Sat Nov 10, 2007 1:46 pm
Aw...come Pat, you need to have a better attitude than that 
I do know that you are living in a rather expensive area...We used to live in Manhattan Il, and couldn't even come close to affording a place there, even though it's such a small town. At the time 100K for a 1200 sqft condo with a crawlspace for a basement and a one car garage in a decent part of Joliet...
The way we've made it work for us is: We bought a home at the lower end of the cost spectrum. PITI normally runs about 20% of takehome. Unfortunately, this house has ended up biting us in the butt, and we would have been better off spending 20-40K more at the start, but there were significant advantages to this location that have since gone away. We purposely bought out of town and one county over to get reduced taxes and fewer restrictions.
I bought two of my projects when I was single, so that really doesn't count too much. The third was purchased for cash from my lunch expenses. I generally build my own lunch for work and that saves us a lot of bucks.
I drive a six year old second hand car and the wife drives a family truck while we save for the air conditioner repairs on her van. I haven't bought a new vehicle since 1986, always ending up with something out of the family fleet instead of it being traded in. We save up and pay cash for virtually everything we buy these days. We're down to one credit card and it's rapidly going away and will be gone by Xmas. Our two big luxury items are full cable service and high speed internet connections and eating out once a week or so. I will admit that our medical and electrical bills are higher than most peoples' due to my wife's disabilities and that also contributes to higher food bills at home too ( 5 minuets at the microwave and she will be about to cave in) so she and the kids get lots of nukeable meals when I'm at work.
Living 50 miles from work makes commuting a pain, but unless we moved into town, and within 5-8 miles from the plant, the time difference is not that bad.
It hasn't been all roses though. We went bankrupt and lost two businesses and were well into six figures of debt a number of years ago. The recovery from that has been slow and painful at times, but has taught us to better manage our money than we did. We're still a ways off from being where we want to be on money management, but it improves every month. With the wife becoming disabled a few years ago and me being laid off and spending time out on medical disability, recovery has been a bit hard, but we are personally stronger and much more selective as to where we spend our money.
So Pat, the only advice that I know of that will work, is devise a plan, live on less than you make, get rid of all your debt other than the house and go for it! I know it sounds simplistic, but it does work. So get fired up and figure out what you need to do to make it happen and then do it! Life is too short to be a gerbil on a wheel......
I do know that you are living in a rather expensive area...We used to live in Manhattan Il, and couldn't even come close to affording a place there, even though it's such a small town. At the time 100K for a 1200 sqft condo with a crawlspace for a basement and a one car garage in a decent part of Joliet...
The way we've made it work for us is: We bought a home at the lower end of the cost spectrum. PITI normally runs about 20% of takehome. Unfortunately, this house has ended up biting us in the butt, and we would have been better off spending 20-40K more at the start, but there were significant advantages to this location that have since gone away. We purposely bought out of town and one county over to get reduced taxes and fewer restrictions.
I bought two of my projects when I was single, so that really doesn't count too much. The third was purchased for cash from my lunch expenses. I generally build my own lunch for work and that saves us a lot of bucks.
I drive a six year old second hand car and the wife drives a family truck while we save for the air conditioner repairs on her van. I haven't bought a new vehicle since 1986, always ending up with something out of the family fleet instead of it being traded in. We save up and pay cash for virtually everything we buy these days. We're down to one credit card and it's rapidly going away and will be gone by Xmas. Our two big luxury items are full cable service and high speed internet connections and eating out once a week or so. I will admit that our medical and electrical bills are higher than most peoples' due to my wife's disabilities and that also contributes to higher food bills at home too ( 5 minuets at the microwave and she will be about to cave in) so she and the kids get lots of nukeable meals when I'm at work.
Living 50 miles from work makes commuting a pain, but unless we moved into town, and within 5-8 miles from the plant, the time difference is not that bad.
It hasn't been all roses though. We went bankrupt and lost two businesses and were well into six figures of debt a number of years ago. The recovery from that has been slow and painful at times, but has taught us to better manage our money than we did. We're still a ways off from being where we want to be on money management, but it improves every month. With the wife becoming disabled a few years ago and me being laid off and spending time out on medical disability, recovery has been a bit hard, but we are personally stronger and much more selective as to where we spend our money.
So Pat, the only advice that I know of that will work, is devise a plan, live on less than you make, get rid of all your debt other than the house and go for it! I know it sounds simplistic, but it does work. So get fired up and figure out what you need to do to make it happen and then do it! Life is too short to be a gerbil on a wheel......
Sat Nov 10, 2007 1:59 pm
Actually where I live the housing market sucks and not just because of the recent turndown in the industry. Its always been a lower end market here and the taxes are incredible. The past year here has been very bad but the bargains are everywhere.
Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:52 am
Although it is very difficult to quantify the cost of owning a "big iron" warbird, there is a fool proof test you can conduct to see if you are ready.
Step 1. Get comfortable in front of your fireplace, with a good cigar, and a martini.
Step 2. Take a big stack of crisp, new, $100 dollar bills and wad them into tiny little balls.
Step 3. Flick them into the fire.
If you flinch, you're not ready.
Step 1. Get comfortable in front of your fireplace, with a good cigar, and a martini.
Step 2. Take a big stack of crisp, new, $100 dollar bills and wad them into tiny little balls.
Step 3. Flick them into the fire.
If you flinch, you're not ready.
Sun Nov 11, 2007 5:11 am
If you gotta ask, you can't afford it. 
Dave
Dave
Sun Nov 11, 2007 10:53 pm
This is hysterical, and not without some truth!
EDowning wrote:Although it is very difficult to quantify the cost of owning a "big iron" warbird, there is a fool proof test you can conduct to see if you are ready.
Step 1. Get comfortable in front of your fireplace, with a good cigar, and a martini.
Step 2. Take a big stack of crisp, new, $100 dollar bills and wad them into tiny little balls.
Step 3. Flick them into the fire.
If you flinch, you're not ready.
Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:15 pm
Hey EDowning,
Does what you said mean that you aren't flinching anymore? I suppose that since you're a warbird owner you can no longer afford to throw money on the fire.
Cheers,
David
Does what you said mean that you aren't flinching anymore? I suppose that since you're a warbird owner you can no longer afford to throw money on the fire.
Cheers,
David
Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:29 pm
I wouldn't be sitting in front of a fireplace 
but seriously...don't look at warbird ownership as a moneypit...buy a Stearman and put it to work hopping rides, you'll get a belly full of flying and pay for your ride to boot...even a good BT-13...anything with two seats works.
jimneonh
EDowning wrote:
Although it is very difficult to quantify the cost of owning a "big iron" warbird, there is a fool proof test you can conduct to see if you are ready.
Step 1. Get comfortable in front of your fireplace, with a good cigar, and a martini.
Step 2. Take a big stack of crisp, new, $100 dollar bills and wad them into tiny little balls.
Step 3. Flick them into the fire.
If you flinch, you're not ready.
but seriously...don't look at warbird ownership as a moneypit...buy a Stearman and put it to work hopping rides, you'll get a belly full of flying and pay for your ride to boot...even a good BT-13...anything with two seats works.
jimneonh
EDowning wrote:
Although it is very difficult to quantify the cost of owning a "big iron" warbird, there is a fool proof test you can conduct to see if you are ready.
Step 1. Get comfortable in front of your fireplace, with a good cigar, and a martini.
Step 2. Take a big stack of crisp, new, $100 dollar bills and wad them into tiny little balls.
Step 3. Flick them into the fire.
If you flinch, you're not ready.
Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:40 pm
Q: How much money does it take to own a warbird?
A: All of it!
A: All of it!
Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:21 pm
In the UK, about £100k per aircraft per annum, plus of course acquisition of the bird in the first place. This is for heavy iron.
That's our own experience anyway, based upon annual cost divided by number of aircraft in fleet. Pretty rough idea, but it's consistently what we spend. Includes insurance, fuel, oils, salaries, parts, repairs, fees, waste disposal, prop overhauls, etc. but not hangarage or electricity as we get those provided by our landlord.
Insurance and fuel are the biggies.
That's our own experience anyway, based upon annual cost divided by number of aircraft in fleet. Pretty rough idea, but it's consistently what we spend. Includes insurance, fuel, oils, salaries, parts, repairs, fees, waste disposal, prop overhauls, etc. but not hangarage or electricity as we get those provided by our landlord.
Insurance and fuel are the biggies.
Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:57 pm
Eric...that is a great answer... we are still laughing, and cutting firewood for the fireplace this winter...!!! might have to go to the bank for a alternate fire source....You have to know when to Flinch..!!! 
Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:04 pm
also make sure you have lots of cleaning supplies, and washer and dryer in the hangar, and call the Snap -On Man... he will be your Bestest Buddy until the day you sell the Big Iron... he will come every day and even bring you lunch and a free T-Shirt. Get ahold of your local Oil Dist. You might need them as well. You might need the local Towing Company from time to time when you have to change a engine and they send out the Tri-Axled Peterbuilt tow truck to take off your Trashed Engine, and pick up the new one out of the crate and help you hang a new one...