Stuff... And Life.

[Xpedition Outfitters]

Sorry, I can't full credit for the quote, the orginal was from Albert Einstein, I just changed it up putting my own twist to it. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”




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So as we ponder the qualities of simplizing life, and I thought the final thread between the X and me was gone with the selling of the house, I get hit square in the jaw last night after my daughter's softball game. The X is taking me back to court for more money. ARGG....

ouch. i feel you there bud. my wifes ex took us to court this past December because he wanted more time and to pay less child support for my step son. well after 9k in lawyer fees everything was settled and hes paying the same amount of child support and gets more time. well. him and his wife are moving to AZ now and are now taking us back to court again because he wants less time and pay no childsupport. were not even done paying off the lawyer for the last time he took us back to court.

court custody its prob one of the worst things i have experienced.

 

[Mitch]

I don't have the "Have Children" gene in me, and if I did, I'm sure it would have dragged me into bankruptcy more than just once. Part of my problem was buying toys for ME when I couldn't afford them, I can't imagine if I had to buy toys for TWO!

 

[Scott]

I don't have the "Have Children" gene in me, and if I did, I'm sure it would have dragged me into bankruptcy more than just once. Part of my problem was buying toys for ME when I couldn't afford them, I can't imagine if I had to buy toys for TWO!

I'll tell you, buying toys for myself pretty much stopped as soon as my daughter was born... But it was totally worth it!

 

[woody]

I don't have the "Have Children" gene in me, and if I did, I'm sure it would have dragged me into bankruptcy more than just once. Part of my problem was buying toys for ME when I couldn't afford them, I can't imagine if I had to buy toys for TWO!

I'm with youn this one Mitch, I'm the kid and I get the toys

 

[Haggis]

...I'm trying to remember to pray daily, learn from the past, live in today and prepare for tomorrow...Heck I even run a website based on this idea.

Excellent...in a way we did too when starting this site.

 

[Haggis]

I've been working to minimize debt for several years now. I owe a few grand on a Mazda, and that's it. Recently shed my office job, and I hope I can manage to keep it that way. Nothing is worse then being trapped in a cubicle, in front of the soul-devouring glow of a computer screen, while there's a whole world out there whose nooks and crannies are still ripe for exploration.

Great first post. Welcome to AAV!

X2.

venture...you wouldn't happen to be a Chris would you?

 

[taugust]

Talk about timely!

I just hit the reset button, hard. I quit my job last week. In another week, I start school to learn a new skill, and hopefully, a new job as a full-time traveller. I am going to become a truck driver (the big kind). It's not glamorous, and I don't know if it will all work out or not. But I couldn't stand another moment in my current dead-end job. I have been there for 11.5 years, so I should be able to do another 10 to 15 in the next. I am hoping to move to Arizona, where there are many new opportunities for exploration, and the cost of living is much lower than SoCal. I have almost no debt, thankfully, and will pay cash for the schooling (at a discount), so that is good. I should have enough left over to relocate, and the prospects look good for a new job quickly. There are places I can go in a couple years to make 3 times what I make now, and the hope is to put alot away for retirement, as I have none of that now.

My son is now grown, and has moved away, starting a career in the Navy. I have family and lots of good friends here, and those will be the most difficult to leave. I will be close enough to come back easily. Life will become alot simpler, and getting rid of a lot of excess stuff will become a priority soon.

I stepped out on a limb, with no safety net, but it now is on me to make it work. My only concern will be having enough time to get out and explore, but I will work on that when the time comes. Things will be interesting for a while.

 

[TangoBlue]

Well, my contribution is a little different than those posted earlier... my path along this swing of the pendulum is a little farther along than all y'alls, but there is a desired end-state that can be achieved. No matter who you are or how you get there it still requires a clear goal and the discipline and perseverance to get there.

“I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.”- John F. Kennedy

As much as what frustrated me during my 28 years of uniformed Service I can say it also provided me the lust for and adventure of travel, a witness and participant to shape our National history and world events - memories both haunting and inspiring, and the discipline to plan and prepare for me and my families future success.

I am blessed with a marvelous spouse and partner of 34 years; an educated son and daughter each with their own successful careers that fill me with pride; rewarded with a retirement income from the government teat; and a job that is also my hobby. None of this was by accident - there was a price to be paid along the way and burdens to be endured, which speaks to the resilience required to execute any strategy in life.

I guess Abraham Maslow knew what he was talking about when he penned his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation."

 

[Fowldarr]

I guess we all have our versions of this, but mine is fairly similar to some of yours. We started our reset about 5 years ago. Sold the house took a new job that paid better, paid off our cc debt, and some other small bills, and some medical stuff. We were just left with student loan debt for awhile which we were able to get caught up on finally. Now we have the student loan and two car payments. Not how we planned it, but we have to have reliable transportation, and both vehicles will be with us well beyond being paid off. I continue to advance my career and have the opportunity to pay off one of the vehicles with next years bonus, and the other one the year after that, once again leaving us with only student loan debt, which is dropping quickly (double payments). We do have a cc, but I only use it when traveling for work, when I know the reimbursement will be timely, and we have our utility bills set to autopay on it, and then we pay it. It is helping rebuild our credit and only costs me a few mouse clicks.

We do have a lot of stuff, but a lot of that has to do with having four kids......

If all goes according to plan we will be debt free, including student loans, in 5 years (we are actually ahead of schedule currently), at which point, we will consider returning to home ownership, with some property (not a big fan of neighbors). But that will depend on where my career finds me at that time (there is a lot of movement in healthcare administration)

 

[augie]

I originally did not link to my blog post in this discussion, as I'm not on this site just to promote my blog, I'm here to learn and talk with like minded people, but then I thought maybe someone might like to read what I was thinking even before this post was started. About a month ago I wrote on this very subject on my blog, Augie's Adventures.

 

[Team Balls Out]

Just before I retired 4 years ago I got a nice fat check over a thousand hours of sick time and a huge amount of vacation time.. Paid off all of the vehicles boat CC cards. debt free except the house. I use cc card for all purchases and it's paid to zero the end of the month. Yeah I can pay cash if I wanted. I have been truly blessed. I made a promise before I retired all of the bills vehicles and the such would be paid in full. It is nice feeing.

 

[Scott]

To add a little to this, in addition to what I've already said, I'm realizing that my student loan will be paid in full this coming August, which will free up $300/ month to put towards the house, which will be our only debt left at that point... There is some light at the end of the tunnel. I still would like to pare things down and move into a smaller home, but I can't fathom selling a home for less money than I owe on it, creating more "debt" that I'd have to pay off.

 

[venture4wd]

venture...you wouldn't happen to be a Chris would you?

Indeed, I am.