Jay Honeck wrote:
Our entertainment consist of watching TV, going to visit family

(within 20

miles), going to DFW airport and sitting at the park watching planes

take

off and land, going to the American Airlines Museum (free), Pates

Museum of

transportation (free), etc... We rarely go places that cost money...


You are not alone. Some of us are just farther along life's path.

When we first moved to Iowa in '97 to set up our business, we literally
spent everything we had to do it. We risked everything, and, of
course, it took months for our business (newspaper distribution) to
make any money -- plus we had a start-up business loan to pay off.

Needless to say, flying was occasional (at best), and entertainment
consisted of going to the public library with the kids, who were just 7
and 4 years old. We only ate out at the college-student-oriented
restaurants ($3 all-you-can-eat taco night -- whoopee!), and spent a
lot of time working.

It was a tough slog in the mud, but by being careful (and having no
life!) we paid off the start-up loan in a couple of years, avoided
credit card debt, drove old cars -- and by late '98 we were in a
position to buy our first airplane. (Which actually cost less than our
full-sized Ford van, by the way. Aircraft are NOT all that expensive.)

By 2002 we had "made it" to the point where we could look at trying
something fun -- like buying an old hotel and turning it into a dream
destination for pilots. We're making 1/3 of what we made in our last
business, but are having the time of our lives.

We've got a better plane now, but we still drive old cars, don't go out
a lot -- and we still have no credit card debt. In fact, the only
money we owe is on our home mortgage.

Bottom line: Fiscal responsibility and financial success *can* be had
-- but it takes discipline and hard work.

Yes, that is exactly the bottom line that a few here seem unwilling to
accept. It is easier to blame their problems on folks born with a
silver spoon in their mouth than to simply slog through the dark days
and get ahead of the debt curve. Unfortunately, our schools and often
our parents simply don't teach people good financial management skills.
And society in general certainly encourages financial recklessness and
people without the skills and will power to handle it can easily get in
trouble.

Matt