remember a thing, but I do have a very old colouring book with dozens of strangers' names signed on their colouring pages.

Any tips left by customers, my parents put into piggy banks for me, and eventually gave to me to put in my piggy bank, telling me it was for my university money. Despite a low income, they managed to save enough to put all four kids through university and the money lessons stuck to at least two of us. No one in our family ever ate out until we left home. We ate out all day, every day in the restaurant, where my mother kept a watchful eye on our nutrition.

It was hard for them, but they chose a life where they could watch their children grow up. I don't think they would have had it any other way.

Dad's still very proud of the fact that they never fired anyone or let anyone go because they wanted to give everyone the chance to earn a living. He's proud of many things, like never leaving us in the care of baby-sitters and always making time for us.

It's possible to work 20-hour days and stay at home with the children, but in their case, it involved a lot of sacrifice. As the kids got older, he showed us his university books from the studies he left behind as a civil engineer to raise us. My mom never had the opportunity for higher education and managed the kitchen help while devoting herself to raising four kids properly. To this day, she's the only person I know that can cook ten dishes simultaneously, while working on sewing a dress (no pattern - from her handwritten sheet of measurements), and cleaning up after all our messes.

I know I couldn't do what they did and I may be too spoiled to think that I would ever want to....

[kanewtz]

Very interesting.
I am on track to have my house paid off in 5 years.
Started my mortgage Nov 2010...on track to have it paid off Nov 2015.

My ultimate goal was to have it paid by 2020...but I want it before that.

I work a regular 7-3:30 job mon-fri as does my wife.

Its about money management really.