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quote:
quote:

We "loan" money lots of different ways... besides "people to people" ...anytime someone, or something, needs funds TODAY for something, but can only pay for it with TOMORROW's money - it's a debt.

Well that is a good definition of debt, but it doesn't answer the question whether or not debt is good or bad.

Actually, WTH, Daddy DOES answer the question from his point of view in the very next paragraph:

quote:
We "buy" funds from folks, and "sell" to others... a form of commerce, just like going to the grocery store. Sorry, I don't buy into the notion that debt, in and of itself, is bad. Mismanagement of debt is bad. If all felt that debt is bad, there would be no banking industry!

Just defending her Daddy icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

I happen to think that definition also includes buying things that you don't necessarily consider an "asset".

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quote:
Originally posted by Galen:

alfakat:

"You rent for 30 years. You pay the landlord's interest, he gets the tax break and in 30 years, HE owns the place and you have a nice stack of receipts for rent paid and no tax break from the interest. Which should I choose...hmmmm"

Another consideration.

When a rental-building's mortgage is paid-off, it can be re-financed and that money can be blown doing something else. To spend tonnes of money and it still be tax-free, Yahh.

We just re-financedour placed in Ct, and used the money to purchase our retirement home in Me.

Even the 'new' mortgage will be paid-off by the renters.

:-)

Galen -- there you go, another benni...once you are ahead of the 8-ball, you can just keep it rolling.

WTH -- valid points all. I would not say that most fall prey to a succession of bigger houses, though living in California would seem to support your contention for many.

I would question whether missed opportunities would have much to do with the choice between renting and owning, all other things being equal. Yes, property taxes and repair costs go up for homeowners...AND property owners, as well, who pass on those costs as... RENT INCREASES!!! As someone who rented more of his adult life than has owned, NO way is renting the wiser decision. You still end up with a pile of receipts at the end of 30 years and the dollar figures are much bigger at the end than when you first started renting. Not really a hard decision to make, for the vast majority...

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If TWI just had to butt in to personal finances - they should have taught people who were in heavy debt to live within their means! It could still be the easiest way out from under their "all debt is bad" policy.

Just teach that debt is bad if you can't manage it (as Belle's dad so wisely said). That debt that can be managed, and managed well, can be a profitable thing. We'd never be able to rent our home for the mortgage payment we now have.

The bible says that we're to be good stewards of what we have. For us, that means a mortgage in an appreciating asset - our own home. So... if having debt is the best way to steward our money - how can it be wrong? If the stewardship thing is in the bible, and the no debt thing is in the bible - which one should we follow?

I'll admit I was being a bit facetious - I didn't think he'd answer me because biblically there really is no right answer. He said something like, "Reverand Martindale's teaching to owe no man ANYTHING is the 'present truth' - therefore all debt is wrong."

Needless to say I wanted to SCREAM! Instead of thinking about it - going to the bible to see that "owe no man anything" has little to do with MONEY or DEBT - he gave me a pat answer. I shouldn't have expected anything else.

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WTH.....while you make some valid points, you cloud others.

quote:
1. Most people work all their lives paying for a home they never own. In other words, most people buy a new house every so many years, each time incurring a 30 year loan to pay off the previous one.

Are you sure about this?????....."most people????

quote:
5. The greatest loss of all is from missed opportunities. If all your money is tied up in your house,....

Smart people don't tie up all their money in a house. smile.gif:)-->

quote:
I certainly am not saying, "Don't buy a house." What I am saying is, "Understand the difference between an asset and a liability.

Yes....study it and learn well the difference. And, don't allow real estate agents, or brokers, or banks tempting you to buy bigger and bigger! They are salesmen!!!.... selling their wares!!!

ON THE FLIP SIDE......renting has LOADS of pitfalls as well. Issues of privacy, security, crime, apartment neighbors, landlords selling and ya gotta move AGAIN, garage space?? area for kids to safely play?? etc. etc.

To each his own! But for twi to dictate that mortgage=debt is dishonest and manipulative. Their dishonest motives are HIGHLY suspect.

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WTH is just parrotting what he learned from Robert Kiyosaki of "Richd Dad Poor Dad" fame. He makes some good points, but the guy also highly recommends people get into MLM.

WTH is also stuck in the TWIt thinking pattern of everything is black & white instead of giving people the benefit of the doubt, he just lumps us all into the "stupid" category of investing and planning for the future. Some of us do pretty darn well; some of us could do better and some are doing the best they can while some just don't "do".

Besides all that.... smile.gif:)--> The point is TWI HAS ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS TELLING ANYONE HOW TO SPEND THEIR MONEY OR PENALIZING THOSE WHO DON'T OBEY THEIR MAN MADE DOCTRINES!

I just hope Bobby doesn't get in trouble for anything he wrote in the e-mail. They may start forbidding any kind of correspondence via e-mail to avoid paper trails like this....HEY, maybe that's why hq doesn't use e-mail. confused.gif

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quote:
I just hope Bobby doesn't get in trouble for anything he wrote in the e-mail. They may start forbidding any kind of correspondence via e-mail to avoid paper trails like this....HEY, maybe that's why hq doesn't use e-mail.

Probably.....the other region guys took notes on this one.

Notes on WHAT NOT to do or say!!!

icon_biggrin.gif:D--> icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

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What The Hay:

“Well that is a good definition of debt, but it doesn't answer the question whether or not debt is good or bad. Actually it is neither.”

Within a narrow context Debt can be explained as bad, and I agree.

However debt is far more like an object. Whether a hammer, or a vehicle or a nuclear critical-mass; objects can be used in ‘good’ ways or in ‘bad’ ways.

Often in our society debt is used in ‘bad’ ways and it controls people, it robs their life and prosperity away from them.

“Most people's financial problems are caused by going along with the crowd and trying to keep up with the Joneses. But the real reason people struggle financially is largely due to the fact they do not know the difference between an asset and a liability.”

A multi-faceted topic, though your statement is largely correct.

“Accounting is probably the most boring subject…”

Bonnie and I find the topic fascinating. We have studied it long and focused for many years. Never really thought of it as ‘boring’.

“Rich people aquire assets. Sometimes they borrow money to do that.”

But than their Net Worth has not grown. I prefer to acquire assets in methods that grow my Net Worth.

“The poor and the middle class aquire liabilities, but they think they are assets.”

Sorry but I find that I must point out. The terms ‘poor’ and ‘middle-class’ in this context are fairly insulting. These are mind-sets and NOT actual income levels or life-style levels. If a person desires to be ‘poor’ they certainly can, however it is purely a mind-set. I have known affluent people who if dealt lemons, and found to be money ‘poor’ never let that change their mind-set, and are soon ‘on-top’ again.

“… I hear, "Where do I start? I'm in debt so I need to make more money." But more money will often not solve the problem, in fact, it may actually accelerate the problem.”

True, I have seen this happen as well, in counseling sessions helping others to plan their budgets.

“Many people believe their home is their biggest asset”

Yes and they would be incorrect.

However in my case, our homes are assets, in that they each earn income.

“2. Even though people receive a tax deduction for interest on mortgage payments, they pay for all their other expenses with after-tax dollars - even after they pay off their mortgage.”

Of course there are methods by which all of the mortgage payments become tax-deductions, not just the interest part of the payments. :-)

“5. The greatest loss of all is from missed opportunities. If all your money is tied up in your house, you may be forced to work harder because your money continually goes out the expense column in property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities. All too often a house only serves as a vehicle for incurring a home-equity loan to pay for mounting expenses - expenses that are liabilities and not assets.”

I don’t really agree with that.

There will be expenses that rarely ever change that are budgeted, that are necessary in maintaining any property. This is the same whether that property is an asset or a liability. Whether it is a money-pit or a money-maker.

“The end result in making a decision to own a house in lieu of starting an investment portfolio early on impacts an individual in at least the following three ways:”

I see purchasing each residence as a vital part of our portfolio. It is where we earn most of our income, and certainly where most of our Net Worth is held.

“The middle class always finds itself in a constant state of financial struggle. Their primary income is through wages, and as their wages increase so do their taxes”

As generalities go, this stinks.

I really don’t like the idea of these classifications, but if I had to I suppose that I would be middle-class, but man I find this insulting.

My primary source of income is NOT through wages, and I don’t pay income tax. I don’t find myself in a “constant state of financial struggle” and anyone who does needs counseling.

:-)

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alfakat:

“I would question whether missed opportunities would have much to do with the choice between renting and owning, all other things being equal. Yes, property taxes and repair costs go up for homeowners...AND property owners, as well, who pass on those costs as... RENT INCREASES!!! As someone who rented more of his adult life than has owned, NO way is renting the wiser decision. You still end up with a pile of receipts at the end of 30 years and the dollar figures are much bigger at the end than when you first started renting. Not really a hard decision to make, for the vast majority.”

It is terrible the way that so many raise rents each year.

We don’t raise rent. If we wanted to we would between renters, it would just never occur to us to raise the rent while someone was in a unit. It would not ‘feel’ right to us.

We also average the rents listed in the local area, comparing like units to each other. And we form a running average of what such a unit should rent for, considering if it has a garage and laundry etc. Then we subtract 20% and that is our rent.

It does tend to keep our renters ‘happy’ and turn-over is rare. They also don’t complain much. If one does need to move, they commonly bring in and introduce the next renter to us, so we rarely list an empty unit. But that is just our observation.

:-)

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skyrider:

“Smart people don't tie up all their money in a house. smile.gif:)--> “

Really?

“… And, don't allow real estate agents, or brokers, or banks tempting you to buy bigger and bigger! They are salesmen!!!.... selling their wares!!!”

I agree.

Also you got to MAKE them work for their keep.

Often we have gotten terrible results from realtors. They know the area, they know mortgage brokers, they have the hook-ups. Don’t ever let one tell you that you can not buy without a down-payment. If they want to earn their points, they can call their contacts to arrange an FHA loan.

Many times, realtors have looked at us, and instantly ignored what we were saying, instead they would ‘picture’ us in some idiotic house they wanted to sale.

Me: “I want to look at Multi-family buildings in this neighborhood tris, quads, or bigger”

Realtor: “I have a wonderful ranch that you will love, with a pool and you only need 30% down”

Me: “I will not pay a down-payment, I only want a MFR, can you show my what you list?”

Realtor: “lets go jump in my car and I will show you one”

As we get in their car, they drive to a single-family ranch.

Me: “This does not look like a MFR”

Realtor: “Oh but you don’t know what you want, doesn’t this look wonderful?”

I can’t tell you how many Realtors I have wanted to strangle. East-Coast, West-Coast, Europe, everywhere we have bought, it was the same as we would go through numerous realtors to find just one that would listen to us.

:-)

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Galen -- your reputation as a landlord must be a good and fair one. I think you probably have some good, solid renters since you sound like a rather rare landlord, at least in my experince over the years. Thankfully concluded when my wife and I purchased a few years back.

Ya know, other than our mild verbal spats over who was a kork a-hole and who wasn't, i am sure we would get along famously -- I like how you have a very common-sense approach to life and your business.

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oh i love this thread !!!!!

i really need to ask my ex for the correspondence in my corps files. hope he didn't throw it all away

i must say one thing

quote:
To answer your dad's question, The Way DID mortgage its Headquarters.... It was most distasteful to Dr. Wierwille and the original Trustees, but....
distasteful ? face it, goddarnit, they were OFF THE WORD !!!!!!!!

!

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Yeah......"distasteful"....a euphemism to soften it abit. nono5.gif

With all the corruption that has been uncovered in twi, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if someday I found out that the wierwille home remodel and addition was paid by twi abundant sharing monies......and NOT by uncle harry as we were told !!

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WTH--

Sounds like someone has been reading a bit of Robert Kyosaki!!!

Wonderful books!

(I find the most difficult thing is to stop thinking like an employee. smile.gif:)--> )

Galen sounds like he has learned these lessons well. He knows how to use debt to his advantage. I was reading today about a man who purchased a rental home for each of his young children...when it is time for them to go to college, he will re-finance the houses in order to pay for their school. All with tax-free dollars. So he will have many advantages. The kids will have college paid for with no loans. The money he uses to pay for their education will not be taxable (But he will end up being able to get a credit on his taxes for the money he uses to pay their tuition). And the rental houses will still be giving him positive cash flow after the kids are out of school.

Good debt will end up putting money in your pocket. Bad debt will take it out.

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galen i must reply you say that renting is not the wise choice. i dis agree. i do think that young people should invest in a home it is equity. but is not the blanket answer for every one. i used to own a home and still own one my mom lives in.

but i choose to rent cause i don't have time to keep a home up. i could buy a house tommorow but i don't want one but i sure would never condem anyone going into debt to invest in thier future. always use some one elses money to get ahead

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coolchef1248@adelphia.net:

"galen i must reply you say that renting is not the wise choice. i dis agree."

Okay. It is only a wise choice IF your focus is on using your time to gain Net Worth. If your still focused on college credits, or business travel, or something else then yes, to do MFRs we have to focus on them for a while.

"always use some one elses money to get ahead"

That's it. You got it.

Always use someone else' money to make your investments.

Use their money never your own money, your money took your work to get, their money took their work, obviously you want to use their money to build your investments with.

:-)

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Excathedra: You asked about Mrs. Moneyhands' inheritance ... she is heir to part of the fortune that arose from Lowe's Home Improvement Store ... rumor has it that it was originally started with moonshine money from Wilkes County, NC (where it did in fact originate) .. her father has mucho buckos, and in fact, paid for Br**n Moneyhands to go to college and for an SUV (which he totaled at one point during his wilder-than-now college days) ... there is even a Walker School of Business named after her family at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

She is NOT an only child, so the fortune must be shared, but there is substantial money in her background.

TF

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Just wondering. If they live on "need basis"- do they even draw a salary from their "highly exalted" position? Or does he just make life miserable for folks just for the fun of it?

From what I remember, if somebody honestly needed the money to do "the work of the ministry" they would take it. No need, they didn't. What's the case here?

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