Is anyone else obsessed with paying off debt?

[Scarpozzi]

So I'm a year and a half away from 40 and am obsessed with getting out of debt. I get paid monthly....I instantly pay my mortgage and recurring payments....then spend the next 30 days thinking about the next paycheck. Does anyone else feel that way?

 

[highland145]

I was raised that way, so, yes. And have been that way for the last number of years but....bought a rental last year and still owe about $48K on that. And the kid's college is coming up and we don't have a scholarship total yet. Don't plan on having to go into debt but that's $$ I can't pay on the rental.

 

[rh71]

Fortunately done with mortgage last year (age 40) and fortunately had college greatly assisted by parents. Cars bought in full. Only debt is credit card which we pay off monthly.

Parents should help their kids with college if the situation allows. It helps set them up for a great start.

 

[purbeast0]

Generally speaking yeah, but I don't really carry debt other than my mortgage. I don't put any extra into it right now but may do it in the near future again. I stopped once our son was born.

But if I do have a debt I pay it off immediately. It's just been a while since I've carried one other than a house payment. I use credit cards for all purchases and pay day I just log into my credit card account and just pay off the bill in full so it never lingers around.

 

[highland145]

debt other than my mortgage

That's what's chapping my as about the rental. Currently, half of the payment is interest and I got a decent rate, 5.25%.


NB4 finance guy bitching about interest payments....

 

[Tormac]

I am not sure “obsessed” is the word, but I hate paying interest on things, and try to consistently make over payments on any loan that I am paying interest on.

Having my house paid off early was a very big deal for me. If freed up so much money for my monthly budget to not have to make that payment.

I would not get in a situation where you have no savings, and are one emergency expenditure from disaster, but if you can afford to make over payments on loans and get things paid off, why not? It feels great to not worry about rent or mortgage payments.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I am not sure “obsessed” is the word, but I hate paying interest on things, and try to consistently make over payments on any loan that I am paying interest on.

Having my house paid off early was a very big deal for me. If freed up so much money for my monthly budget to not have to make that payment.

I would not get in a situation where you have no savings, and are one emergency expenditure from disaster, but if you can afford to make over payments on loans and get things paid off, why not? It feels great to not worry about rent or mortgage payments.

For me, it's more about the payments...I just want to get rid of them so I can start saving more. I hate paying interest too, but when I finance stuff, I maximize my rates. I got my house on a 15 year @ 2.49% and the only other debts I have are 1.5% and under....it makes more sense to invest money and pay those loans off as slow as possible based on the average market rate of return, but I don't like having the payment liabilities.

That's what's chapping my as about the rental. Currently, half of the payment is interest and I got a decent rate, 5.25%.


NB4 finance guy bitching about interest payments....

My wife was telling me last night we should get a rental somewhere for extra income. I thought about it years ago, but wasn't keen on tenants destroying my property. A buddy of mine had a spreadsheet he developed, kind of like my mortgage loan spreadsheets that tells which properties are priced for the most rental profits in our area. You just have to do some research on that side of town and figure out what management costs will be to fill in the blanks. He's bought a few houses using that and has been profitable beyond his mortgage repayment....he's been using that money for insurance and a house improvement save for/fund for capital projects on the properties (roofs, driveways, etc). I may ping him next year.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I definitely don't like to hold on to debt, or create debt unnecessarily. (ex: buying something I can do without) Only debt I have is the mortgage, and the way I justify that is I need a place to live and may as well make all my work (past schooling, and current job) worth it and have a nice place to call home that I actually own. People will argue that an apartment is cheaper, but want something I own.

For a while I was carrying 1-2k on my credit line though as I went overboard on my shed in summer with solar panels and stuff. I finally paid that off recently when I took out 5k worth of stocks from my company's saving program. Every time I had the credit line almost paid off I ended up having to overdraft to it for bills or other expenses, so I was never catching up. Basically the first pay cheque of the month I have a bit of money left over, and the 2nd pay cheque, all the rest of the bills come out, and so do the city taxes, so that cleans out that pay cheque, and in some cases part of the 1st one. There's little to no leg room as costs of living keep going up. So for that reason I really hate holding on to any kind of debt as I know it will take a long time to pay it off.

I put $200 extra on my mortgage biweekly though so my main focus now is to try to pay that off faster. I'm even debating on putting an extra $50. It's a small enough amount that I won't really notice.

Looking at buying remote acreage property as I'd like a place to camp and just overall have a fun recreational spot that I own and can build stuff over time, and eventually retire there, but I want to try to pay off the mortgage first. I may jump the gun before if the perfect property comes up though. Most of these properties are not any more expensive than a brand new car, so that's kinda how I justify it... I never could justify the cost of a brand new car, but a property I could justify as I'll have it forever. I don't really vacation much either, that's another cost I can't justify, rather put money towards hobbies and objects that I can enjoy for longer than a week. A property is basically a vacation spot that I own and can make how I want.

 

[WilliamM2]

So I'm a year and a half away from 40 and am obsessed with getting out of debt. I get paid monthly....I instantly pay my mortgage and recurring payments....then spend the next 30 days thinking about the next paycheck. Does anyone else feel that way?

No anymore. Paid the mortgage off 14 years early, in 2009.

 

[MtnMan]

I have been debt free for about 25 years..... there is nothing you can do with your cloths on that compares to how good it feels.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I had a lot of anxiety surrounding my personal debt coming out of college; car note (high school/college vehicle went kaput), student loan debt, and a few years later mortgage. I managed to pay off the car and student loans 4 and 5 years after graduation respectively. Fortunately, my wife has not had a car note, so other than mortgage, we're free.

Sadly, both of us will need new vehicles in the near future (practicality for mine, mounting electrical/mechanical for hers) -- oh well.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

This is me. I do the credit card points game and I hate carrying a balance so I try to pay it as soon as I get the statement. The only debt I have is my house and my car.

 

[Platypus]

Not obsessed, but I am pretty diligent about eliminating any debt I have. Currently I have none, but I also rent property still so I likely would have a mortgage otherwise.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

While I no longer have a mortgage payment for now - I ultimately don't support this line of thinking... In that thinking all debt is evil and must be vanquished ASAP.

Wife recently got a car upgrade (Used) with a promo for 0.99% APR financing.

My Savings account gives me 2.10% for my money to just sit in a bank.

So if I pay off that debt ANY earlier than I have to - I am effectively losing money and throwing it away.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

While I no longer have a mortgage payment for now - I ultimately don't support this line of thinking... In that thinking all debt is evil and must be vanquished ASAP.

Wife recently got a car upgrade (Used) with a promo for 0.99% APR financing.

My Savings account gives me 2.10% for my money to just sit in a bank.

So if I pay off that debt ANY earlier than I have to - I am effectively losing money and throwing it away.

Oh for sure if you're making money off of it. I pay a 3% fee on my monthly mortgage because I get 3x points with my credit card and I value my points at 2 cents a piece, which comes out ahead.

 

[Chaotic42]

High interest debt, yes. My car is financed at 0.9%, which is almost free money, so I don't worry about it. My house is at 3.875%, which is pretty good - friends are renting way smaller places for almost the same amount as I pay. I generally look at whether I could get a better return by investing and use that to decide where to put my money. 0.9% isn't a high bar, so there's very little incentive to pay off the car.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I finished paying my house off last summer and have always paid cash for my cars. Takes away a lot of worry. It is nice knowing that if it came down to it I could be ok flipping burgers at a fast food joint.

 

[soulcougher73]

Not really. I try to leave as frugal as my wife will let me get away with, but for the most part we are doing fine financially. Mortgage and 2 car payments, but other than that its the utilities. we use 1 CC for everything then pay it off each month earning free money from Amazon. 1 car only has about a year left on it so that will be nice when gone. But in general i dont worry about it as we have enough money to still mostly do/buy what we please for the most part.

 

[snoopy7548]

My only debt is my house, which at 3.75% I'm not in a huge rush to pay off. I'll likely end up moving within two years to a house that I'll be able to pay off in 15 years and/or have a lower payment.

 

[DietDrThunder]

The last car we bought that we had to get a loan was in 1993 (kept it until 2008). Ever since, we save up and only pay cash. We keep two cars and try and buy a car approximately every 7 years (my wife car was bought in 2008, my car was bought in 2015) and keep each for at least 14 years. Our house has been paid off for 10 years. We don't spend a lot of money, not because we can't, just because there isn't anything that we really want. We only have two credit cards, and those get paid off each month. I've been getting into the habit of paying with cash. Not for security reasons, but a purchase is more real to me if I am more aware of the cost (do I really want to pay $6 for that cup of Starbucks?).

My wife set up this rule: If something we buy is coming into our house, something else must go. We also do a periodic purge. We go through stuff that we have, if we are not using it, it goes into a specific room in our house. If it doesn't get used within a year, it is donated. This also has a mental effect of having you question your purchase. You ask yourself, will I really want this after a year?

We've also been going through what I call "The great purge". Going through all of the paperwork that has accumulated over the years, and shredding old receipts, etc. Also, we are going through all of the rooms and closets and either donating or throwing out unneeded stuff.

I can honestly say that both my wife and I are actually happier with less stuff.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

My wife set up this rule: If something we buy is coming into our house, something else must go. We also do a periodic purge. We go through stuff that we have, if we are not using it, it goes into a specific room in our house. If it doesn't get used within a year, it is donated. This also has a mental effect of having you question your purchase. You ask yourself, will I really want this after a year?

I can honestly say that both my wife and I are actually happier with less stuff.

OHHH MAN I would fucking kill if my wife did this. She always claims that she never has the time, but it's really just a motivation/driving factor. It's not hard or complicated - it's just shit in a corner that gets procrastinated. She still has tons of shit from childhood, school, etc... I FINALLY got her to get rid of fucking VHS tapes + VCR but ONLY AFTER she reviewed all the VHS' in full to make sure they didn't have some kind of treasured family recorded memories that haven't been missed for the last 15 years.

We've also been going through what I call "The great purge". Going through all of the paperwork that has accumulated over the years, and shredding old receipts, etc. Also, we are going through all of the rooms and closets and either donating or throwing out unneeded stuff.

Thankfully the wife leaves me this stuff and lets me handle it all. It's financial / mail related, so she would never get to it and has completely backed off since she never had fun reviewing bills, etc..

 

[IronWing]

I was so wired to obsess about debt that I was at a loss when I became debt free. Now I just collect rocks and bother people on the internet.

 

[KB]

I was at one time, but eventually I realized the best way to create wealth is with debt. Companies do it when they invest in plants or buy other companies, homeowners do it when they purchase property. The goal to to borrow at a lower rate than your returns. So if you can borrow for a mortgage at 3.5% and the stock market returns 7- 8% on average, it makes sense to put the money in the market instead of paying off the mortgage early.

 

[ponyo]

I believe in paying off the house mortgage and any student loans as quickly as possible.

 

[Artorias]

Paying off debt(student loan in my case) is a great feeling. So much that I don't think I can stomach having a mortgage or similar large debt. Thinking about how long it takes to pay those debts off gives me anxiety.