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How much debt...

Total Debt Burden (Anonymous)

  • None

    Votes: 7 25.0%

  • $1 to $1,000

    Votes: 1 3.6%

  • $1,001 to $5,000

    Votes: 2 7.1%

  • $5,001 to $10,000

    Votes: 2 7.1%

  • $10,001 to $25,000

    Votes: 5 17.9%

  • $25,001 to $50,000

    Votes: 3 10.7%

  • $50,001 to $100,000

    Votes: 4 14.3%

  • $100,001 to $250,000

    Votes: 4 14.3%

  • $250,001 to $500,000

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $500,000 and greater

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    28
E

evearael

Well-Known Member
Don't worry, the poll is anonymous. :) I came across this list of average credit card debt and interest rates per state just now and I wondered what other people's experiences were with debt of varying kinds from credit cards, to student loans, to car loans, to mortgages and so on. It's terribly depressing talking to people my age (mid-twenties) who have anywhere from eight to fifteen thousand dollars of credit card debt alone. I am very concerned about my generation starting off their adult years under such a heavy burden of debt. I'm deeply concerned about the negative effect it will have on their long term financial stability... especially forty years down the road. What are your experiences, if you feel comfortable sharing them? What are your observations on it?
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I have $14,000 in debt. Almost 10 is in car debt. About 3 is one credit card, most of which is my computer, and modifications and upgrades for it. Even over a year old, my computer out performs my dads 2 month old computer, which came with much better hardware stock than mine did.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
My debts are huge. I didn't take out any loans for the first year of my phd, and that turned out to be a very stupid mistake.
 
michel

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
This reveals the often said idiotic "Money makes you happy".

My wife and I don't owe a penny - zilch. We never have -with one exception - our mortgage. When I retired in '93, we still had a mortgage, and I wantedvery much to clear it, with our savings.

A couple (who live round the corner and who are accountants) urged me not to pay it off; "You might need to borrow again at some future date, and with your health...etc.

I din't listen to them; I paid it off (I did have a "special rate" mortgage as a bank employee, but consumer rates had come down so much that the rate I was paying was virtually what I could get on savings - there was no point in keeping the mortgage unless the rates went shooting up again; of course they didn't.

I am lucky; we are lucky (as a couple) - we were able to contribute towards both our sons' education at Uni, and I would love to be able to help them get onto the property ladder - even if it is only to pay for the deposit on a house for each of them (as my Father did for us). Like my father, I don't intend to leave much; money is for use when your children are young and struggling - they might as well have it now, rather than when they (hopefully) won't need it.

The sad fact is that, having scrimped and saved all our lives, the thought of buying "nice things" goes very much against the grain; I still fix plumbing and electrical faults at home, and my wife still cuts all the coupons out of magzines to give towards grocery shopping. But, it doesn't make us happy.

I guess the only thing I can say is "At least we don't have to worry about money" - I was broke when I was single ; I once spent some time eating noting but rice because I was so broke - I had to sleep fully clothed because I couldn't afford to feed the gas meter in my bedsit. Strangely enough, I was happy then.

I often wonder at the circumstances that have made life so easy for me (money-wise), and I do count that blessing, and thank God for my easy money worry-free life.
 
jacquie4000

jacquie4000

Well-Known Member
MY home is paid for, My car is paid for and I have less then $1500 in CC debt. But my CC are used for mostley business and paid off quickly.
 
Djamila

Djamila

Bosnjakinja
I have no debt at all - that's one thing I've never been comfortable with. I realize in most developed countries it's more or less a necessity of life for the lower classes but... that will never be me.

I'm sure I still owe some marketplace or restaurant a little, but that comes and passes every week - I wouldn't consider it debt. Living within your means is very important. Anything else cannot be sustained and if you don't pay the price for it, your loved ones will.
 
E

evearael

Well-Known Member
Include you mortgage. :) Goodness, I hope no one has $250,000 in credit card debt.

The only debt we have on our car that we've had for less than a year. We pay it off this month... and start saving for the next one. :)
 
michel

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
SoyLeche said:
I never keep a balance on a credit card.
Click to expand...

The you must be aboutas popular with the credit card companies as I am. I did keep a balance of US$ 33000 on an MBNA credit card for 9 months, because I was offered the cash advance on interest free credit; of course, the money was in as high a savings account as I could find duringthe time of the borrowing - and the debt was repaid a good week before it was due.

Well, if credit card companies make offers like that, one can hardly refuse.......:rolleyes:
 
MaddLlama

MaddLlama

Obstructor of justice
Only my student loans, which now is at about $4,000. I paid off all my credit cards and wedding bills about 2 months after we got married - personally I think it was a fantastic way to spend a portion of our gift money. My hubby makes a very very good living for someone his age, so we choose not to use credit cards - if we can't pay for it out of pocket, it's probably not that important.
Granted, my in-laws insist on paying for a lot of things. They wouldn't let me take out a loan for my car when I totaled the old one, nor would they let us take out a mortgage to pay for our starter home. So, we don't really need to accumulate debt.
 
E

evearael

Well-Known Member
*Nods* We keep credit cards for emergency expenses only and generally pay them off within a month so we don't pay interest on them. We want to build up enough of a reserve so we don't have to touch them at all, but we aren't there yet.
 
Todd

Todd

Rajun Cajun
90,000 for house
0 for cars (I buy used old cars in cash and drive them until they die)
8,000 for credit
10,000 in other debt (school, house remodeling, etc.)

Fortunately our house is worth 140,000 now, so our head is a little above water right now, but not much.
 
Moni_Gail

Moni_Gail

ELIGE MAGISTRUM
We have one credit card with a balance of a whopping $58. However, we do have a brand new car that was financed for 23k. New baby and only a sports car, it was definitely time for a nice family car. But yeah, that's it.
 
MdmSzdWhtGuy

MdmSzdWhtGuy

Well-Known Member
evearael said:
Don't worry, the poll is anonymous. :) I came across this list of average credit card debt and interest rates per state just now and I wondered what other people's experiences were with debt of varying kinds from credit cards, to student loans, to car loans, to mortgages and so on. It's terribly depressing talking to people my age (mid-twenties) who have anywhere from eight to fifteen thousand dollars of credit card debt alone. I am very concerned about my generation starting off their adult years under such a heavy burden of debt. I'm deeply concerned about the negative effect it will have on their long term financial stability... especially forty years down the road. What are your experiences, if you feel comfortable sharing them? What are your observations on it?
Click to expand...

I have around $60,000 in student loans from Law School, and I thought I had about 3 grand or less in CC debt, only to find out recently it was quite a bit higher due to Mrs. MdmSzdWhtGuy's propensity to spend, but I have a plan in place and in force to get the unsecured debt (CC, not the Student Loan, sadly) taken care of within the next year. Debt is an insidious thing, and it is a very easy problem to get into. My first wife and I got in way over our heads trying to live a lifestyle to keep her happy.

I am by nature a spendthrift, but the crushing realities of getting into debt have turned me into a bit of a tightwad, to hear my wife tell it. Living within your means is the only way to go, but it is not a fun way to spend your life.

B.
 
E

evearael

Well-Known Member
The credit card debt among my peers that I've spoken to is a result of putting college on a credit card instead of getting student loans, unexpected medical expenses, basic living expenses from college, car repairs, a high-class wedding on a modest income and generally living beyond their means. One trend I've noticed is that problems tend to occur when the children of upper middle class families try to sustain the same lifestyle they had before moving out on their own without anywhere near the income to back it up. I know of several people my age who've ended up deeply in debt from helping family members in times of crisis who haven't the means to pay them back.
 
Gentoo

Gentoo

The Feisty Penguin
The only debt I have right now is school loans, and I made out pretty good in comparison: $14,000.
 
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