As I logged in to Mint to give the ‘ol bank accounts a quick check, I realized something. Girl Ninja and I can pay cash for virtually anything we could ever want (excluding a house). Too be honest, it’s kind of humbling. I don’t feel like we can buy a 2013 Porsche Cayenne, but the reality is we could buy two. When the crap did that happen?
I guess this isn’t too surprising because if you DON’T feel like you can buy a Porsche, you DON’T buy a Porsche. Not buying a Porsche leaves more money in my bank account. Simple stuff.
That my friends is called financial peace. It’s been a long journey. A journey that started with a negative net worth of $28,000 and an annual income that was only slightly more than that. There was no windfall or inheritance. My boss never doubled my salary overnight. It wasn’t always easy; I sold my motorcycle to buy GN’s engagement ring because I didn’t want to take money from my savings account.
Sometimes making good decisions hurts. Bad.
We are impatient people. We selectively forget it took us four years to accumulate our student loans, yet we complain when they haven’t been paid off in six months.
Patience, grasshopper.
You didn’t get in to debt overnight, and you wont be getting out of it overnight. Stay the course. Make wise decisions. Live within your means. Then one day, you’ll be able to buy anything you want.
p.s. part of me wants to go buy a Porsche now.
p.p.s. Come win $200 over at MANteresting.
I worked for Porsche marketing department at their headquarters, and I had a company car. Yeah that car goes from 0-60 in 2 seconds flat but how annoying is that when you are just sitting at the light and want to move but you have to wait for the car in front of you to move 50 ft before you do. I had a brand spanking new Carrera 4S convertible – black on black with 3,000 miles on it. That car was worth more than my condo at the time. Since it was a company car, company took care of the maintenance (including gas and insurance) and let me tell you something if you had a Porsche you cannot afford the Porsche – unless you make stupid amount of money. That car was getting 12 miles per gallon (premium only), insurance was in thousands, one tire was $699 and there are no buy 3 get one free specials on those babies, oil change is in $100’s no $19.99 specials … crazy. I never understood people who would buy them. What were they compensating for?
What I was trying to say is – just because you can buy something does not mean you can afford it.
Yeah that is for sure true. In our case though, and this isn’t me being boastful, just stating a fact, we could afford one. That’s what’s freakin’ crazy. The only thing stopping me from buying one right now is common sense 😉
Hey more power to you if you can afford it, there is no shame in being proud of that. Your common sense is probably why you are where you are financially.
I totally needed this reminder today. I balanced my accounts and just stared at my debt (still just over $18,000 total). It was really depressing, until I forced myself to remember that I’ve paid off over $12,000 in the past 1 1/2 years. I’ve made great progress, so I should be content and just keep plugging along. Thanks for a much-needed reminder that patience is a good thing!
Exactly. And what would have been your alternative? Wait ten years until you’ve put $30K in a savings account (and when tuition is rising much faster annually than general inflation) rather than go to school today? Much too much is being made of the negative side of debt. Just remember that taking on debt is nothing more than agreeing to pay over time and with interest to acquire an asset you cannot afford today. It is not “permanent indentured servitude,” however such a description may sound.
You both are right. I personally wanted to pay my student loans down as fast as possible. Took me two years to pay off four years worth of borrowing. That said, my education is responsible for where I am today. A necessary evil if you will.
Wait until the time comes to part with a large sum of that money for a house. Great feeling of accomplishment and just moments to write it out and hand it over.
Just curious, what was your excuse to not ruin the surprise for GN when you sold the motorcycle for her ring? Maybe since you run a PF blog and everything she could pass it off as how you are but my girlfriend would think I was crazy and be very suspicious to give something that big up for sale.
Amen brotha!
That’s pretty freaking awesome, man. Actually, I can see what you’re saying about being patient. When my wife and I pay off our mortgage, will our lives really be any diffrent? No, not really. We’ll just put more towards retirement I think. So what does it matter when we pay everythign off? Just stay the course, pay off as you go along and you’ll get where you need to eventaully. 🙂
Stay the course is right my man. You’ll always end up where you want if you keep the end goal in sight.
This post came right at the right moment today. I also started with debt, though quite a bit more of it ($65K) and have since paid it off and built myself a nice little nest egg of $250K. But…..I thought I would feel more free than I do. I thought I would feel more awesome and excited. But instead, I often feel stressed that my money isn’t working for me the way it should and now that financial independence is something I can actually think of achieving, my goal posts have moved and my eye is now on that prize and unsatisfied with merely being out of debt.
But your post reminds me of how far I’ve come and how great it is to have security and the ability to provide for my family. Thanks for the reminde.
A very timely post for me. I am paying off my car next month (yay!! nothing drives like a paid for car!!) and am on track to debt free by March (except our mortgage) and it’s been so hard to stay the course – more difficult it seems for my husband actually. I did open another savings account yesterday because I think it will be easier for me to have a couple of different savings buckets if I can see that money in this account is for a specific purpose and when we reach that goal, we can pull the trigger and spend it if we want to. patience. sigh. patience!!
Congrats on reaching financial peace!
Congrats Ninja, for your financial peace journey! The reality I have discovered in my own life is that, although (like you), I could probably buy anything I want, I simply don’t want much. Happiness can never be achieved with stuff.
I went through this when I was much younger. I wanted a Porsche Cabriolet, but I just kept it a fantasy because it would have kept me from reaching my goals. One of which was financial freedon at 38 years old. Yes, I did achieve it!
I’m am struggling with this situation. I do appreciate what I have but my appetite for “stuff” seems to be insatiable. The process of self-flagellation to prevent buying “stuff” continues…
I passed a Ferrari once, on my bike. Sports cars are useless in a city with gridlock. What city does not have gridlock? Slow and steady works with commuting and $.
This is the dream! I’m so pinning this on my Vision Board ™ (nb: I don’t actually have a vision board)
Good Insight my friend. I feel like we should be out of debt by now, but I must remind myself how long it took to get into this debt. I must continue to patiently pay off the debt and make decisions that will benefit my financial future.
LOL. We have to put a new roof on our house, and a new furnace. And guess what? We can afford it and pay for it…and we’ll ask for a cash discount. That’s pretty awesome. But it does suck spending that much on a flippin roof!