Debt Dumpers 2025

[ruadisneyfan2]

we found 3 different patterns of wallpaper in the kitchen of our first home when we went to remove it-60's, 70's and 80's. no pink carpet but the mbr had some awful very deep multicolored shag that you could see creeping out from under the door (we called it the monster under the bed). those were fun times putting our own touches on stuff. SCORE on the hardwoods




those tax prices kill me-we are 2350 SQ feet, similar to yours w/ 3 car garage on 10 acres and pay $4400/yr (we bought in '07).

I remember as a kid having friends with that long shag carpeting. Everyone thought it was so cool.
When we were house shopping for us in 96, we looked at houses with that mylar wallpaper. It was a shiny, mirror finish like a balloon. THAT was super cool in the 70s too. Groooovy!!

 

[Bellex917]

those tax prices kill me-we are 2350 SQ feet, similar to yours w/ 3 car garage on 10 acres and pay $4400/yr (we bought in '07).

I'm in NJ also and my property takes are $13,000 a year... my house is 2400 square feet, 1 car garage, and a tiny yard. We previously lived in a a townhouse where we didn't even own the land and our taxes were 7k. NJ is wild lol.

 

[Sheree]

I'm in NJ also and my property takes are $13,000 a year... my house is 2400 square feet, 1 car garage, and a tiny yard. We previously lived in a a townhouse where we didn't even own the land and our taxes were 7k. NJ is wild lol.

750 sf house, 30x50 lot on lagoon in toms river is 12k a year!
main house which is 3600 sf on 1 acre is almost 18k.
insane

 

[Sheree]

I can explain how ds25 did it, even here in NJ which has a high COL.
He had been wanting to move out for a long time. When he first started working FT in his chosen career, he knew he was earning enough to leave.
Of course I would never tell him he can’t, or that he shouldn’t, but I pointed out to him that right now, making good money but at the same time having very few bills (except car ins and car payment that he could quickly pay down) means this is the easiest time you will ever have to save money. Once you leave, it will always be a struggle to save. There is so much stuff you need to get established, bills eat away at your paycheck, and you still want to be able to have fun. I also told him not to work himself to death or work so much that he misses out on his youth but also working OT is soooo much easier when you’re young.

He agreed with everything. Except for a few road trips to the Poconos and VT to go snowboarding, he worked 50-60 hours/week for the past 2 years and packed away 90% of his take home pay in an Ally savings account and watched it grow. He put $45k down on his house, had $15k for closing costs, and still had $8k to put into fixing it up. He didn’t ask us for money but I insisted on giving him a few thousand to have as a starter EF.

He says he’d rather work hard now because he knows in his career (industrial welding) it’s hard on the body and he doesn’t want to have to work hard when he’s old. He insisted on a 15-year mortgage so that it will be paid off before he turns 40.
His monthly payment is about $2800/month including taxes and insurance. This is for a 3BR/1BA split level, LR, EI-kitchen, downstairs den and laundry room, with 1 car attached garage on 1/3 acre. It’s a perfect starter home for a single person or a couple.
He is still able to put 10% into his 401k.

This is the boy who listens to Dave Ramsey podcasts, not because he has debt, but so he never gets tempted to spend more than he earns and end up with debt.

He is pretty amazing, not because he is my kid, but I have to admire his motivation, fortitude, and determination.

shows it can be done. I was a mortgage banker here in NJ for 25 years. Wants and needs make a huge difference!
my son bought his condo at 20. it was an affordable housing unit here in town. monthly payment less than 1 br apt rent. he just sold it, with a profit. Now he is fortunate, his grandma was leaving him her house but he now had the funds to completely update/upgrade it which he wouldn't have if he hadn't bought that condo 10 years ago. he works 60-70 hours a week, self employed, newly married and has a great head on his shoulders financially so many of his generation would rather have the nicer cars, work less, nice clothes, trips etc.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

750 sf house, 30x50 lot on lagoon in toms river is 12k a year!
main house which is 3600 sf on 1 acre is almost 18k.
insane

My dad's shore house is on a lagoon in Forked River and close to $12k a year for his taxes but it is a large house. 6BR/4BA.
He is very reluctant to sell because he built 90% of it himself to keep costs down. (in home construction all his life.) and because it's not his primary residence, he would get utterly wacked in capital gains tax.
If he dies and leaves it to me and my siblings, no taxes.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

shows it can be done. I was a mortgage banker here in NJ for 25 years. Wants and needs make a huge difference!
my son bought his condo at 20. it was an affordable housing unit here in town. monthly payment less than 1 br apt rent. he just sold it, with a profit. Now he is fortunate, his grandma was leaving him her house but he now had the funds to completely update/upgrade it which he wouldn't have if he hadn't bought that condo 10 years ago. he works 60-70 hours a week, self employed, newly married and has a great head on his shoulders financially so many of his generation would rather have the nicer cars, work less, nice clothes, trips etc.

Whew, that's a lot of work.
We have a friend who started a business back in the 80s and winter was his busy season. He worked 16 hr days, 7 days per week, from Oct to March. The business has grown incredibly huge and his son has taken it over now.
They are very well off but not everyone who knows him now knows how long & hard he worked for soo many years to reach this point.

 

[Sheree]

Whew, that's a lot of work.
We have a friend who started a business back in the 80s and winter was his busy season. He worked 16 hr days, 7 days per week, from Oct to March. The business has grown incredibly huge and his son has taken it over now.
They are very well off but not everyone who knows him now knows how long & hard he worked for soo many years to reach this point.

his plan is to be able to be pt when he's 40! when you love what you do it isn't work.

 

[barkley]

I remember as a kid having friends with that long shag carpeting. Everyone thought it was so cool.
When we were house shopping for us in 96, we looked at houses with that mylar wallpaper. It was a shiny, mirror finish like a balloon. THAT was super cool in the 70s too. Groooovy!!

yup, carpet that was sold with a 'carpet rake'-gotta rake that shag carpet to keep it fluffy.