If your income is too high, starting at 120K, the amount of your deductions for your rental expenses is reduced to 30% of actual. At 200K+ ,it goes to 0%.
This is common for many deductions when you have a large income...they just disappear.
Buy a house and rent it out. Getting the tenant to pay your mortgage for you is a great plan too. Sure you cant deduct the mortgage interest (since this is not your primary residence) but now you can expense all kinds of purchases, mileage etc... in the name of your investment property.
I've got a 2.5 year old and a 1 year old.... What's amazing is that no matter how much daycare costs and diapers and family vacations, toys, clothes, etc... I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
I think the greatest thing about kids are that until you have some of your own, you never know what you're missing. You just think you know what it's like or would be like. The reason it's so great is that for those who want kids, but can't have them....it actually makes things a little easier, though they don't realize it. For those who have kids and see people who can't or don't.....our hearts break a little from those who don't know what they're missing. But hey...not everyone is cutout for parenting either. It's a heck of a commitment and a lot of work.
Excellent points above.Ramsey's belief is that all debt is bad. I tend to be that way myself. But I certainly understand why people don't rush to pay down a mortgage, as it's just about the only leveraged asset they have access to. It does presume home values will rise and investments will grow more than the mortgage interest rate after factoring in the tax deduction - but that's not a stupid stand to take even if things don't work out. There are no guarantees.
I don't like being in debt on cars so we don't borrow for those. Even if they dangle a 0% interest offer, I still have to worry about the car being upside down in case of an accident.
We worked hard to pay off our mortgage a few years early and put that extra money into savings. Being totally out of debt means that besides food and utilities, the only other money we HAVE to spend is for property taxes.
One of the defining moments in my anti-debt opinion was when I was a kid and my parents borrowed to get new windows in our lower-middle class rowhouse. I don't remember the numbers exactly, but let's say they borrowed $3,000. Pay back over 5 years. They made monthly payments of around $90 for 3 years (sum of about $3,200 paid). Then they got a small inheritance from an aunt and wanted to pay off what they assumed was a small remaining balance. They were told the remaining balance was around $2,000. On a $3,000 loan they paid on for 3 years already!
Turned out the scammy window company finance arm used a method of computing finance charge (precomputed and add) that meant there was no benefit to paying the loan early. The total they owed was about $5300 (including finance charge) and they owed that amount even if they had paid the loan off in the first month. That really had an impact on me - if I borrow money, it's on the lender's terms even if they are unfair to the extreme.
Beyond the financial benefits of being debt-free, there is the aspect of freedom. You have more freedom to make big life choices when you don't have to worry about paying back debt to make them work.
Actually, my parents adopted a baby when I was 18 and he was almost like a kid to me, so I actually do know quite a bit about kids and actually love them. However, I just have different goals in life and don't want the responsibility.
Most Americans become debt free on the date of their death. The rest are outliers.
Those of you who think you will be debt free by your fifties or 65 are totally forgetting the concept of offspring.
People call me selfish all the time because I care more about money and accomplishments than reproducing. I think it's the other way around with the environmental crisis that the world is facing.
Housing prices seem to be in a bubble pretty much everywhere. The appreciation is great in the short term, but what about the longer term? What are the true market forces behind a 25% growth? Did any of the market fundamentals change? My guess is that because more and more homes are getting bundled into investments the valuation cycle will start to resemble equities. Home might still grow 2-3% per year but there will be large and ups and downs in the market.
The biggest thing was moving foreclosed homes over the past few years. Inventory shrunk. What we are seeing is the market returning to some level of normalcy. Also with reduced inventories we have really low interest rates. Which makes purchasing a home attractive right now. Especially with the fear in a rate hike coming up. We may get a correction due to the rate hike.
Bad debt...me owing someone.
Good debt...someone owing me and paying regularly.
Debt free by the time I was 44 (51 now) but that's only because I opened my own place. Otherwise, I'd still be in debt. I do have a 14y.o. so we'll see what college brings.
People call me selfish all the time because I care more about money and accomplishments than reproducing. I think it's the other way around with the environmental crisis that the world is facing.
People have some sort of weird sense of smug superiority when it comes to kids.
Seriously, feeling heartbroken to see that other couples don't want kids? That's pretty damn smug.
There is no way that the value of most homes on the market match any sense of reality. There is a reason the 3x household income rule exists. Especially since most college kids have a boat load of debt from school that they have to pay off before they can buy a house. The long term demand simply isn't there.
Let me ask the question this way:
Is it better to buy a 150k home at 4% or a 100K home at 8%, assuming you have the cash saved up? With higher rates there is less demand. I'm waiting for rates to go up so that I have to pay less on the principal. Any savings on interest are small in comparison.
It's true.being a father for only 6 weeks, i can definitely say that there is no way to explain the feeling you get from a child until you have one. the first time he fell asleep on my chest in the hospital it was a crazy feeling that simply cannot be explained in words. it's just one of those things you have to feel and experience to understand.
Yeah, my main priorities are traveling and house projects at this point. People here have called me selfish for not wanting kids but their opinion is worth about as much as my dog's opinion on this topic.
Hell no. His mother would forgive it.You gonna cut him a student loan? You could make bank.
There is no way that the value of most homes on the market match any sense of reality. There is a reason the 3x household income rule exists. Especially since most college kids have a boat load of debt from school that they have to pay off before they can buy a house. The long term demand simply isn't there.
Let me ask the question this way:
Is it better to buy a 150k home at 4% or a 100K home at 8%, assuming you have the cash saved up? With higher rates there is less demand. I'm waiting for rates to go up so that I have to pay less on the principal. Any savings on interest are small in comparison.
Hell no. His mother would forgive it.
And Pete, you've got twin girls. You'll never be debt free. On the bright side, manimal has triplets.
This is very true (it's actually a boy and girl, but that doesn't make them any less of a liability)...and we actually have one more on the way (just found out), so you can see we are good at making poor financial decisions.
Blame it on the wife. You were just poking fun and she took you seriously.This is very true (it's actually a boy and girl, but that doesn't make them any less of a liability)...and we actually have one more on the way (just found out), so you can see we are good at making poor financial decisions.
Blame it on the wife. You were just poking fun and she took you seriously.
Grats on the newcomer. We stopped at one. We were older when he came along and the wife tried to die during the process. No way she's getting off that easy.
LOL! :biggrin:
Congrats @PricklyPete on the new one!
Blame it on the wife. You were just poking fun and she took you seriously.
Grats on the newcomer. We stopped at one. We were older when he came along and the wife tried to die during the process. No way she's getting off that easy.