[wprebeck]

Life is still..well, life. Things are a bit better since the last I posted about some issues going on. I've made a LOT of rather big life changes over the past two weeks, and it seems to have made a difference.

One of those changes is giving up the whole "I've got to be a landowner" attitude that I've had for the past 8 years. As I worked my second consecutive night of off duty last night (which results in 3-4 hours of sleep the next day), I realized something. I've been holding on to this crap, just to say I own land. I haven't even BEEN to the property in almost two years, due to time and money concerns (it costs a LOT in gas to drive 260+ miles one way, in a Ford Excursion).

So, I decided to sell. Posted my farm on Craig's List today. Going to use the money I make to pay off ALL the credit card debt, and put the rest in savings. The goal is to get debt free* and to stop working so much. I'll still do one day a week, just to have some spending money, but I'll literally cut my work time down to half of what it is right now (I work 2-3 days a week). This will result in more sleep, less scum, and less stress. It'll also help show my wife I'm serious about some things we've talked about, reduce her stress about bills, and generally make life much better for us.

I plan on using the savings to buy a house out of the city, with 5-10 acres (yeah, just a big yard, I know ) so that we can both relax, since we hate living in the metro area...even if it is a nice suburb. This city blows, and we'd both be much happier out of here. Should my plan work, we will hopefully get this house fixed up for sale, and be out by next spring in a country home.

In the meantime, things are better than they were. Had a turn for the worse earlier this week, but the issues seem to have been somewhat resolved, for now. The biggest thing is me changing MY priorities, and focusing more on making my wife happy...instead of thinking of myself. For those who might be in a similar situation with troubles at home, or even if you're in a good relationship, I'd recommend a book that's really helping me along: "The Love Dare" is a great Christian based book that helps guide you along the path to being a good spouse. I'm not even a week into it, and it's already working miracles, just following the advice and doing the "dares" in the book. It was recommended to me by a former coworker and current good friend who had a lot of good things to say about it. I decided that, when I get done with the 40 days in the book, I'm starting over again - I like it that much.

In any case, life is still fragile, but getting better. Thanks to all who posted in my last thread, and I greatly appreciate all the kind words, thoughts, and prayers.




*Debt free will consist of both her and my student loans, a mortgage on the house, and a boat payment. Nothing else but utilities. Yay!

[wprebeck]

Forgot to add -

I know we have a lot of folks in West Virginia on here. My land is about 20 minutes from Ft. Gay, WV and is full of deer, elk, bear, etc. If anyone is interested, I'm asking $610/acre for the 154 acre property.

[TBO]

Congratulations, sounds like you've made the right moves and I wish for tremendous success for your and yours.

Sincerely

TBO

[seanmac45]

All the best to you and your wife, brother.

Good luck and godspeed.

[DonGlock26]

Sounds good!

[CJStudent]

Congrats, man! I know what that land means to you, but I guarantee the marriage means more. Good for you!

[Mayhem like Me]

Good luck bro.. I wish I was retiring I would grab it up..Maybee my guys will take up a collection.... :D

[Vigilant]

Full steam ahead, Wes.

[GumbyDammit]

Congrats brother, sounds like you've thought it out and have made some solid decisions.

If I were in a different position these days I'd take a chunk of that off your hands, but as is we'd just be trading places. Hope things continue to improve.

God bless.

[ray9898]

Good luck.....making money is great but if you kill yourself and your marriage in the process it isn't worth a dime.

[Patchman]

Family money issues, as well spending enough quality time with the family, are the two major issues people face. Sounds like your decision may be just the answer you needed. Good luck.

[PuroMexicano]

Best wishes!!!

[DaBigBR]

Wes,

Glad to hear it. I know you had a pretty thorough plan for retirement, and I respect the hell out of you for recognizing that being happier now is most important and having the missus when you do retire is more important still.

I'm sure retirement plan B will be great.

[.264 magnum]

I like the idea of unloading land that you rarely are able to enjoy.

Best of luck.

[Hack]

Best of luck to the both of you. It sounds like y'all have a good plan in place.

[m2hmghb]

I'm glad you're getting things straightened out. I wish you the best in your plans, be well.

[lawman800]

I hear ya totally... when I was shopping for my current house, I was debating keeping my condo while buying a house or just sell the condo to buy the house... and then after crunching some numbers... I decided that even though I can rent out the condo and be able to live like that... being on the edge of financial insolvency is not a great feeling if there was anything wrong or out of the ordinary. I had no room for error with the razor thin margins I would be running if I kept both properties.

So I ended up selling the condo and buying the house. I don't have rental property and I am not a landlord but so what... life is too short and I don't need any more stress than I already get from work.

You are doing the right thing for you. Others may differ but the choice is yours to make and only you can judge because you live with it, nobody else.

[Officer X]

Best of luck to you

Just to add: the wife and I have had a lot of success taking care of things in the past year following Dave Ramsey's plans. If you have time, check out his Total Money Makeover book.

[merlynusn]

That's great Wes. I know how much you love the land, but being stable is more important. I'm paying off debt too and each month I'm closer to being able to pay it all off. Being happy is all a matter of priorities and reducing the stress both you and your wife feel. This is but a rocky patch and you will both come out the other side with a stronger bond.

[scottydl]

Way to go, man. "Debt Free" is a fabulous goal to have and will take so much stress off your life. So many people work their butts off to pay bills, only to trade in those loans for larger loans, requiring you to work more, etc. Wife and I are on the Dave Ramsey plan and will be debt free (except the house which is already on a 15-yr mortgage) within a year hopefully. My wife and I never argue about finances anymore, because we know we are headed in the right direction and we are united in our financial goals. Great for the marriage to say the least.

[blueiron]

Good on you! Life is far too short to not enjoy some of it. I worked my rear off for a five bedroom, three bath house on a huge lot that I barely spent any time in. It was counter-intuitive, but a smaller house made me much happier.

I hope you find the same happiness.

[*ASH*]

congrats !!!!!

[steveksux]

Glad to hear things are turning around.... Hoping the changes she sees in you make her pick up the pace on her end too.... With any luck you'll get a virtuous cycle (instead of viscous cycle) going...

You still a Surefire dealer?

Randy

[Locojmc]

Congrats, enjoy all the free time, life is short.

[ditchdoc24]

I'm very happy to hear that things are better for you and your wife. Financial problems can be some of the worst to deal with. My wife and I got our debt paid down a while ago and we're now enjoying the benefits of that. We only have to work one job each and we have the money to put some into savings every month. Life is much better now that our debt is down to a very manageable level. Keep working at it and things will work themselves out.