When business slowed down after the September 11th attacks, my paycheck was substantially impacted by it. I stopped contributing to my 401K at that point, with the intention of returning to it when things got better. Well, in a community property state, half of the retirement that I'd been investing in since the early '80s went to my future ex-wife. Then the recession hit. By then, I had given up on the idea of my 401K amounting to much, and just lived as debt-free as I could muster. I made "principal only" payments" on my house that were double my standard mortgage. I paid off the credit cards, and used them ultra-sparingly. The "new" car I bought for the wife (different wife) is getting double principal only payments made on top of the regular payments, and will be paid off in a year. I view my house as the majority of my retirement. I live in a rapidly growing area, and my house's current market value is triple what I owe on it. I will sell it and relocate to a much cheaper area out of state for my retirement. Those are my plans.
An old (and very successful) friend once told me that there is no better investment than real estate. I've seen that statement proven to be true, more times than not. For me, at my age, it's probably the best I can hope for.
An old (and very successful) friend once told me that there is no better investment than real estate. I've seen that statement proven to be true, more times than not. For me, at my age, it's probably the best I can hope for.
