Gazelle Intensity?? Is there a limit??

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Gazelle Intensity?? Is there a limit??
8
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 4:46pm

I am just wondering how many dave ramsey fans are out there?? And if so how much is too much?

Hubby got a new job that means we don't NECESSARILY need a second car. We own the 2 we have and if we get rid of one of them I would have to drive him/pu from the airport every week(which I am willing to do)....but then the car we own for him is a really good one and we bought it from friends who bought it brand new so we know the history....I am also considering selling the house and moving a little farther away to a nice rental. We have enough equity in our house to pay off all of our debt and start over.

Thoughts??

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Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 4:56pm

On first glance I would say I wouldn't do either of those things. If you already own the car (I assume you mean outright) then it is not really probably costing you THAT much to keep it and it will cost you a lot to replace it if something comes up. I would recommend you look at mileage and park the one with the most mileage because that will help you in the long run. Drive it now and again so you don't let things rot but basically pick one car and drive it. Depending on the mileage right now, you might actually be increasing its value by not driving it.

I feel pretty strongly that the 2nd choice is the WRONG thing to do unless you truly feel you are 'house poor' and even then I would recommend staying in the housing market, just trade in for a less expensive home. The housing market is generally getting more and more expensive and even if you do see a downward trend, that's never permanent. It is very tough to get in the housing market and if you don't have to get out, don't. I don't think this is going to pay off for you in the long run. Housing costs are a requirement of life and you might as well get some equity and tax deduction out of the deal. I think almost every financial expert would tell you that renting is rarely the best idea (my only thought is a circumstance when you KNOW you are only going to be in a place a year or 2...then it can be tough to cover your selling costs).

I know looking at those big chunks of equity can be really tempting but this is a shortcut I don't think you want to take. It's really probably the long way. Have you done your net worth? I like to look at that because while I am paying off debt, it is going up just by virtue of the debt not cancelling out my other assets.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 5:01pm

I have a lot of PS's today! LOL

Also, take into account the money it would cost you to sell your home. You would have to add that to the cost of paying off your debt. It's sort of like taking the tax/penalty hit on liquidating a retirement account. Very often, not a good idea.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 7:05pm

I've been listening but I don't know if I'm a fan or not. I like the idea of gazelle intensity but at the same time I have some problems with it. I don't have a problem cutting back on lots of things and I do think that's how you make a debt difference. Having said that, I also think that we don't know when our life or the lives of those around us are done so I don't want to live so focused on money and debt that I regret the way I live my life. For example, I could save money by not seeing my parents/siblings as often. They live 5 hours away. I usually go there every couple of months or we meet somewhere and then I vacation with them for 2 weeks in the summer (camping). I'm willing to be intense enough that I've cut back on my trips, I pack food to take in the car on the drive, I make sure our activities are inexpensive, etc. but I don't stay home with the idea that I'll make the trip when our debt is paid off. Realistically, that's at least 2 years from now and I would never forgive myself if something happened to one of them or to one of my kids and I knew I didn't spend that time. Incidentally, my attitude might be different and I might cut back more if I were putting these trips on the CC but I'm not. So, in the case you've described I would probably be willing to give up the car but not the house. I agree with the previous poster and I would also add that since you are going through a pretty big transition now with DH traveling more I don't know that I would add changing houses on top of that.

I've been thinking a lot about Dave Ramsey's advice lately and I might be posting differently in a couple of months but that's where I stand now.

Taleyna

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Registered: 05-18-2005
Sat, 04-08-2006 - 6:19pm
Hello there, I am a regular reader on this board, just haven't posted very much. I just wanted to comment on Dave Ramsey. I have read his TMMO book, and listen to him quite often on the radio. I agree with a lot of what he says, but not everything. I also agree with another poster on her, I don't want to have the debt consume my life to the point where I can't enjoy my children and grandchildren. Yes, we are the other generation, and have some debt again. My husband owns his own business and of course we have some debt with that, which DAve doesn't seem to believe in borrowing money for ANYTHING. So I say, I guess we are not going to be totally debt free until we sell the business or get out whichever comes first. LOL.....We personally don't have a lot of debt except our house and a couple of cc. The cc debt is due to some medical issues and dental....which I think is considered good debt. It's not like we go on vaca all the time and I buy a lot of stuff I don't need. So I look at things differently than Dave does in that regard. He has a lot of good points but the gazelle intensity thingy, my husband says....lighten up a bit.....we want to enjoy life a little too. RIGHT? Well, thanks for listening. This board has so many good ideas. Thanks JanW
Jan
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Registered: 11-09-2004
Sun, 04-09-2006 - 1:01am

Hello,


My

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 4:21pm

I was wondering what you were thinking about this? I kept thinking about your question all last weekend and wondering what you decided or if you had.

Peg

Avatar for 2locachicas
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 8:36pm

Peg-

We decided to take the advice of the board and make changes conservatively right now. We are looking into refiing our house because if we want to stay we need to refi, keep his car because we know it is a good car and it is paid for...at least until we know how the weekends will go when he is home. We are going to reevaluate his w4 because we got almost 9,000 back this eyear and we would rather have that in our pockets.

So that is where we are. we will wait untilhis training(1 month) is over and he gets into his job before we decide on the car. because if it is just sitting in the garage(I can't drive it beause I have 3 kids in car seats) we may as well get rid of it because it is worth enough to pay off our credit cards 100%. We are staying in the house until he decides if he likes this job & wants to stay with it.

Thanks for thinking of me!! Sometimes I get over zealous on my budget...

Loca

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 8:42pm

Wonderful! I think that sounds very, very sensible. I didn't realize the car's value would pay off the debt. That makes it a much more plausible consideration since you can't drive it. Hope all goes well with the refi. :)

Peg