On Mon, 14 May 2007 23:34:30 -0300, "Don White"
wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
hlink.net...

"Don White" wrote in message
...

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Don White wrote:
"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On 11 May 2007 19:08:55 -0700, wrote:


I told her we'd settled on a price and had gotten a realtor to draw
up
a contract. I thought she knew I was totally serious. In the past,
she had few qualms about taking risks,in fact I married her because
she was a risk taker. This sudden bout of the "what ifs" completely
puzzles me. But you know, its just like the saying, "Women marry
hoping to change their men, men marry hoping their women do not
change."
Now she says, "I dont want to do anything that might jeapordize our
home in any way" which baffles the hell outta me. Whats the use of
having equity if you arent going to use it as leverage. I think that
having my own business for years has made me very casual about large
sums of money and about risk in general. Her profession of being a
public school teacher has emphasized low risk behaviour and covering
her ass at all costs (I am not sure we want this type of people
teaching our kids).
I feel like I got blindsided on this and am too embarassed to call
the
seller back right now. Even though it was my wifes issues, I should
take blame for not reading her correctly. Sometimes the buyer has
problems they did not consider.
Yep, you had a communication failure. Lots of women don't like liens
on their home. Men too, and I'm one of them. Age has a lot to do
with it too. What younger people call leverage older people call just
plain debt. A lienless home is a real ace in the hole, but it's hard
to play it except on a real good hand. For many that hand can only be
replacing or improving the house.

--Vic


After paying a mortgage bi-weekly year after year, I was happy as hell
to retire the mortgage about seven years ago. That's also why I keep
my old low mileage mini-van... it was paid for 8 years ago. You can
always go back into debt when the mood strikes you.

You bought into that bi-weekly game? What did they charge for the
"service"? It's well known that you can add $100, $500, $1000, or
whatever you want to your principal payment every month for no charge
and accomplish the same goal without fees. These bi-weekly payment
"services" charge a fee based on their creative advertising when the
simple reality is that you can do it yourself.

As for remaining debt-free, do you expect to outlive your minivan?
Chances are that you will have to replace it.


I don't recall any 'fee' for the priviledge of paying bi-weekly. That
must be an American thing.
As for my vehicles, when my 3 year lease is up on the 2006 Ford Ranger in
March 2009 I hope to have enough loonies & toonies saved to put a good
down payment on a Toyota Highlander.


If you paid off the house, you should have kept sending the same amount of
money to the savings account or brokerage house and you can then pay cash
for a vehicle in a couple of years. You were used to not having the
money, so instead of increasing the lifestyle, keep paying the mortgage,
but to yourself.

I went the opposite way...I retired. The net difference in take home pay
probably equals a nice Highlander.


My wife's very happy with her Highlander.