5 years ago wifey & I took out a 2nd mortgage on our primary residence & took the proceeds from the sale of my old townhouse to come up with $100k to put down on a $350k investment (our store). The original plan/idea was for us to be completely removed from corporate america and set out on our own to forge our own path.
In those 5 years we've:
- Welcomed 2 boys to the family
- Moved once (about to be twice)
- Had knock down, drag out fights over how to run the store and finances
- Woken up almost every morning checking our bank account to see what checks bounced the night before
- Gotten our financial intuition so in tune that we know how many days each vendor takes to deposit their checks so we can float other checks in the meantime
- Worked 18-19-20 hours a day
- Been served a potential eviction notice for rent being late when the economy took a nose dive
- Taken one vacation in 5 years, and only have 1 whole day off together as a family every 2 weeks
- had me go back into the traditional workforce for financial & health care reasons
- Tried to share pertinent info for others interested in doing the same
and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It has certainly been the most difficult, trying & rewarding 5 years of my entire life.
HOWEVER....
I wouldn't change a thing. Life is good, we've survived this long, I know my wife is willing to ride and be right there by my side pushing me when I need to be pushed and holding me up when I need to be held up and now, here it is Aug. 2012 &
The last payment for the loan we took out to buy the store has cleared the bank!!!!
For 5 years we've been killing ourselves, busting our asses looking forward to this day, struggling financially and living off no budget, pinching peices of pennies together and putting our entire beings into the journey looking at this day as the light at the end of the tunnel & we've finally made it. We just freed up ~$5k a month that we've been living without for the past 5 years. It's like a fucking boulder filled with lead padded with iron & covered in steel being lifted off our shoulders.
When we bought the store, this picture below was on the wall of the store. The previous owners had put it up there when they bought the store 30 years ago & it was still there when we bought it. Whenever I was exhausted I looked at this picture, straightened my spine and kept it moving towards our goals.
Hopefully it will help inspire someone else to do the same when they need it most.
Peace
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Originally Posted by The Buddy Love Show
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