"How do I do it?", says the man rhetorically.
"I'm in debt up to my eyeballs.", he responds.
And that's the only thing that worries me a little about buying a house. By the time I'm done paying off my house loan, I'll have paid over [pinky at edge of mouth], ONE MILLION DOLLARS! Ok, in reality it's not quite that bad. With interest on the loan, by the time I'm done paying this off, I'll have paid $210,500, thousands and thousands of dollars in interest (I don't have the figure in front of me, but believe you me, it's a lot of money). Banks have it good. But what can we average people do, no one has enough money to buy a house outright, so we're stuck with borrowing money from banks at high interest.
Going forward, I feel secure knowing that the Lord has always provided for me, and I know that'll continue as long as I have faith & trust in God. I just hope God doesn't lead me down a path where I have to go in debt. Up to my eyeballs.
*edit* after offers for debt consolidation and phone calls of support, I realize this post might have been misleading. To clarify, I'm not in debt right now. :-) And hopefully will not be in the near future. I'm just a little concerned about getting a loan for more money than I've earned in my entire life.
Car loans are what get you. Why get a 5 year loan for a $20000 car that will be worth less than $10000 when the loan is paid off? At least houses generally go up in value.
ReplyDeleteBTW, any extra money you have should go on the principle of your mortgage to cut down on the amount of interest you will have to pay.
Heh, I have to see 3-4 loan adverts every single ad break on some channels. They all say basically the same thing, only the name of the company changes.
ReplyDeleteStill, there are places you can look for advice on staying out of debt and such. I know of a really good site that gives advice on how to stop banks screwing you out of money, but it's UK based so I doubt it could help you. Feel free to check it out anyway, at www.moneysavingexpert.com, (it's BBC approved!) you never know, you might find something there.
Yeah, car loans are worse since cars depreciate in value to $0 eventually, whereas at least with houses the value appreciates, especially if you're in a good neighborhood or if you've improved the house over time.
ReplyDeleteI'll check that site out Ash, thanks.
Check out www.daveramsey.com as well. He has a proven method of debt elimination. It worked for us.
ReplyDeleteCredit cards, though, are by far the worst.
ReplyDeleteSome states allow for 29.9% interest, which is arguably racketeering. Worse is that according to most credit card contracts, missing payments to ANY of your lenders is grounds to raise your card's interest rate.
Thanks Jason. Just to be clear, I don't have any debt right now. Just concerned about debt in the future with the purchase of a house, where our monthly payments are at least double what they were when renting. :-p
ReplyDeleteInterest rates aren't that high at the moment, are they ? If you can get one full payment ahead within the first year or so, you'll save a fortune on your loan. Right now, you're paying $1 a month or something off the principal. The earlier you pay extra, the more it helps.
ReplyDeleteRight, the amortization starts out paying almost nothing off of the principle; nearly everything is interest.
ReplyDeleteRates are relatively low right now, although they were lower just a few months ago. We locked in at 6.6, I believe.
Judah! Congrats!! Sounds so exciting. I'm in an apartment right now, and I had been planning to buy a house at the end of my lease. And guess what-- I'm engaged now! So I've been trying to convince Jake that buying a house is more cost-effective in the long-term than renting. But if I need any advice, I will be sure to come to you. Congrats again!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, congratulations on getting engaged! Wow, that's great! Good for you. I think you'll really enjoy married life. :-) Is Jake the same guy from the Missouri college you were going to? Or is this a new fish you've caught? ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats again Michelle. I'm really happy for you. :-)
Talk to you later.
Well Jake did go to Mizzou with me, but I think you are thinking of Lee. Jake and I started dating summer of last year. Thanks for the congratulations! It's so weird planning a wedding. And so we don't get off topic, your house sounds really nice! I can't wait to have a house of my own that I can beat up without worrying about losing my deposit ~_^
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I was thinking of Lee. I think he was the Jewish guy if I recall right.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you & Jake! Talk to you later Michelle.
Why would Jesus care if you're in debt or not? Aren't more posessions just an obstacle on the path to Heaven? I'm confused... it seems like the Christian life is on of no family, no posessions, and no concerns other than the greater glory of god. I don't mean to single you out, but I don't get it?
ReplyDeleteI'm not in debt. Just a little worried that it could happen with the new house purchase.
ReplyDeleteThe Christian life is not one no family or possessions. Yes, if you let possessions and material things take over your life, you'd need to get your priorities rearranged.
Throughout history, God has blessed -- through family, finances, whatever is in need -- people that love Him. Rewarding righteousness is a good tactic on God's part. :-)
Hey Dog:
ReplyDeleteI typed: "Help, I'm in debt up to my eyeballs!" into google and found your blog.
I find your naivety very funny. Thinking that God will take care of you.
I used to believe that too! But after I got laid off, then found two hostile workplaces back to back, I can't get a job to save my house, my educational loan or the high intrest rate credit card debt I have accured through CitiBank, who is also my mortgagee.
When it happens to you, your only choice is to say: Gee, God must want me to move.
Keep on believing. That's how the church makes it's money.
And yet, friend, you are still here and alive.
ReplyDeleteWhen I say God will take care of me, I'm not saying God will make me rich, or keep me out of debt, or give me a big house. That's focusing on the wrong things, my friend.
Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths or corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.