Ever realized how much debt you are in?

[Jawo]

Not in any debt at the moment. I pay my CC off at then end of the month and extremely greatful for my parents saving money for my college education. I really didn't need every toy when I was growing up......

Although I am thinking of buying a car soon....

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: multiband8303
Good news to everyone who cared...

As part of my moving present, my very generous grandfather said to me...

"Find out all your debt, put it on paper, and come back to me, the last thing you need is more monthly payments when you got a family your trying to start"

HIP HIP HOORAY!

Good on ya, Grandfather!
That's cool. You are making the payments, keeping up. He just did a nice thing and gave you some inheritance early.

 

[ultimatebob]

I have about $13,000 left on my car loan, and $155,000 left on my mortgage. Neither of those are considered to be "bad" debt, though, as the interest rates are manageable.

 

[evetstech]

$8K in subsidized student loans, with more added each semester.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: multiband8303
Good news to everyone who cared...

As part of my moving present, my very generous grandfather said to me...

"Find out all your debt, put it on paper, and come back to me, the last thing you need is more monthly payments when you got a family your trying to start"

HIP HIP HOORAY!

who's lucky now?

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Originally posted by: jupiter57
Remember, you could be only one medical emergency away from homelessness.

QFT. I have seen how something like the sole-breadwinner getting cancer can completely transform a family's worry-free life into a near-breakdown. (Relatives of mine)

 

[patentman]

HAH! 7k in debt is nothing when you think about it. Wait until you buy a house.

I literally just did my budget and if you include my house, I am $499,000 in debt.

Now, if you take my house away (hey the house is brand new, so go easy), I am "only" $29,000 in debt, with most of that being loans for law school (which I'll pay off over the next year.

It is pretty scary to look at assets/liabilities sometimes. I am by no means living paycheck to paycheck (even with the big house payment), but it still makes me nervous to think that if I lost my job I couldn't pay for the house (of course, I have reserve funds for such a contingency, but I'd rather not dip into my 6 month piggy bank if possible).

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: jiggahertz
I don't think I would consider mortgages to be "debt" unless you account for the value of the asset as well.

It is a liability that must be paid off, which is the very definition of "debt." The fact that the value of the asset exceeds the amount remaining to be paid on it is irrelevant until the home is sold.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: WisMan
I have about 15K in student loans out. Though i spent about 5k of that on my motorcycle.

Just FYI, you should be careful who you say that stuff to. My wife works as a Criminal Investigator for the Dept of Education's Office of Inspector General. She routinely investigates and prosecute people who misuse educational loan funds, e.g., by spending the funds on non-education relatd items. So I would make sure to characterize your motorcycle as a "necessary transportation to attend classes."

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: Flyback
...
It isn't fun (to save) but you give to get. It all depends on how much risk you are willing to take on.

I disagree. I find it tremendously satisfying to save and invest. And if all is going well with my investments, it is downright fun, especially now that I have enough invested so that I make a couple hundred bucks (ok, on paper) every time one of my mutual funds goes up by a quarter.

Best way to save? Have the money taken out of your check automatically and put somewhere where it is not instantly accessible to you, e.g., an investment account. I use my checking account as a day to day expense account, my savings at the bank as a "intermediate" or "oh crap" account for unexpected major expenses/6 month reserve, and my investment account for longer term major goals, e.g., buying a house, buying a car, saving for future kids education/marriage, vacations etc.. You get the idea.

Now, I'm sure my financial situation is a bit different then most people on this forum, but this system worked for me even when I first got out of college and made ~1/8 what I do now. Just set your budget realistically and do not, for any reason except an emergency, blow it. If you need motivation, run see what saving $100/every two weeks for 40 years does, assuming 7.5% interest. Pretty darn shocking.

 

[Engineer]

Mortgage: 0
Car #1: 0
Car #2: 0
Regular credit card: Varies but paid each month
Other cards: $28,000+ but ALL at zero interest and will be repaid before due. ALL of it earning 6% at FNBODirect.com.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: skyking
We nuked the mortgage in 2001 and have not had car payments since the 80's, but I still worry that I'm not adding ot the personal retirement fast enough.

I don't think that I ever add to retirement fast enough.

By the way, I consider myself as a debt. I owe myself at least $1,000,000 and I'm trying to pay it off as quick as I possibly can!

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel

Originally posted by: jupiter57
Remember, you could be only one medical emergency away from homelessness.

QFT. I have seen how something like the sole-breadwinner getting cancer can completely transform a family's worry-free life into a near-breakdown. (Relatives of mine)

That's what supplemental insurance is for.

AFLAC!

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Engineer
Mortgage: 0
Car #1: 0
Car #2: 0
Regular credit card: Varies but paid each month
Other cards: $28,000+ but ALL at zero interest and will be repaid before due. ALL of it earning 6% at FNBODirect.com.

I think I'm going to get there in August!

 

[JohnCU]

car = $26k (2.9%)
CCs = $18k
student loans = $23k (5.5%?)

 

[SearchMaster]

My mortgage is ~$75K, will be paid off in 3.5 years. The house is worth at least 4x that though. We just bought a new van (only the second new vehicle I've owned) a few months ago, I think we owe about $15K on that. No debt on the other vehicles (3 of them), boats, or other loans. I contribute about 10% to my 401(K) and always have, so along with company matching and previous retirement accounts we should be in good shape. I have three kids, each of which has a college fund that is progressing nicely. When my youngest son is in school full-time (3 years), my wife will re-enter the workforce which should add $50-75K per year of income. Then my mortgage will be paid off.

Life is good .

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Engineer
Mortgage: 0
Car #1: 0
Car #2: 0
Regular credit card: Varies but paid each month
Other cards: $28,000+ but ALL at zero interest and will be repaid before due. ALL of it earning 6% at FNBODirect.com.

I think I'm going to get there in August!

:beer:

Even though I could have invested the money instead of paying the house down early, I really love not having a payment (this isn't a thread about the pros and cons of paying down a mortgage early so let's not go there! ). Now if only the damn property taxes would go down or away (went up this year)!

Again, congrats kranky (early)!

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Other cards: $28,000+ but ALL at zero interest and will be repaid before due. ALL of it earning 6% at FNBODirect.com.

did you do an AoR?

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Engineer

Other cards: $28,000+ but ALL at zero interest and will be repaid before due. ALL of it earning 6% at FNBODirect.com.

did you do an AoR?

No, just one big card ($23,000 at 0% for 15 months) and then a few home improvement projects that had one year same as cash (0% interest). I don't think that I'm cut out for an all out AoR.

 

[Finalnight]

Yes, I just realized. I have +$1400 in net debt (meaning, people owe ME $1400).

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Yes, but I also realize that I'm now finally in a position to do something about it, and I am doing something about it.

 

[ForumMaster]

well considering that i'm in high school, i have an exact debt of $0.00.

 

[LS20]

my parents just covered a HUGE part of my student loan and auto loan... like 80% of it... 0% interest parental loan ftw!

 

[ghostman]

I have $0 debt. As others have said, debt is not always a bad thing. Student loans, mortgages, etc. are investments and having taken on that debt is fine, as long as you have a SECURE plan of paying that debt off.

This differs significantly from CC debt, because there is nothing gained by taking on this type of debt. On top of that, it inherently means you also do not have a secure plan of paying it off. If you have a balance on your CC, I suggest you pay it off ASAP, then stop using CC's for a while. Pay with cash so you can get a realistic gauge of how much money is being saved/spent.

People who are serious about paying off debt need to cut back on all the frivolous expenditures. For example, stop drinking alcohol. Liquor probably doubles the amount of money spent on food. Stop eating out as much (but don't sacrifice your health by eating off McDonald's Dollar Menu and such), stop the entertainment (movies, shows, concerts, etc.) expenses and find the cheapest way to get to work (even if it means you have to wake up 30 minutes earlier). Also, stop trying to "keep up with the Joneses"... your friends may be planning a ski trip or a night out - you must skip it. If you stick to this regiment, you'd be surprised how much you'll end up saving.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I owe about 109K on my mortgage.
My CC balance is probably close to 2K because I just went on a vacation. I'll pay it off in full within a month though.

Have you ever NOT realized how much debt you were in?
How can you not realize how much debt you are in?
Are you not aware of what you spend?
I don't understand how anybody can loose track of things and be totally surprised when they are "all the sudden" in debt.