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Anyone who's watched Chris Rock talk on this topic knows what I mean, lol .
I grew up in a very poor neighborhood and my parents and remainder of family were poor. When my parents divorced, my mother was the sole example setter. Without getting into specific details, I learned poor spending habits from example she set from the time I was 10 until 18 years old. When I entered college, I got several credit cards, and not having any financial knowledge, I spent a lot of money and went into serious debt.
While I was in medical school, I was harassed nonstop by debt collectors. Given this an my desire to eventually be free of anyone, I started to read insatiably on amassing wealth, getting rid of debt, and how to be a better steward of my money.
I'm aggressively paying off my medical student loans. But in the meantime, I've learned to invest in the stalk market and diversify my portfolio, managed to save significant amount in my personal savings account, I drive an older car and regularly maintain it, I cook most if not all of my meals at home, and I spend very little of my discretionary income. I've learned, in general, to live way below my means.
If there is something I truly want (and dont' need)..then I really sit and wonder what benefit this object will bring to my life aside from fleeting happiness and fulfilling my desire to have a shiny, new object. For the most part, I'll defer and rethink the matter over the next 24-48 hours, or I'll drop the idea altogether. There's nothing much I truly want in this world that I already don't have, honestly. So, I often think to myself, "why waste money unnecessarily?!?"
It's taken decades to break free of the mentality that kept me in financial bondage...
If you're looking for a good book on the matter, OP, I recommend Shiny Objects by James A. Roberts. I definitely liked it a lot and it's given me a great perspective on spending money I don't need to spend:
But when you start from nothing, you don't have far to fall.
Not true for those of us that believe in paying back our debts like we promised. In our case, one can fall just as far from nothing as we can from something...
Not true for those of us that believe in paying back our debts like we promised. In our case, one can fall just as far from nothing as we can from something...
No one said debts wouldn't be paid back... Was that an assumption about something?
I accepted that I could lose the entire security/collateral, which thankfully never happened. Every one of my loans is unsecured now. When you start making money, people want to give you more of it.
No one said debts wouldn't be paid back... Was that an assumption about something?
If the debt will be paid back, then you can fall back a long ways from nothing. You borrow $200k for your business and it goes bust with a liquidation value of $50k. You have fallen from nothing to $150k in the hole. You were much better with nothing.
If the debt will be paid back, then you can fall back a long ways from nothing. You borrow $200k for your business and it goes bust with a liquidation value of $50k. You have fallen from nothing to $150k in the hole. You were much better with nothing.
Disagree... $150k isn't much in the scheme of things. You lose your collateral and move on...You pay down that debt with your next venture, especially when time and ideas are on your side. Much harder when you have dependents or a certain lifestyle you want to maintain. I was always comfortable being poor again.
Disagree... $150k isn't much. You lose your collateral and move on. You pay down that debt with your next venture, especially when time and ideas are on your side.
And how are you going to get a loan with $150k in unsecured debt and not enough income to pay for it?
And how are you going to get a loan with $150k in unsecured debt and not enough income to pay for it?
No, now my loans are unsecured due to bankers/investors understanding of the strength of my corporate receivables and my positive history. They now need to compete for my loans. In the beginning, I mortgaged the farm (figuratively) and was prepared to lose everything, which is what most people here tell you not to do. I am presenting an alternate perspective. I do not think it's a unique situation.
No, now my loans are unsecured due to bankers/investors understanding of the strength of my corporate receivables and my positive history. They now need to compete for my loans. In the beginning, I mortgaged the farm (figuratively) and was prepared to lose it. I do not think I'm a unique situation.
I am confused. What would you do to get a loan with $150k of pre-existing unsecured debt and no current business venture?
If you could start the second business with cash (no loan), then why didn't you just start the first business with cash to begin with?
My luck in life was to be born healthy with professional parents. I received 18 years of proper programming to launch me on a trajectory to be successful. Other than my father paying 1/3 of my college bill, the rest has been DIY.
My dad was always about living a high quality of life now rather than trying to accumulate the biggest pile of money. He didn't work 60 hour weeks or obsess about finances. Lots of trips. Lots of non-work interests. I took my cues from that view of life. I always traveled. I spent on things that improved my quality of life. Sure, my 401(k) was maxed out when I had access to it, I've always had savings, and I've always accelerated mortgage payments but I've always preferred to live my life to the fullest rather than try to create the biggest pile of wealth. With 8 work years left, I've kicked up my savings rate to create a pile of cash but that had never been a life priority for me until recently. I don't have children. It's not like I can take it with me. I've always been about accumulating epic memories than accumulating things. Things and money are just an enabler for the epic memories.
i honestly think that having that kind of parental guidance and mentoring, more than having money to pay for schooling, is the biggest contributor to early success.
i honestly think that having that kind of parental guidance and mentoring, more than having money to pay for schooling, is the biggest contributor to early success.
I think so, too. It's why I'm always beating that drum on CD about our 40% out of wedlock birth rate in America. I know a 2 parent family is no guarantee, but I really think it increases the odds of success in life on a variety of metrics, and even liberal researchers now agree with this.
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