Thread: Trailer Trash ... or...Getting a New "House"..sorta...

house rent = $1000
power,water,trash= $300

trailer = $4000 (paying cash)
lot rent = $350
power = $100

so $1300 current living
-$450 trailer living
----------
$850 per month x 36 months = $30,600 saved to buy a real house


We can actually save more like $1200 a month

over 5 years it could equal a huge butt load of money

BUT WHY A TRAILER???

well if you think the housing market is depressed, you should see the trailer market !!!

this is a means to an end, but let's just let my wife think it was her idea
just wish I could have brought her around years ago

WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF !!
I'm tired of cleaning a big house all the time

WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!!
losing 2/3 of our living space will force us to get rid of lots of stuff

HER PARENTS ARE COMING!!
but we can't all live in a trailer can we
NO !! no living with us

I WANT TO MOVE TO ANOTHER STATE BUT IT'S HARD TO MOVE ALL YOUR STUFF!!
so we get rid of it right?

I WANT TO RETIRE AROUND 50
but that doesn't happen if you live at the edge of your means your whole life

you see, we started in a small apartment, then a 900sq ft house,
then a 1700 sq ft house
1700 may sound like a small number to some of you, but I grew up in a small house and I see this as rampant excess

now when we go look at houses, do you think she wants
small?
medium?
large?
500 sq ft more than we have now?

RIGHT!

so we are "resetting our standards"
now in 5 years when we go look at a house
#1 our credit will be perfect
#2 we will have $$$$ 30-50k in hand
#3 living in a small house will make everything look big
#4 we can pick up and move because we don't have a ton of junk
#5 we can get a 15y mortgage instead of 30
#6 living at 35% of your means makes you so frugal that we can retire early on less money

TOPIC???

how big is your house?
what age are you going to retire?
what steps are you taking to make it happen sooner?
do you live at the edge of your means?
if so do you plan to change that?
and if you lose those means?

discuss

Good thread.

I live at the edge of my means, but my now-live-in girlfriend of several years has taught me to live more frugally (save my recent razor addiction, which she only knows a little about).

I bought a small house in April 2007 in New Jersey (which is a very expensive housing market). The same house would cost about half in say, West Virginia, for example. With that said, equity is the name of the game. Unfortunately, due to the current state of the market, I'm assuming (because I haven't had the house appraised since I bought it) that I have negative equity because of the tanking market. In other words, if I were to re-finance, I would probably end up owing money to close out my previous loan because the value of the house is now less than the loan. This makes re-fi a non-option for me. I'm locked in at those 2007 rates .

As for retirement, I contribute to 401k. I don't max it out, but I contribute as much as my company will match (which is about 5%). I hope that sets me on the right road until I get more financially established and am able to contribute more. I also have mounds of other debt (CC, mortgage, school loans, etc), that, when eliminated, will significantly increase my saving power.

Retirement at 55-60 would be fine for me. I am not a "workaholic" so I'm enjoying the finer things at my unripe age of 30 (in December), and I don't see anything keeping me from continuing to do so (vacationing, spending, consuming, etc).

There's my situation in a nutshell.... since you asked. GW, I guess you would say I like to live lavishly, and I hope to continue to have the means to support that. Frown upon it if you like, but you can't take the greenbacks with you when you go. Might as well spend it while your here (and leave a nice inheritance for your heirs).

Cheers,

Ogie

What if your wife decides she wants to get a "double-wide"?

Then there WILL be room for the inlaws!

yeah right!

there isn't any more space there for a double wide
the park is full

the nice part is that there are only like 15 or 20 trailers and it's mostly old people
there are some troublemakers but they are at the opposite end and will distract attention from me

it's next to a lake and there is a boat launch and big dock
and a few other niceties

I am certain that you and 0livia...err...I mean your wife will be quite happy there.

Maybe you can move to Utah

it wasn't just about me here guys

I was trying to start a conversation about saving vs spending

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

it wasn't just about me here guys

I was trying to start a conversation about saving vs spending

In all seriousness I think its a good plan. We live rather lean ourselves so that we can pay the bank for our house. We are considering a shortsale as we are living so tight we can barely breath.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

how big is your house?

3000 square feet floor space (this includes the basement, ground floor, second floor, attic)

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

what age are you going to retire?

No idea. 65 ish is the current age for full pension. That said, I like my job, and I am in no rush to quit working. When I do, I will perhaps start working part time.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

what steps are you taking to make it happen sooner?

None.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

do you live at the edge of your means?

Nope. We do allow ourselves some luxury (my wife and I both love high end malt whisky) but other than that we live pretty frugal. We never spend more than we earn, and if we want something, we'll save up for it first so that we don't have to dip into savings.

Also, we put away the savings money in the beginning of the month, and then make sure that we can make to the end of the month with the rest.

So how about my HAD and RAD?
I am happy to say I don't have RAD. I have only a handful of functional razors. My main interest is restoration. The little money I get is used to buy raw materials and occasionally a hone.
It's basically a zero sum game for me. If I buy a new hone, or some old blades, or... then it doesn;t cost me any 'real' money.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

if so do you plan to change that?

The answer to the previous question was no. So I have to say no here as well. Over the years as my wife and I got raises, we used part to invest in renovating the house, and the other part got split into an increase of the monthly savings and an increase of the household budget.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

and if you lose those means?

Then we'll have to find different means. That said, the savings alone will let us get by and pay the mortgage for a long time. And we are 6 years into a 20 year mortgage. So by the time I am 46, the house will be paid in full.
If the long term interest rates drop further, then we hope to refinance the mortgage and be rid of it in 10 years time.

Btw and wholly unrelated to the financial discussion:
GW, I remember you explaining about the shotgun you kept next to your bed, with various types of shell (it was a combination of slugs and shot) for if you were burgled in the night.

A stray slug will penetrate many trailer walls before stopping. If you use double ought shot, a stray pellet would probably not be stopped by 1 or 2 trailer walls.

The original load you explained to me is appropriate in a brick house.
Now that you move to a trailer park, will you modify the load?

Living in a trailer park is not only about living cheap, you get a different sort of neighbours as well.