Government deaf to simple plea: less debt!

April 23, 2008

Not my idea to be here, believe me, but it's my husband's job, and since he is the wage earner, we must be here, lol.

The first time I came here from Houston to house hunt, I went back and cried for two weeks, lol. Well, you do what you have to do. So here we are. We'll probably stay, if my kids choose to remain in CA. Unless i could convince them to come with us somewhere else, lol.

Cyndi

In a message dated 4/23/2008 9:53:22 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS writes:

My first reaction is to move out of CA if any way possible. Housing is so expensive in CA. I donâ€™t think people could afford to live there without these ridiculously long mortgages. While salaries are more than they are elsewhere, they certainly do not keep up with housing. I sometimes watch House Hunters or Whatâ€™s my House Worth? and I am blown away by home prices on the West Coast.

I live in a relatively inexpensive northern suburb of Baltimore. It is much more reasonably priced here. We bought before the housing bubble in 2000 and we now have 12 years left on our 15 year mortgage (after 2 refiâ€™s with the last being from 30 to 15 years). Although we both work, we live a comfortable life. I try to talk my husband to move to Dallas because we could get a comparable home with the equity in our home but he wonâ€™t leave his family. Iâ€™m all about not having ANY debt but we have many years before we get there.

On Behalf Of cyndik2Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:33 PM Subject: [RFSL] Re: Government deaf to simple plea: less debt!

40 year mortgages are already available here in CA. 50 and 60 year mtgs are coming soon. Where does it end?Cyndi__

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April 23, 2008

40 year mortgages are already available here in CA. 50 and 60 year

mtgs are coming soon. Where does it end?

Cyndi

, " Sotirakos, Erika T. "

<ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS wrote:

>

> Government deaf to simple plea: less debt!

> <http://patrick.net/wp/?p=599>

>

> Saver: I'd really like lower house prices instead

of " affordability "

> programs that just tell me to get deeply into debt.

>

> Government: How about the nice mortgage debt interest deduction?

The

> more you borrow, the more you save! But if you have no debt, then

no tax

> break. Sorry.

>

> Saver: You're not listening. I don't want debt. I just want your

> debt-mongering programs to go away, so I won't have to bid against

> people committing financial suicide with debt. No saver can bid as

much

> for a house as foolish borrowers can, borrowers who don't care

about

> their future bankruptcy.

>

> Government: Say, have you considered what Fannie Mae can do for

you? You

> can get a slightly lower interest rate on your debt since we have

> taxpayers on the hook in case of your default.

>

> Saver: I still don't want any debt.

>

> Government: OK, we'll increase the Fannie Mae conforming limit, so

you

> can get whopping jumbo loans in California, and we'll make

Midwestern

> taxpayers cover it! Then you get hella deep into debt and the

banks will

> be safe in case you default.

>

> Saver: NO! I still don't want any debt.

>

> Government: You're a tough nut to crack. OK, I'm going to hand you

cash

> and say you borrowed it.

>

> Saver: But I don't want to borrow money!

>

> Government: Too late, I just added your " stimulus " payment to your

part

> of the national debt. Ha! Gotcha.

>

April 23, 2008

On 4/23/08, cyndik2 <cyndikrall wrote:

> 40 year mortgages are already available here in CA. 50 and 60 year

> mtgs are coming soon. Where does it end?

>

with your great grandchildren inheriting a crumbling house and a

massive mortgage.

Ellen

> Cyndi

>

> , " Sotirakos, Erika T. "

> <ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS wrote:

> >

> > Government deaf to simple plea: less debt!

> > <http://patrick.net/wp/?p=599>

> >

> > Saver: I'd really like lower house prices instead

> of " affordability "

> > programs that just tell me to get deeply into debt.

> >

> > Government: How about the nice mortgage debt interest deduction?

> The

> > more you borrow, the more you save! But if you have no debt, then

> no tax

> > break. Sorry.

> >

> > Saver: You're not listening. I don't want debt. I just want your

> > debt-mongering programs to go away, so I won't have to bid against

> > people committing financial suicide with debt. No saver can bid as

> much

> > for a house as foolish borrowers can, borrowers who don't care

> about

> > their future bankruptcy.

> >

> > Government: Say, have you considered what Fannie Mae can do for

> you? You

> > can get a slightly lower interest rate on your debt since we have

> > taxpayers on the hook in case of your default.

> >

> > Saver: I still don't want any debt.

> >

> > Government: OK, we'll increase the Fannie Mae conforming limit, so

> you

> > can get whopping jumbo loans in California, and we'll make

> Midwestern

> > taxpayers cover it! Then you get hella deep into debt and the

> banks will

> > be safe in case you default.

> >

> > Saver: NO! I still don't want any debt.

> >

> > Government: You're a tough nut to crack. OK, I'm going to hand you

> cash

> > and say you borrowed it.

> >

> > Saver: But I don't want to borrow money!

> >

> > Government: Too late, I just added your " stimulus " payment to your

> part

> > of the national debt. Ha! Gotcha.

> >

>

> ---

>

> " Let food be your medicine " Hippocrates

April 23, 2008

My first reaction is to move out of CA if

any way possible. Housing is so expensive in CA. I don’t think people

could afford to live there without these ridiculously long mortgages. While

salaries are more than they are elsewhere, they certainly do not keep up with

housing. I sometimes watch House Hunters or What’s my House Worth? and I

am blown away by home prices on the West Coast.

I live in a relatively inexpensive northern

suburb of Baltimore.

It is much more reasonably priced here. We bought before the housing bubble in

2000 and we now have 12 years left on our 15 year mortgage (after 2 refi’s

with the last being from 30 to 15 years). Although we both work, we live a

comfortable life. I try to talk my husband to move to Dallas because we could get a comparable home

with the equity in our home but he won’t leave his family. I’m all

about not having ANY debt but we have many years before we get there.

On Behalf Of cyndik2

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

12:33 PM

To:

[RFSL] Re: Government

deaf to simple plea: less debt!

40 year mortgages are already available here in CA. 50 and 60 year

mtgs are coming soon. Where does it end?

Cyndi

__

April 23, 2008

I am with you Cyndi. I basically

grew up in MD and have been trying to get to Dallas, TX

for the last 20 or so years but I’m still stuck in MD. I also chose

to marry a Greek man who will not leave his family in MD so until they pass so

I remain in MD. At that point the kids will be going to high school or

something so we’ll not want to pull them out. Then if they decide

to stay here, DH will want to stay too. I have pretty much given up but I

get the occasional glimmer of hope every once in a while. Don’t

they say it’s good to have a dream? ;-)

Just out of curiosity, couldn’t your

husband transfer or change jobs to someplace less expensive? Of course he

would probably make less salary, you would probably have much lower living

costs too. I’m sure you’ve been through this yourself.

By the way, I love the info you

send. Have you ever read www.thesimpledollar.com

He frequently talks about how inexpensive it is to live in Iowa http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/27/the-city-versus-rural-debate-which-is-the-better-place-to-live/

It certainly is an interesting subject to think about even if you don’t

decide to make any changes.

April 23, 2008

-

Sotirakos, Erika T.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:52 PM

RE: [RFSL] Re: Government deaf to simple plea: less debt!

.....I live in a relatively inexpensive northern suburb of Baltimore. It is

much more reasonably priced here. We bought before the housing bubble in

2000 and we now have 12 years left on our 15 year mortgage (after 2 refi's

with the last being from 30 to 15 years). Although we both work, we live a

comfortable life. I try to talk my husband to move to Dallas because we

could get a comparable home with the equity in our home but he won't leave

his family. I'm all about not having ANY debt but we have many years before

we get there.

******************

Congrats on doing so well with the mortgage thing Erika! We moved here to

this part of PA 7.5 yr. ago. It was sort of a sudden move(hubby FORCED us

to move), plus my mom died the week before the closing so I was in VA until

the day before the signing.ugh We also still had our old house to

sell...can you say 2 Mortgages?lol

We threw ALL....yes, I say all!, our savings(outside of retirement) at the

down payment for this house....not wise, but hubby was directing things and

I was sort of 'out of it' emotionally. Luckily no life emergencies

requiring $$ happened until we were able to tuck more savings away. But we

did have that 2 mortgage situation for 10 MONTHS, until we were able to sell

the old house. Oh, how I will do things differently Next time.lol

Once I came out of my fog, I hunkered down and got frugal...started watching

all the expenditures and kept a lid on our spending. We had a 96K

mortgage(30 yr. fixed), which we refi'ed 2 years in. Since we were able to

make double mortgage payments for those 10 months w/out losing ground, I

continued to throw the 2nd mortgage money at the mortgage here, unless the

extra $ was needed for something else important. And once refinanced, I

continued to add the difference between the higher payment and the new lower

one at the mortgage.

As a result of basically doubling up on the mortgage payments & using a nice

sized bonus from dh's work, we were able to pay off the mortgage last

March....just over 6.5 yrs. after moving here. We also bought 2 cars and

paid cash for them in this time and put money away for college for the kids.

(We have DH's work take out our retirement $$s automatically before he gets

the check.)

Being debt free is wonderful! And you can get there if you really Really

want it bad enough and it probably won't take you as long as you think it

will to achieve that!

And don't say I don't make enough money. I am a SAHM, so we had 1 income.

DH's income is very good but it isn't out of the ordinary for 'regular

people'. He isn't a CEO, DR. or Lawyer or someone pulling in outrageous

sums for a salary.

The 3 things I think that make the biggest difference in getting to where

you can pay off the mortgage are these....

1. Buy alot LESS house than the Real Estate Agent tells you, you can afford.

Realtors have a vested interest in selling you the most expensive house that

you can qualify for a mortgage on. Don't let them push you into a house

that will have you searching the sofa cushions for change, to pay your light

bill b/c all your month's pay went to the mortgage payment. We 'qualified'

for a house about 200K$ MORE than what we ended up buying. Yes, that house

was a little bigger, had better finishes on the floor and nicer appliances,

etc. but the one we bought suits our family of 5 aok. It's over 2000 sq.

ft., 4 bedrooms/2.5 baths, 2 car garage, on a 1/3 acre. You really don't

need all the bells and whistles they try to sell you to have a happy life.

2. Live well BELOW your means. Learn to live a contended life that doesn't

require you to spend every penny that comes into your life. If you are a 2

income family & can live on a single income, do it! Put the other income

into savings. If something ever does happen(like a job loss, emergency that

requires alot of $$, etc.), you have the finances to weather the storm w/out

having to take on debt.

3. Don't lease cars and don't buy new cars and don't finance them! Leases

and new cars suck up the vast majority of people's disposable income.

Financing something that goes down in value is a bad, BAD idea. Learn to

love used cars....and then learn to drive them until they fall apart.lol

If you MUST buy a new car, please pay cash, don't finance it!

My BIL has had a love affair with toys on wheels since he got his license.

He always made a very good income his whole working life. But he didn't

save anything...spent it all on trading up to a new car every 2-3

yrs...financed, not paid for in cash. Today, he lives in a trailer(buying a

trailer-yet another BAD choice for him!), eats pork n' beans for dinner and

can't afford the gas to go anywhere.

BTW Erika, where are you in MD? I went to Goucher College....and I lived in

Balto. off of Charles St. for 3 yrs.

If you are in a 'reasonably priced' 'burb area, I'm assuming you Don't mean

Hunt Valley!LOL

sluggy

April 23, 2008

A big Congrats to you and your husband!!!

It sounds like you went through some tough times but survived.

We are in Harford County.

Where are you in PA? My husband is a mortgage broker so our mortgage is

at 4.25%!!! I am getting him to come around to living below our means and

being debt free. In theory he believes this but some things he can’t

say no to like going out to eat. I actually manage all our finances and

keep us on a pretty tight leash without totally crushing his spirit (at least I

think I’ve managed a good balance). Neither of us have ever lived

with credit card debt and feel very strongly about that. We’ve had

some poor decisions in cars but he’s committed to keeping his current car

for 8 years which is a huge step. I have finally gotten to a point

where I manage my money rather than my money managing me.

On Behalf Of Sluggy

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

2:16 PM

To:

Re: [RFSL] Re: Government