Save it or SPEND IT ALL....

[zx150]

George did not know about your wife either. Glade she is ok. I would do 50% down and 10 years. True you only live once. I am a big Dave Ramsey fan. But with that said I would finance a house. That is all I would finance.

[nitro929]

Done the Florida thing and like it went to Maui on our honeymoon and loved it. I would go there once every ten years vrs Florida every year or two.

[DJD]

I won't be a millionaire when I retire but I will be ok. The last thing I financed was my house. I am fortunate to have company supplied vehicles so that helps me not purchase any vehicle for myself. I will get my oldest daughter a used car for graduation and that will be a cash buy...I been putting a little money away for that for a while.

My focus is to enjoy life with what I have set aside to do it with. I have a bucket list that will never be 100% satisfied and that's cool with me. I travelled ALOT in my life and will continue to do so as I can afford it. I think we all know that there is no promise of tomorrow so you cannot build an empire on earth for the future...planning is good but it should be realistic....It's a personal decision on how you choose to live and save and all you can do is hope that as life happens you can survive long enough to enjoy what plans you have made. Good luck George on whatever you decide!

[mhall]

Mark, I totally understand......Some of you may know, some of you may not, but I nearly lost my wife of 23 years to a sudden illness this past spring. She was hospitalized for 3 weeks, and for a while, it was very, very scary.

We have always been good with saving for a rainy day, and putting money back, but when do you decide to start letting loose a little.

"Officially" I cannot start spending retirement monies, but I will tell you this.....I will start spending versus saving. Many have seen my kitchen remodel.....that is me letting loose of some of my hard earned money. We saved for 20 years to help pay for a "lake house" somewhere.......well, my wife wanted a new kitchen and instead of saying we will do it when we SAVED the money for it, I took money saved for something else and did it.

It felt good doing it. It is something she has wanted for 10 years.

You know what, our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up next year. We had planned on taking a nice little vacation down to Florida, to one of our favorite places.......WE will still do the Florida thing, but instead of Florida for our 25th, I'm taking her to Hawaii. We also promised that we'd do that someday. Well, someday is here.

Kids college through next year is paid for, we have no debt, and our house is paid for.

I guess the time is NOW .

George I did not know about your wife. Man I'm very thankful everything turned out alright, dang Bro I had no idea.
Life is very fragile guys, handle with care...

[Fishin is life]

Let me ask you this Geo, in 25-30 years do you think youll be able to get as much enjoyment out of your money having doubled as you would have out of having a lake house for 25 years. You will see a value gain in the property, even if not as much as if you left it in the market, but youll be able to enjoy it. In the end you know your finances better than anybody and its your call, but the peace of mind in time spent on the water cant be bought. Maybe in your retirement you sell your primary residance which will have also appreciated in value, and live on the water

Im only 30 years old but was taught the importance of saving from childhood. I now sit in a position where i have a nice truck thats paid for, a pretty nice boat thats paid for, and a house that will be paid for by my mid to late forties. I started working at around age 10-12 and saved every penny. Didnt make much money but after years of saving i had enough put back for the down payment on my house by the time i was 15-16. Im still pretty tight with money, but i enjoy life on a budget. Time spent on the local lake is worth a lot more to me than time spent at a beach somewhere. Im getting married next year and will look to start a family soon so i know my financial priorities will change, but im pleased with where im at and owe it all to my parents instilling financial responsibility in me from an early age

[mhall]

Let me ask you this Geo, in 25-30 years do you think youll be able to get as much enjoyment out of your money having doubled as you would have out of having a lake house for 25 years. You will see a value gain in the property, even if not as much as if you left it in the market, but youll be able to enjoy it. In the end you know your finances better than anybody and its your call, but the peace of mind in time spent on the water cant be bought. Maybe in your retirement you sell your primary residance which will have also appreciated in value, and live on the water

Im only 30 years old but was taught the importance of saving from childhood. I now sit in a position where i have a nice truck thats paid for, a pretty nice boat thats paid for, and a house that will be paid for by my mid to late forties. I started working at around age 10-12 and saved every penny. Didnt make much money but after years of saving i had enough put back for the down payment on my house by the time i was 15-16. Im still pretty tight with money, but i enjoy life on a budget. Time spent on the local lake is worth a lot more to me than time spent at a beach somewhere. Im getting married next year and will look to start a family soon so i know my financial priorities will change, but im pleased with where im at and owe it all to my parents instilling financial responsibility in me from an early age

Nicely done....Also your future wife is quite gorgeous so I would say you are doing well for sure. I meant that respectfully to dude, just saying...

[GeoFisher]

Let me ask you this Geo, in 25-30 years do you think youll be able to get as much enjoyment out of your money having doubled as you would have out of having a lake house for 25 years. You will see a value gain in the property, even if not as much as if you left it in the market, but youll be able to enjoy it. In the end you know your finances better than anybody and its your call, but the peace of mind in time spent on the water cant be bought. Maybe in your retirement you sell your primary residance which will have also appreciated in value, and live on the water

Im only 30 years old but was taught the importance of saving from childhood. I now sit in a position where i have a nice truck thats paid for, a pretty nice boat thats paid for, and a house that will be paid for by my mid to late forties. I started working at around age 10-12 and saved every penny. Didnt make much money but after years of saving i had enough put back for the down payment on my house by the time i was 15-16. Im still pretty tight with money, but i enjoy life on a budget. Time spent on the local lake is worth a lot more to me than time spent at a beach somewhere. Im getting married next year and will look to start a family soon so i know my financial priorities will change, but im pleased with where im at and owe it all to my parents instilling financial responsibility in me from an early age

Man, you HIT the nail on the head. In 20 yrs, I will be 65. My dad, at 65 was dang near senile. His dad, had dimentia at 70. I'm predisposed to be "done" maybe at 65.

That has been a long and hard discussion and "decision" with my wife. I don't know if 10-15-20 years what life will bring. I do know this though........My grandmother was a Professional IT person for 25 years. Saved hard and SPENT HARD. She had enough to live very successfully and "comfortable".........up until 90. Well, her money is gone, and she now lives on Social Security. I think she's comfortable, but I know she'd love to maybe do another trip out west, or maybe to Hawaii again, but simply cannot afford it.

[SLP]

IMO if you don't have anyone else other than the two of you, that depends on you, I say spend it. My parents are both around 80, and us "children" are all grown and have our own families. My dad retired about twenty years ago and I have always encourage them to enjoy themselves and spend their money if it is something they would really enjoy. My dad certainly worked hard enough for each dollar they have, I want he and my mom to benefit from every cent. I know I defiantly don't want them to have much of anything left to leave to us, it is theirs to spend on themselves. Nothing irritates me more then when I see grown children hinting around to their parents about not to spend money, with the motivation being they are hoping to get it for themselves one day. You can't be more selfish than that.

On the other hand I am retired with two young children, so I have the responsibilities of a family that depends on me, therefore I must be very prudent with what we spend our money on. I have many future years ahead of living expenses of an entire family, college costs for the two of them, as well as a wife that is ten years younger who is certain to outlive me by quite a few years, to always consider.

So everyone's situation is different, and unique to themselves, as should their decision making be.