As of today, our household is debt-free

[Rudee]

You need to pay off the mortgage before you utter the words "debt free".

 

[IceBergSLiM]

You need to pay off the mortgage before you utter the words "debt free".

its a secured debt though and provided its not upside down on it it could be considered an asset. Not really same thing.

 

[Vette73]

You need to pay off the mortgage before you utter the words "debt free".

The nobody is really debt free then by your thinking.


Renter has to pay rent ever month.
Home owner has to pay taxs even if they own.
etc...

 

[Fausto]

its a secured debt though and provided its not upside down on it it could be considered an asset. Not really same thing.

The house is worth more than I paid for it so I don't consider it outright debt along the lines of a credit card or similar.

 

[sdifox]

<brag>no debt other than CCs that gets paid in full at the end of the month.</brag>

 

[GotIssues]

Congrats on getting rid of your debts! I'll get there one day, but my situation doesn't give me much reason to get there in a hurry.

There are a lot of people who hate debt with a passion. There is such a thing as good debt. An example would be my student loans. The effective interest rate is 2.25&#37;. It's very easy to take that money and earn MORE than the interest paid, thus it is not in my best interest to pay off that loan.

I could blow out pretty much all my debt in a couple years if I dial down my retirement contributions, but being as there is a cap on how much one can put into tax advantaged accounts, I'd effectively lose the ability to contribute as much. I have no compelling reason to pay off my student loans quicker than normal, outside of just not wanting a monthly payment (which isn't that much, anyways).

Now, once I'm contributing the maximum allowable contributions to both my wife and my 401(k)s and IRAs (should be doing so next pay increase coming next month), then I have to decide between paying down debts and just flat out saving money.

 

[Drekce]

Fausto, is that your kid in the op? He looks like a white Manny from "Modern Family." Manny is awesome, so that kid must be too.

 

[Fausto]

Fausto, is that your kid in the op? He looks like a white Manny from "Modern Family." Manny is awesome, so that kid must be too.

Lol, no. It's just some random interwebs meme I thought was funny. My kid looks nothing like him.

 

[SandEagle]

trying the snowball effect. pay off small loans then hit the bigger ones. im financially illiterate, no money saved, paycheck to paycheck. i canceled a lot of my credit cards, put a few on hold, trimmed expenses. im trying.... im fvcked though.

-$150 card1
-$300 card2
-$400 card3
-$600 card4
-$2000 card5
-$3000 card6
-$4000 auto1
-$10500 card7
-$11000 auto2
-$18000 equity loan
-$142000 mortgage

 

[IceBergSLiM]

trying the snowball effect. pay off small loans then hit the bigger ones. im financially illiterate, no money saved, paycheck to paycheck. i canceled a lot of my credit cards, put a few on hold, trimmed expenses. im trying.... im fvcked though.

-$150 card1
-$300 card2
-$400 card3
-$600 card4
-$2000 card5
-$3000 card6
-$4000 auto1
-$10500 card7
-$11000 auto2
-$18000 equity loan
-$142000 mortgage

make more money.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, we did that a few months ago. Well, except for the mortgage of course.

Just say NO to credit cards.

 

[Aikouka]

Congratulations!

I'm planning on doing something similar once my car loan is done next year. I think it'd be better if I don't think of the loan's monthly payment as "available", but rather apply that to any other debt I have. I'm still considering home ownership, but I strongly believe that it'd be better if I had my finances in even better shape.

 

[BTA]

I don't get people who have a shitload of CC debt unless they had some sort of emergency situation to deal with like the loss of a main bread winner, or medical issues.

Quit buying a bunch of shit you can't afford. If you aren't going to pay it off at the end of the month, don't buy it.

 

[Doppel]

I don't get people who have a shitload of CC debt unless they had some sort of emergency situation to deal with like the loss of a main bread winner, or medical issues.

Quit buying a bunch of shit you can't afford. If you aren't going to pay it off at the end of the month, don't buy it.

In fact it sounds like you do get it. Has to do with buying sh*t you can't afford. Most of us have done it at some point and then many of us (not all) have a moment we realize, we actually finally internalize what we've been told for months or years and then we see the CC as evil and finally get it paid off and don't use it in that manner again.

Credit cards are like a budget raping Nazi and have a proven effect of increasing, substantially, the spending of those who own them even if they're one of the "I pay it off each month" group, chasing around a paltry 1% equivalent in rewards like they've figured out some great trick. I finally learned that and it's total win.

 

[Ryland]

I only have my mortgage to deal with since the cars are paid off and the CC's get paid off every month.

 

[SandEagle]

make more money.

seriously. im thinking about getting a 2nd job. got my eyes on a new camaro

 

[Doppel]

seriously. im thinking about getting a 2nd job. got my eyes on a new camaro

Great idea, pile some more debt on. You're already drowning, unless you bring home a ton take-home. That consumer debt you listed off is a f**king nightmare.

 

[moshquerade]

...other than the mortgage, of course. We finally buckled down and paid everything off.

Time to start saving an absurd amount of money to pay for college.

Whatcha gonna buy now?

 

[SandEagle]

Great idea, pile some more debt on. You're already drowning, unless you bring home a ton take-home. That consumer debt you listed off is a f**king nightmare.

dude i was just kidding about the camaro. i owe 4k on one car, iand may sell it for 16k soon. it is a huge nightmare, i cant sleep at night. trying to get it down to mortgage only within 2 to 3 years