All Forum Posts by: James McCard

@Dave Houser I am in the area - I tried last year to put something together for the NW corner - there is definitely an interest. I have been attending the ones for Central CT hosted by Jacob as well. 

I ordered the Kindle edition as my local Barnes and Noble was out as well as there warehouse. Amazon was out of stock - I could not put it down - finished it quickly!

Oh I am not suggesting that you buy it all cash - only that I paid off everything I could before I started. I will be getting a HELOC rather than go in all with cash.

As mentioned above there is not one correct answer. You just have to pick the one that makes you feel most comfortable. I knew for me that just from a comfort stand point I wanted to be debt free (aside from my primary residence mortgage which is house hack to cover most of). 

I do not have a car payment but I did have some credit card debt etc. Before investing I decided to pay that all off. Now around me the market is hot a two family in a good neighborhood was under contract in less than a week. Now that I am debt free (see above) I am saving a lot of money every month. I am content socking away that 500 a month that was going towards debt payments into an investment account until the market around me cools a bit at which point I am coming from a stronger financial position anyway. 

My way isn't the best way for everyone I am sure but just figured I would share!

I am in a similar spot - or was up until recently. I think it is good to go in with a plan and you can save you money long term - although it gets to a point where it is easier for you to do something to make that money and then just pay someone else. 

Here is an example:

Just recently I decided to insulate my basement - it would take me a day of cursing, sweating and complaining that my back and knees hurt for the next 3 days for me to do it myself - so I reached out to a guy who I know that works for a company doing this sort of stuff everyday and asked him what he would charge. He responded with an absurdly low rate - to which I said that is too low - I ended buying him 2 tires he needed (I work in an automotive shop as my 9-5) and he did the work. 

I can do a brake job in under an hour if I am hustling and make 200 dollars of profit there - so I would rather do a brake job and only spend an hour of my time to get the money needed to pay for the insulation labor. 

I just finished reading a book that I think will help you - it specifically talks about what you are suggesting - it is by our own @Scott Trench and it is called Set For Life! 

 I made the mistake of wearing slippers with a rubber sole on while I was moving wood around my garage - one of the boards had exposed nails so I set it off to the side - the next piece I picked up I lost my balance with - I stepped back to regain a solid footing - one foot punctured and I probably hit my head on the ceiling I jumped so high - landed on the other foot which also took a nail through it - never again. 

You could also try refinishing it yourself - it wouldn't be a fun job but it could definitely save you some money if that is what you are after. 

 For me it was more the fuel economy and towing capacity that was attractive. 

@Brian H. as silly as it sounds the Sentra he sold was a 1999 Sentra SE-L - it was rare in a sense that it was a one year only model and had very low mileage. His M5 has a clean title but higher mileage - however it was enthusiast owned so all the regular maintenance got done on time. I would only be guessing really but I would say that he spent perhaps 9-10k total on the car. 

You just have to search CL, Ebay etc like a hawk and realize that it's now a car that is almost 20 years old and in the budget range you are looking for even one with a title issue may still have some dents etc. 

Also Search Tempest is a great way to search multiple areas of CL and Uship.com will help with delivery if you need a car shipped.