I've been a hardcore follower of Dave Ramsey and have done his Debt Snowball in the past and it was very rewarding. The problem was that I started to veer in the past 4 years and take on more debt such as buying a Lake Property that I run as an airbnb. Although the Airbnb has been quite successful, I"ve noticed that I don't sleep as well as I used to because I'm leveraged. I know a lot of people have been struggling with Airbnb during Covid-19 because their properties rely on tourism and now that that's buried, I feel for those property owners that are taking losses right now. The reason mine is successful during this trying time is because it's on a private drive, in a rural area that is very desirable for people from the Twin Cities looking to get a way from the big crowds and bright lights. I get a lot of people from Wisconsin, Iowa and south Dakota for both work purposes and vacations. I was lucky and was able to get two workers that are staying for almost 3 months. All this being said, I'm no longer interested in this business, because it takes up a lot of time and the money isn't worth it, nor is the stress of having to deal with the business. I have a lot of equity in the property, but we have it listed and have a potential buyer that is making a decision hopefully today from what their agent said.

Anyways, what I"m trying to say is now I understand why Dave Ramsey is a genious. During these times, can you imagine that if you owned your properties free and clear, and had a large emergency fun for each property, you'd be sleeping at night quite well. Having zero debt is king. No one ever expected this would happen (Covid-19) and there are tons of renters who have been laid off that won't be making their rent payments and guess what? As an owner and landlord you still have to pay your mortgage, taxes, insurance and 50% maintenance fees. If you owned free and clear you wouldn' t have any mortgage payments. How lovely that would be.

So I'm really hoping that the lake property sells today or soon and my plan is to start paying off my primary home first and then start working on our duplex. Once those are free and clear, then I will start saving to buy another rental property with cash. I've been alive for the S&L in 87 debacle, the tech bust in 2001, the housing crash in 2008 and now this one. So this is my plan and thanks Dave for all that you do.

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