LIfe Plans

Someone asked me once, if we had plans when we got married. I said, “Yes I did, but later we had to make some real plans. Income and savings.”  We lived off what we made. When either of us was promoted, we continued to live the way we had and saved the increase. After two raises we would raise our standards one pay raise, etc. US Savings bonds was our way of saving. Payroll withdrawal was the method of buying the savings bonds.  We just increased  the bond the next amount of the bond values. $25 to $50 etc.

Now I warn you,  If you buy bonds, and accumulate a lot of them, be prepared to sign and date them, When you have a few hundred bonds it takes a long time..

We laugh at our first budget, at the end of a pay period we had on the average $1 left for outside entertainment. That bought us a round of miniature golf and a banana split. We have never required a lot.

On a side note, we have attended two major league games. One foot ball at Miami to see the Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills, and once to see a Red Skins pre season game in D.C.  A man in front of us had 5 children to take in. I was amazed that anyone could afford to take 5 kids to a major league game and buy drinks and hot dogs too! To me that would be a fortune. To be honest, I enjoyed the two games, but I liked them just as well on TV, but I am not a sports fan.

In life you must decide if you want ‘stuff’ early in life and be willing to borrow to pay for it, or do without the things your  peers must have, and save something for a rainy day.

We were in our late 50’s before we bought a new car. We have actually bought 2 new cars now, but never again. Used has always served us well. I have never felt the need to impress folks with a new truck in construction, used worked fine.

Over the years living debt free has worked for us. We bought one house with a 30 yr loan. The first year Sherry was very angry. looking at the yearly report sent out by ‘Lomas and Nettleton’, we had paid exactly $204 on our house, the rest was interest. If you are paying attention, as Sherry did, by paying $204 dollars on the principal, she could cut the loan down a YEAR!  So she started saving and adding to the payment, ‘To Be Applied to Principle only!’ In other words, her first extra payment of $204 saved us like$2400 in interest.

In a few years she had the loan down to 13 years. Then the payments started cutting into the principal.

I am over time. Thanks for coming by the log.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

More Church bulletin bloopers:

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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1961 Corvair Side ramp, We owned a 1961 Corvair car. That sucker leaked more oil than the Arabs produced.  But I loved to drive it.  hahahaha