Housing questions

you obviuosly have computer so i would suggest that you book mark this link and take the time to read it..it won't be until you get more than half way through it that you'll begin to understand why I am suggesting it to you..not necessarily the growing information..but the revelations near the end of the book

http://www.charityfocus.org/docs/onestraw.pdf

the best answer is to continue to do what you are doing..get out of debt..get rid of all of your credit cards and get a good debit card from your bank..live on a serious budget until you can get your dreams under control.

iused tothink i had to have a credit card for emergencies..but now i've been without it..i'm so glad i am..i can see over the years how i would have abused credit had i had it

Michigan has some great farms for around $100...dozens of acres, outbuildlings, etc..there was a huge one for sale on Northern Michigan Craigslist for $100 i posted on here for someone else a month or so ago..you might search for it..

as for manufactured homes..we live in a top of the line double wide and really like it..as a permanent home..

Jaques-

You are doing the right thing by paying off those credit cards and any other consumer debt you have.

Way to go!!!! Keep up the good work!!!!

You are going to have more cash flow and money in your pocket when you are living debt free.

Are you working from a written monthly budget for your household?

Are you working the Dave Ramsey plan?

When I worked the Dave Ramsey plan, I looked at absolutely every, and I mean every expenditure we had, and thought "Do I have to spend money on this?"

When you think about it, 43 cents here and $5.12 there doesn't sound like much money today, but it adds up quickly in a year's time, not to mention a lifetime. In fact, a majority of the broke friends I have say they are "frugal and conservative", but in reality, they don't watch their small expenditures. A lifetime of ignoring small expenditures will leave you in the poor house.

Hope this helps. I wish someone would have given me the same info when I was in my mid-twenties!!!!!

Go get 'em!!!!!

A mobile home tends to depreciate instead of increase in value. Also there can be problems with getting insurance and refinancing as it ages. Better to invest in a home that can outlast you.

That said, I prefer land to housing, so I would settle for less than a dream house in order to get dream land. Houses can be added to or improved easily enough using sweat equity. Get great land in a great location and go from there.

In this economic climate, the idea of giving advice really scares me spitless!!!!!!!!!!

That being said, I am gonna give you some.

No job is secure, and if you have no savings account you will end up using your CC the next time your car breaks, or when you get that pink slip, or......

I know this because I have been there.

Now that you have the CC bill much lowered, try like fury to get $1000 into savings. CC companies are now charging even good customers something like 25% interest, and you do NOT! need to be paying the interest if your car need a valve job! So, instead of sending ALL of it off on your student loan, get something into savings.

Because, sooner or later, everything breaks.

'Nuff said!

Oh, I LOVED that book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

The only thing is that the growing methods must be adapted to your climate. My climate requires a little watering, and the seeds must be buried or they dry out and die. I know because I tried it. I LOVED his outlook on life and his methods of maintaining fertility, though!

We currently have about $1500 in savings as an emergency fund.

We do keep track of everything we spend but still need to do a little tightening. We spend way less on frivolous purchases than when we started but could probably still shave off about $150 a month if we really clamped down.

There was a recent post on manufactured houses, do a quick search and read it. It has some really good points and will help with your decision.
I think you biggest hurdle will be employment. No one is going to give someone a loan on a house if they do not have a job. You will need a job lined up before you move. Check out some areas that interest you and see what kind of employment is available. I would think something in the medical field (RN, Ultrasound technician, etc) would be good, but there might be something different that is a better fit. We live in an area that has a lot of paper mills which really doesn't need a lot of "schooling" to do. Starting checking out the job section of the local paper to get an idea too or call some employment agencies in those areas.
Keep plugging away at the debt, you are doing a great job and start working on your "honey-do" list. The more projects that are done, the better chance of selling. Welcome to HT!

Welcome to the forums.

Welcome, welcome. Congratulations on all the hard work and effort you have put forth so far. I hope your motivation will stay with you and you accomplish all you set out to do.

1. If you are in food service - if nothing else (education or otherwise ) try to work into management. My Nephew is 24 and a manager of a FF restaurant making $35K....Be the best worker on the crew. Learn everything about every job. Do it right, do it well - do it even if you don't want to. Act like a manager, be able to make decisions and follow direction from others. Right now you HAVE to increase your income. Income that works today will not be adequate for 10 years from now. Either education or a job switch is in order.

2. Education - especially skilled technical work that is so lacking right now - may be your best bet. lab techs, welders, whatever. Look for GRANTS - not school loans. Give up the spare time - and push through to your goals before that baby starts costing a LOT more money. Medical transcription can also be done from home now. Folks I know that do it make much more money than a CNA will. I think that is a smart move for your wife -eventually she can stay home with the baby while working. Then you can go for more education or a 2nd part-time job.

3. The house: I am torn in what to do. I have no qualms at selling at a loss if I had a better situation elsewhere. Since you don't have a job or place to move to, I think I would stay put and continue to pay down the CC and work on educaiton. That is a pretty small payment. I don't know where you will find cheaper even renting. You might meet your goals faster by sticking where you are for now.

4. Manufactured home: wait to make that decision when you are further out of debt and have increased income. You might be doing okay NOW...but the future is coming. The best place to get a job right now is in urban areas not the country side. Once you are ready to move, then worry about what is available in the area you choose. There might be different answers when the real choices become apparent. Someone might be desperate to sell a stick-built home on a good piece of property for the same price as manufactured. Or...the right property might come with a pole barn house.

Keep your focus on today's pressing issues and don't let future decisions make you jump into a situation where you will never get ahead.

i do not remember the poster who showed how to build a cabin on about an acre for under $5000. but his idea is just what i would do, if i were your age again. someone else here can prolly show that thread to you.

may i ask, what earth shattering event happened that has you doing a flip? i get the impression it was something big.

that baby wont' be 'free' for long.

boring as it is, cut expenses, get out of debt and learn to garden. and dont' think its all gonna be rosy, its going to take lots of work, and do take your time as well, the worst thing would be to make a hasty move and be sorry later. best of luck to you


eta....found the thread. i would so do it this way, if i were your age again in your postition. not a second thought, this would be IT...
How to start a homestead with nothing ?

Boring as it may be, there was no big event to spur my decision. I was at work one day when i realized i just wasn't happy with my current position in life and if i didn't make drastic changes that wouldn't be changing anytime soon. I was sold on the consumer lifestyle and something clicked and i realized it wasn't for me, i crave something more simple. I lived in the country all life, as did my wife. We've given living in town a shot and just don't care for it.

We have a pretty good garden going at the house this year. We've got lettuce, peppers, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, corn, eggplants, and one or two other things that escape me at the moment.

We know we're in for a lot of hard work but it will be on our own terms and the thought makes me happy.

That thread is great! We keep toying with the idea of doing something similar but i'm only 8 months removed from my old lifestyle and still need to get myself in the right frame of mind for that. We're still definitely considering it though. Having a young one is our biggest concern with such a project.

Budget wise i think we're doing pretty good, though that's not to say there isn't room for improvement. On a combined income of $2000 a month we've paid off $8K in debt in 8 months. It's crazy to look back at what we were spending before, so much wasted money.

enjoy!

Jacques

Hi Jacques!

I'm originally from Dayton. We live in Bethel, OH now, which is SE of Cinci. It's very rural but close enough to commute to the city for work.

Property around here is really inexpensive. Right next door to us is a house and 1.5 acres for $43,000. It's a foreclosure, but a decent little house, just needing some updating.

So you might not have to move too far from Dayton to find what you're looking for.

I agree with several of the posters here, But especially with Darren. Get ahold of the county newspaper where you intend to relocate. They are fairly cheap for a yearly subscription and will give you a good idea of what is going on in the area. Snoop around the area, camping perhaps, to get a better feel and the perhaps locate the special property that just hasn't been listed yet....

Keep paying off the debt! Good job, it will be worth it. Debt certainly does make a man a slave to the lender. If you really must have a CC, freeze it in a large block of ice and keep it in the freezer. If your really MUST use it you can thaw it out...While it thaws, rethink whether you want to use it or not.

I have been able to find several mobile and manufactured houses on CraigsList for little or nothing. Still very inexpensive after paying for moving. Locally moving runs about $1500 + mileage. These are liveable homes...at least liveable while you are building your new home over a period of years. Not sure about the bureaucratic struggles in your area but that might be a consideration. Very limited here in Missouri.

Best of Luck, and BTW: Add your location to your profile. Under UserCP, then profile. Just so people will have an idea where you are coming from...literally.

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One thing you might consider is getting a travel trailer to live in once you've sold your house. That way you won't have to be in a big hurry to find something else, but can wait until the right deal comes along. Or you could buy some bare land and live in it in the trailer while you build a cabin -- if you find land where you are allowed to live in a travel trailer for a while.

I don't think we can count on the economy getting better any time soon. In fact, it's very likely to become MUCH worse before this year is out. Like another poster, I hate to give financial advice, but if values are currently up in your neighborhood, you might consider selling your house right now, before they start going down again.

Kathleen

Hi Jacques, welcome to the boards! You'll find a wealth of information here and some really great people.

I can't give any advice on the saving money/buying property angle, but I do have something very important to say about your wife's plan to go to transcription school...DON'T DO IT!!!

I've been an MT for 27 years, and I advise everyone who asks that this is not a field you want to go into at this time. The schools are way overpriced and definitely not worth the money, the jobs are fewer and fewer all the time and will probably be nonexistent within the next 10 years due to voice recognition software, and most importantly the pay is just not worth it.

I'm making less than 25% of what I made in the 1980s and am working three times as hard for it, and even I had my hours cut by 60% in January and haven't been able to find anything to replace it even with all my years of experience and excellent skills. Beginning positions are almost impossible to find. Plus even if she did get a job, your wife would be making less than minimum wage for at least 6 months to a year once completing school. Transcription is not an hourly wage job, it's a production pay job, and it takes a long time to get up to full production working on your own.

Here's a thread where we had an extensive discussion regarding this here on HT - Medical Transcription School. Plus you can Google for info and find thousands of MTs complaining of exactly the same thing. I would VERY STRONGLY advise against getting into transcription, sure hope it's not too late and that she hasn't signed up with any schools yet. You might as well flush your money down the toilet or burn it. Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, I'd be happy to help.

PubBurgers, I'm nearly twice your age, and have the scars to prove it. I've done everything from FF management, a long stint as a union electrician, a few other adventures, and my current gig as a self employed builder. I have a lot of advice to give, but nothing better than the fine stuff already posted by lots of squared away members here. You need to know however that I'm truely impressed! At your young age, you figured it out. You have the self-discipline to get off the consumer rat wheel and stop chasing that next piece of cheese. Don't look back, get out of debt, and live a life that matters. Good luck, keep us posted.

We lived in Dayton when I was little and my Grandma lived there until she died a few years ago. Couldn't believe how much it had changed when we went back for the funeral!

We are in Arkansas and I can tell you the land prices are way lower, so are housing prices and so is the cost of living. If you don't mind the heat I would look more towards the middle of the country for land and a home.

Personally I wouldn't go the manufactured home route unless you know beyond the shadow of a doubt you are where you want to stay just because of the loss in value on them.

It sounds to me like you guys have reached the point where you don't want to be a part of the mainstream consumer lifestyle but you don't know much beyond that. I agree with the other posters who recommend finding an area and renting. Get your house sold and move somewhere rural but still in driving distance of a decent job. Live the life for a few years and see if it suits you. You may find it doesn't and what you really want is just a simpler lifestyle in town.

I would also definitely look at a much smaller town it may meet your needs, Dayton is enormous and has a lot of problems but like someone else said here so do very rural areas.

I am glad that you guys have figured out the rat race isn't worth it at such a young age and before you dug yourselves in too deep!

One huge benefit of living in Dayton is the RTA. When my cousin was a teen he could hop on the RTA and go anywhere in and around town he wanted. Anywhere outside of Dayton and you will need a car. There are lots of decent places around Montgomery county and in the surrounding counties where land can be bought at a fairly decent price, but not very many jobs can be found in the outlying areas. You will have to figure car payments, gas prices, and insurance into the equation of how much income you need to get by.

A temp agency might be able to help you find a different line of work. I know of a couple places nearby that hire all of their new employees through temp agencies.

We definitely plan on renting after the house is sold. We don't want to have to scramble to find something as soon as it sells and renting, like mentioned, would let us get acquainted with an area and find something we really want.

If we end up buying land and putting a trailer on it i'd like to pay it off in full and not bother with financing as it would really open up a lot of locations farther away from population centers since full time employment wouldn't be as much of an issue. If we do go with a pre-built house we'd like to stay within 30 miles or so from a major population center.

We're both pretty resourceful when it comes to employment. Neither of us has spent more than two weeks unemployed since we were 15. We both grew up in Jamestown so we're pretty familiar with that area as well.

The wife is actually going for medical coding, not transcription, my mistake. She already has her associates in restaurant management so this is just something extra.

thanks all!

Jacques