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Then take advantage of it! Pay off as many debts as you can and bank the rest. A few years ago, the single most powerful thing I did was knock out all our non-

Then take advantage of it! Pay off as many debts as you can and bank the rest. A few years ago, the single most powerful thing I did was knock out all our non-mortgage debt. It's freeing to know that if something happened, I could take a pay hit of $Xk/month and still have the same lifestyle. Being unemployed for several months is way less scary if your monthly expenses are lower and you have cash in the bank.

jcadam 9y ago
In a way I suppose I am. My side project is getting a lot more love than it used to, given that my day job is pretty much a straight 40-hour gig that just isn't all that mentally taxing. I'm also taking some MOOC courses, etc.
cr0sh 9y ago
> Being unemployed for several months is way less scary if your monthly expenses are lower and you have cash in the bank. I call this being "Dave Ramsey Debt-Free" - and everything you say is true. There's a lot more to it than that (how to properly pay down debt, how to properly use credit cards, buying vs leasing automobiles, plus buy used only, etc) - but the "debt free" part of it is spot on. The money in the bank? That's f-u money, meaning you get tired of things, tell yer boss to take the job and shove and walk out the door. I've done this a couple of times, and both times it was ultimately worth it, and wasn't scary because I knew I had enough saved that I could keep going at my expenses level for a couple years or more if I had to. It's a very freeing position to be in.