People are always telling me that it’s impossible to pay cash for a house. With all you have to pay for nowadays, it’s just unrealistic to think that a young couple with average jobs could attempt such a feat. Well, I’m here to tell you that it just ain’t so. Not being able to purchase that is.
Recently one of our team members stood up in staff meeting and shared how it has been a dream of hers to pay cash for a house…since she was 17!! Christy Harvey had seen the impact that debt can have on people and decided that she wasn’t going to partake in that ridiculous process. Instead, she started saving and investing early on.
Now let me put things into perspective – Christy is 30 years old and an administrative assistant at our organization. Her husband Mike is 28 and is a graphic designer. They didn’t get an inheritance. They didn’t strike it big in the lottery. Instead, they were what Christy calls frugal. When she wanted to buy something, she tried to find the best price.
When she could, she worked at baby sitting. She bought her first car for $1800, drove it for 5 years, and sold it for…$1,800!! Neither has ever had a credit card. When they got married, they lived on Mike’s income and saved hers. And this year they saved up enough money to buy a $119,000 house! One that was worth $170,000 a few years ago. (That’s a decent amount of house in Tennessee.) And that’s not all. They saved past the asking price to be able to do some remodels that they want, and go to Italy!
What does that mean? She is 30 years old, completely debt free, with a paid for house, AND THE REST OF HER LIFE TO STILL COME!!! Christy and Mike now have the rest of their lives to do whatever they want to. They can now save for their dream home and pay cash for it as well. All of that from an admin assistant and a graphic designer.
They stayed out of debt, paid cash for things, made smart purchases, and didn’t give up. Now they have a net worth that is greater than most of the people in this country. Pretty impressive if you ask me. There are a lot of people that you know that need this encouragement. Be sure they see this so they know it can be done.
Question: How does their story encourage you?
That is an exciting story! We really need to change how we think about everything. Our society is always telling us to live like x,y, and z. But we don’t have to. We don’t HAVE to go into debt. We don’t HAVE to get a mortgage. We don’t HAVE to have a car payment. I love Christy’s and Mike’s story because it proves to everyone that you don’t HAVE to ‘go with the flow.’ This story feels like light years away from where I am right now…but man. I am so there. Give me a few years, and I’ll be there!
@Aaron Nelson Non-conformity rules in stuff like this!!
@Aaron Nelson Just like Dave says, finances is 80% emotional. It’s how we think. If we think wrong we’ll have a hard time going right!
@Aaron Nelson We are crawling there ourselves. Had we not bought our home in 2006, we’d be living large right now! Time heals all wounds…..and mistakes!
@Aaron Yes you will!!! Maybe even sooner. Who knows.
You’ll definitely be there because you think differently now.
@lilykreitinger @Aaron Nelson @marcpekny @Skropp @skottydog @JoelFortner That’s the thing. You can live your life the way the world tells you, or you can live it the right way. 🙂
@Aaron Nelson Keep up the work! When you get there it is sooooo worth it! It took my wife and I deciding we had enough. We are now debt free and it feels GREAT!
@Aaron Nelson Debt has been marketed to us so expertly that it is now ingrained in our culture. Saving is not marketed to us nearly as well or often. Getting out of that “debt” mindset is not only hard because it takes discipline, but also because it is going against our culture’s grain.
With your mind set, you will be there soon!
@Aaron Nelson If you’re doing what average Americans do, you’ll be where average Americans are: $10-20k in CC debt, Student loans that have been around for 15 years, a mortgage than will be around for the next 20, and you refer to payday as ‘Mothers Day’ because all the money comes in, and you pay every mother out there that you owe.
#DrPhilMoment #howsthatworkingforyou
Great story! Although my wife and I can’t claim this great feat (we are still paying down our 15 year mortgage) our little children ask about it often. We can use stuff like this as teaching moments for them so they will be able to pull off what Christy and he husband did. They will be so much better off! I can’t wait to watch it unfold as they grow older.
Marc
@marcpekny Great point about the teaching moments! I hadn’t thought about that, but it will be great to share it with my daughter!!
@Skropp Time to “cash” in on those moments! My little ones are like sponges and ask all the time, “are we debt free yet??”. They groan with me when I tell them no. 🙂
@marcpekny It’s true! My daughter’s 3, so she doesn’t quite get it, but it’s neat that she won’t know anything but parents that want to be debt free and are working towards that!
@Skropp @marcpekny I can promise you it works if you share with them what’s going on and why you’re doing it that way.
@ChrisLoCurto @Skropp I have no doubt! I can’t wait to see the good they’ll be able to do.
@ChrisLoCurto @marcpekny It’s so awesome thinking that beyond all the blessings my wife and I will get from beig debt free that it’ll be engrained in our kids’ heads and they’ll start life soo much further ahead and smarter than me!
@marcpekny Great idea to share stuff like this with your children at a young age before they have made any big financial decisions. That will be life-changing for them! It makes my heart happy. 🙂
@Christy Harvey Agreed!! I am sorry for you,though, that they probably won’t be customers of you if we do this right!! 😉
Great story! Although my wife and I can’t claim this great feat (we are still paying down our 15 year mortgage) our little children ask about it often. We can use stuff like this as teaching moments for them so they will be able to pull off what Christy and he husband did. They will be so much better off! I can’t wait to watch it unfold as they grow older.
Marc
How DOESN’T it encourage me?? That’s soo awesome. Makes me wish I’d made better decisions in my life…and simultaneously glad I’m making better decisions now!
“you can’t buy that with cash…” usually means “I don’t want to wait and have self control…”
Thanks for sharing Chris!!
@Skropp My pleasure!
@Skropp So true about self-control! I call paying interest “impatience tax.” 🙂 So glad our story could encourage you!
@Christy Harvey Totally encouraging Christy, we just started the TMMO and are about a week from finishing step one…it’s exciting to see the fruit of the laboratory of people where we wanna be!
@Christy Harvey @Skropp Paying interest is impatience tax, how true, simple and insightful is that?!?! 😀
Sweet!!!!
Inspiring!!
I am saving their story to reference when I get the eye roll type of look when I tell people it IS possible topay for a house.
Way to go!
Live beyond awesome.
Jen
@livebeyondrich HAHAHA…then you better have it handy. 😀
@ChrisLoCurto Chris, perhaps if you ever get “eye rolling” type business cards made up with truths such as this, you can send me some. Maybe put a big “talk to the hand” emblem on it. Thanks for the laughs.
@livebeyondrich Jen, we definitely got our share of the eye roll types! Love that you’re saving our story to strengthen yourself against the cynics! 🙂
@Christy Harvey The eye rolls are pretty dang funny. Love your comment!!!
Well it is easy when the husband makes $100,000+ a year, and you can bank the wife’s $50,000 a year. Not everyone makes that much, or even have two incomes to call on.
Nick – it may take longer on a smaller income, but it CAN be done! Graphic Designers and Secretaries aren’t rolling in it.
http://www1.salary.com/Graphic-Design-Specialist-salary.html
http://www1.salary.com/Secretary-I-salary.html
And the point is that if you don’t have two incomes to call on, to go find a second (in the words of Dr. Seuss) no matter how small. I do have a 6 fig income and I still went and found a part time job to get rid of the 80k in school loans as far as possible.
Baby step 3 – see you soon!
Way to bring the stats Jillian! 🙂
I don’t think graphic designers make anywhere near $100K/ year. But wouldn’t that make this story even more amazing? Making that kind of money and still waiting to buy in cash, and not sign up for a mortgage while making a great income?
Yes it totally would!
The thing is it isn’t easy regardless of how much money one makes. People tend to spend more than they make at all income levels. Behavior is more of a problem than income in the US. The thing is there are countless stories out there like Christy and Mike’s story.
@JoelFortner And the thoughts you have and what you tell yourself will drive that behavior. Right?
@lilykreitinger Yes! It’s part of your momentum!
Nick, it would be considerably easier if they actually made what you’re suggesting. Are you from Manhattan? That’s the only place I can imagine those salaries for those positions.
Either way, they made a decision to be debt free on the salaries that they ACTUALLY have. Which is why they were successful. I know two girls who are both single school teachers who both have over 20K in the bank with no debt. They are saving about 10K a year each. By 30, if still single, they will be sitting pretty. That’s how you do it.
Haha, no, we don’t make nearly that much! I wish!
How does this story inspire me? This is all we live for! Kathy and I have have paid off $100,000 in just over 4 years. Kathy was a stay at home mom for 2 of those years. I had cancer during that time. I had a job loss during that time. And and IRS audit. And went through 2 cars, paid cash for a new roof @ $17,000!
It can be done. We’re doing it. Nice to hear about people doing this stuff BEFORE they racked up thousands in debt. Wish we had started all this BEFORE we bought a home in Florida!
When you spend less than you make, you can do ANYTHING. That’s a tough concept for most people to get their heads around.
@skottydog You have such an inspiring to tell man!
@skottydog PREACH IT!!!
@skottydog Wow, your story is awesome! Thanks for sharing it!
@skottydog Scott, YOUR story inspires me too man! So glad I get to hear so many examples of people where I want to be!!
@skottydog What a GREAT story! My husband is fond of quoting an uncle who always said “it’s not how much you make that makes you rich, it’s how much you keep….!”
What an awesome and inspiring story! Congrats you two!! Way to lead by example!! 🙂
Thank you, Jillian!
That’s an inspiring story Chris! Congrats to Christy and Mike. That is an accomplishment.
@Joseph Lalonde Thanks Joseph. I thought you guys would like it.
@Joseph Lalonde Thank you, Joseph! We’re very excited and humbled that our story can be used to inspire others.
What a great story!! They’re weird people! This is a clear example of how financial peace comes from choices – just like anything else in life. Christy made a choice to pay for cash for a home since she was 17. She chose to save and invest. She chose to marry the right guy and live frugally. She chose to live on one income and save her paycheck… and so on.
We can spend our life regretting our choices and blaming the whole world for our misfortune, or we can make a choice to change how we think NOW and let our thoughts guide our actions.
I’m glad I chose to marry a great guy who is very smart about money. He has never maxed out a credit card or had a car payment in his life. He paid cash for college… twice. (He holds a degree in accounting and one in mechanical engineering). In eight years of marriage, both of us have been unemployed, moved 6 times, lived in four different states and had two kids. And we managed to stay out of debt. We don’t have six figure incomes. We saved my paycheck for five years and it allowed us to have a 20% downpayment on our dream home. We get to live the dream now, and raise our kids there. We’re saving for retirement and college and we don’t live on rice and beans. It is very possible if you make the right choices starting TODAY.
@lilykreitinger AAAAAAAAAMEN!!!!
@lilykreitinger Haha, yes we are weird! And you are correct – I definitely married the right guy. Today is actually the three year anniversary of the day he proposed to me. 🙂
Great observations about choices. Very true.
I loved hearing some of your story as well. Great job staying out of debt AND saving despite obstacles!
@Christy Harvey Happy engagement anniversary! You have an awesome life ahead of you!!!!
@lilykreitinger Wait wait wait Lily…are you trying to tell me the I have to make CHOICES??? And that I’M expected to be responsible choices??? AND that in the end, I can’t blame anyone else (not even a donkey or elephant in a lightly colored house) for what became of those choices??
That’s just crazy talk…is what that is!!! Hahaha
(great post, all joking aside)
@Skropp @lilykreitinger It really stinks, doesn’t it?!? That whole concept of being accountable for the choices we make -and not being able to blame (at least legitimately, that is!) anyone else?
I am getting married on August 12th this year! This inspired us for sure! We’re ready to get debt free and pay for a house with cash! Thanks for sharing 🙂
@DougSmithLive THAT I like to hear!!! Congrats and you’ll do great!!
@DougSmithLive So humbled that our story could inspire you and your fiance! You can totally pay cash for a house! And congratulations on your upcoming marriage. Marriage is a blast! 🙂
@DougSmithLive What a way to start off your marriage! Do it right, bro.
I can’t tell you how much it pleases me to read this. My only regret is that we didn’t have the fortitude to do it ourselves. However, we did go into our purchase completely debt free and a full emergency fund. Congrats to these guys. Very well done.
@Kevin Edwards At least you’re ahead of most of the country now, right?
@ChrisLoCurto For sure! We bought a HUD forclosure at a great deal and still were able to put down 20% of the purchase price so we are sitting on about 40% of equity.
BTW – Hope to see you in October. EntreLeadership 1-day is at my home church in Houston. I’m the FPU Coordinator there and have been telling everyone to take the day off and come learn.
@Kevin Edwards @ChrisLoCurto Saweet!! Make sure you come say hi to me!
@ChrisLoCurto @Kevin Edwards Kevin – you are WAY ahead of the country!
@Kevin Edwards Thanks for your kind words, Kevin. Great job being debt free aside from the house AND having a full emergency fund! Like Chris said, definitely ahead of the crowd.
@Christy Harvey @Kevin Edwards Way to go Christy! You guys are awesome!!!!
Not as big as a house, but I just bought a new lawn mower with cash! A big green one that cut my mowing time from 5 hours to 1.5. It feels so much better to buy something when you have the money than taking out a loan.
@tbric1 hahaha…heck yeah! 5 hours is a lot of mowing!!
List time:
1. Dying to know what kind of car she had.
2. Working for Dave must have been her dream job.
3. Her parents must have set some kind of fabulous example.
4. Way to go, Christy!
5. Thanks for telling her story, Chris.
@cabinart Response list time:
1. My first car was a 1991 Mercury Sable. My second (and current) car is a 1994 Toyota Camry with one working window. Those are the only two cars I’ve had in my 14 years of driving! As you can see, cars weren’t that important to me… although a convertible one day would be nice. 😉
2. Yes, working for Dave is my dream job! I get to work with wonderful people of integrity while supporting values I believe in. I’ve been with the company for over six years now!
3. My parents are fabulous and have loved me and taught me well.
4. Thank you for your kind words!
5. I concur! So glad our story can be used to encourage others in a debt-free lifestyle.
@Christy Harvey
Way to go congratulations keep it up that’s amazing, now think about all of the great things to come!! Stay focus!!
Woo hoo!!! Way to go the only thing that I’m gonna say is, there’s no doubt that, when you stay humble amazing things happen!!!
And yes Dave’s plan TOTALLY work we pay for everything cash!!! No debt and no credit cards!!!
Ordinarily, extraordinary – nothing flashy about this financial boom!
VERY inspired 🙂
If there was a way to envy in a healthy way… I’d envy you, Christy 😉
Way to go!!
Kudos to them!
Congrats….. This is great I am working at doing the same right now…. Its not easy but it can be done and in my line of work I see way to many people that get in over their head and end up yelling at us for taking the car…I will never understand a person making less than 35k a year paying 650 a month for a sports car…
Cristy and Mike Congrats and Keep up the good work!
This is an incredible story – WOW! What discipline and determination this young couple has – to say that I’m impressed is the understatement! I have known people in their 40’s and 50’s who did not have this much self-control and the ability to delay gratification. Christy and Mike – you are AMAZING!
Confirms what i was taught, pay cash for everything. It’s a great example of putting what we preach into practice, hope you don’t mind if i borrow the story for my class. Christy you are my kind of hero!
Thank you for posting this. Great inspiration.
Thank you Chris.
K, bye
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