Type of debt

[crispychicky]

Mortgage only. Started with 30 year, paid extra and refinanced to 15 year when rates went down at 5 years in. Should have 8 years left on that loan but have been paying extra all along and hope to be paid in full in about 3 years. ...
Donna

This sounds exaclty like our situation, only we haven't been paying extra and will be done in ~8years. Can't wait!!

 

[bebelle]

Debt free except for mortgage which will be gone in two years. Thank you Dave Ramsey...yes I drank the kool-aid!

 

[Pakey]

I had to pick other. We have debt on rental property; we don't have any debt on our residence or other personal assets.

 

[SDSorority]

Just the mortgage for us! Paid off all of my $22,000 in student loan debt last year, bought a car, and have NO credit card debt. And I'm proud to say that my husband and I are both under 26 years old. Sure, we live like paupers and shop at goodwill, but it has all paid off!!! AND we still manage to go to WDW every other year.

 

[lspst8]

I have a mortgage, car loan, and student loans. I'm currently paying $120 extra each month on the car loan, and will be adding another $50 each month starting in March because I just got a tiny raise at work. It's the only debt that annoys me. As soon as it is paid off, I'm going to put the payment in a saving account so my next car will be mostly to all paid for with savings. (I don't plan on getting a new-to-me car for 5 years, so I should have a good chuck of change by then.)

My student loan payment is only $100 a month, and it doesn't bother me at all. Its interest rate is below 3%, so I just don't really care about racing to pay it off.

I pay my credit card off each month, so while I do have a balance, I never carry anything over. I just use it for gas, groceries, and online purchases. Everything else is paid for with the debit-card.

 

[lisaross]

yes, us also....but i'm sure in a couple of years we'll have a small car loan to go along with that!

Just our mortgage for 8 more years.

 

[2005s4]

very fortunate to be my age and have no debt, but i work extremely hard. house & 3 cars

 

[cvjw]

No debt for us. We are savers and pay cash for our purchases.

 

[Ka' eo]

Mortgage for house and 2nd home. No other debt. Plan to pay off this asap. Hoping this will be within 5-7 years. It is certainly possible, but it means budget vacas and serious skimping. May even rent the vaca home for a few years to help get it paid off. It feels great.

Funny thing is. I save more now that we are debt free. While in debt, I gave up and kept spending, as I saw no end in sight. Twisted. Glad I got smarter.

 

[crisi]

It really isn't a terribly meaningful answer without context.

If you are 65 years old and planning on retiring and you still have a mortgage, a car payment, tens of thousands in credit card debt - that's a different situation than being twenty two and having no mortgage because you rent an apartment and student loan debt. Being thirty and owning your house without a mortgage is a rare thing, kudos to anyone who has managed that - it isn't necessarily difficult to pull off by the time you are sixty. If you have $100k in student loan debt from getting your MD and you have just graduated, that's a different case than having $100k in student loan debt getting a liberal arts B.A. in Art History.

 

[Ka' eo]

It really isn't a terribly meaningful answer without context.

If you are 65 years old and planning on retiring and you still have a mortgage, a car payment, tens of thousands in credit card debt - that's a different situation than being twenty two and having no mortgage because you rent an apartment and student loan debt. Being thirty and owning your house without a mortgage is a rare thing, kudos to anyone who has managed that - it isn't necessarily difficult to pull off by the time you are sixty. If you have $100k in student loan debt from getting your MD and you have just graduated, that's a different case than having $100k in student loan debt getting a liberal arts B.A. in Art History.

This is so true. I am in my 40s.

 

[wdwfan16]

It really isn't a terribly meaningful answer without context.

If you are 65 years old and planning on retiring and you still have a mortgage, a car payment, tens of thousands in credit card debt - that's a different situation than being twenty two and having no mortgage because you rent an apartment and student loan debt. Being thirty and owning your house without a mortgage is a rare thing, kudos to anyone who has managed that - it isn't necessarily difficult to pull off by the time you are sixty. If you have $100k in student loan debt from getting your MD and you have just graduated, that's a different case than having $100k in student loan debt getting a liberal arts B.A. in Art History.

The poll only allows 12 entries max. I really wanted more options but it was not possible.

 

[crisi]

The poll only allows 12 entries max. I really wanted more options but it was not possible.

I know, and it isn't exactly a scientific survey. But a lot of people look at things like this and imagine everyone is like them in circumstance - which we know isn't the case. Someone in their 30s looking at those people who have paid off their mortgage - without realizing that most of those people are in their 40s and 50s. Or someone just out of college looking at all the people who don't have student loans (I didn't have them at all, my husband were paid off FIFTEEN years ago - cause we are getting to be old farts).

 

[ssawka]

I know it sounds strange but sometimes debt is a good thing. DW and I were able to pay off our student loans rather quickly by refinancing our house 3 years after we bought it. That was during the real estate spike though, so we were very lucky.

 

[goofy4prez]

I'm almost living the dream of being debt free. We started with a 20 year mortgage on our home, have been in it for 12 years, and will be paid off in either August or Sept of this year.

My wife drives a 2006 Malibu that we paid cash for new, and my car is a 2007 Lincoln MKZ which I took out a 4 year loan on and paid it off in two years. So we have no car payments.

I hate credit card companies. There is nothing more I despise worse than these blood sucking leaches. I refuse to carry a balance with them. I would not even have a Visa card if it were not for the fact some places don't accept American Express. I carry no balance with them at all.

 

[wdwfan16]

I know, and it isn't exactly a scientific survey. But a lot of people look at things like this and imagine everyone is like them in circumstance - which we know isn't the case. Someone in their 30s looking at those people who have paid off their mortgage - without realizing that most of those people are in their 40s and 50s. Or someone just out of college looking at all the people who don't have student loans (I didn't have them at all, my husband were paid off FIFTEEN years ago - cause we are getting to be old farts).

I know. No internet poll will ever be scientific. I also figure that a board with people who are taking 1+ vacations each year have a higher average income than the national average. People with student loans attended and likely graduated college. That also gives one a higher income.

When we graduated college and got married all we owned was debt. For us the students loans were not crippling and we both worked in our fields shortly after graduating. So we saw our SLs and debt but "good" debt since it helped us get better paying jobs. Over time we bought cars, a home and paid off those SL. My financial snapshot today is far different than when I was in my early 20s and will be far different than when I am in my late 60s.

 

[cm8]

No debt. My goal was to pay off my mortgage before Y2K (2000) and I did. I paid my 30 years loan in 12 years.

, congratulations!! That is what we are aiming for!!!

 

[Inkmahm]

I know, and it isn't exactly a scientific survey. But a lot of people look at things like this and imagine everyone is like them in circumstance - which we know isn't the case. Someone in their 30s looking at those people who have paid off their mortgage - without realizing that most of those people are in their 40s and 50s. Or someone just out of college looking at all the people who don't have student loans (I didn't have them at all, my husband were paid off FIFTEEN years ago - cause we are getting to be old farts).

Good point.

I was 41 when I paid off my mortgage.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Mortgage, two car payments, and about $3000 on DH's stupid student loan.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

A home equity loan (stupidest thing we ever did)

Amen, although my husband did it before me, so stupidest thing he ever did

We also have a mortgage, one car payment, two credit cards, DVC, and one small student loan that is still in deferment. I'm still in college, and my husband is in his twenties, so while we live a good life, we are "cash poor" because of our debt payments.

I paid cash for my portion of our wedding, but my husband used credit to pay for his (ring and honeymoon), and that is really what's killing us now.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel - we're a few months away from paying down 9000 dollars worth of CC debt in a year. At first it was kind of exciting, but then I realized we must have been squandering 9000 dollars a year before now. Yikes!