Memorial Day - Remembering What

My father-in-law flew 35 missions in World War II. He was scared almost out of his britches in every one. Worse yet, the troops were often "scrambled" to combat, then returned to base, but not until they each faced the persistent threat they might not survive that mission.

It is well-known that military command raised the number of missions so that few survived to the end. Dad, Edward R. Betts, was on his 35th and 'final' mission when he was shot down over Sweden. POW days in Sweden were not horrific. He was treated well, though not at home and the war was not over.

My father, Boyd Marcellus Wright, contrasted with my father-in-law, was stationed in Hawaii. He was close enough to the Pearl Harbor bombing to see the devastation, but not close enough to get killed. He didn't talk about it. Ever. When asked about his military life, he described the thrill sailing out under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dad called it Air Force. Daddy called it Army. Both were in the Air Corp. My father didn't fly, which is probably why he stayed with the Army designation. Dad, my father-in-law, flew his pants off, so he rallied to the later introduced name Air Force.

Another thing these men had in common, our dads, is they bought homes they could pay for in the foreseeable future, not the down the rabbit hole or way-off-in-the-distance future. Did you know home loans used to be five years? Like buying a car today. (Can you picture paying off a $400,000 home in five years?)

Current options may not be as far off as they seem. There are organizations helping people pay off not only their mortgages but ALL debt in 8-12 years! And a few people manage it in five years or less.

Companies have invented systems - systems they worked years to perfect - that can help people pay off mortgages, and consumer debt as well, in about one-third the time it would take them without the advantage of such systems.

Computer software tracks income and normal expenses. When all the expenses of modern life are cared for, the software suggests a dollar amount the family can comfortably contribute to a principal-only payment to reduce mortgage or consumer debt faster.

The "magic" is this:

put all excess cash onto debt principle

do not omit any normal 'living expenses' or your cashflow number will be way off and you could get in trouble by paying in too much, or realize less savings by paying in too little.

Ask yourself: Will a systematized program work for you? To find out, get a private, confidential analysis of your debt-free time table, not some hypothetical promise.