Do you have any debt?
Posted by fastballcdm2019@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 683 comments
I have 20k in cc debt and a 100k HELOC. No mtge which is good. I make 75k and my wife makes about the same, yet we still struggle.
My question is if there is anyone out there in the similar situation? Do you have debt? Do you pay off your ccs every month? Do you travel and do other discretionary activities despite your debt?
Sonofabitchnbastard@reddit
Yes.
If you’re household takes home $9K a month after taxes, I’d be interested in hearing what’s causing you to struggle?
Twitch-Weasel-51@reddit
You don't know what their actual COL expenses are. Where you live matters. If you are in an expensive state, property taxes, insurance, fuel, utilities can all be very different than if they are in a low COL state.
Sonofabitchnbastard@reddit
Hence my question. I live in the one of if not the highest COL areas in the USA, but with no mortgage or rent, $9K per month seems pretty good still to not be struggling. Think about it.
alinroc@reddit
It's expensive to live beyond one's means.
Affogoto@reddit
Tiny_Noise8611@reddit
Same but no heloc . I use only zero percent and have a little less balance than you tho but only w no interest
More_Law6245@reddit
My Dad gave me the advice, if you can't pay cash for it you can't afford it with the exception of a house.
I made my sacrifices early in life (no new car every few years, trips, restaurants etc.) and now I still don't use credit cards, I own my house, I'm debt free, I have a reasonable sized contingency plan and I've retired by 58 years old.
Living on credit you're figuratively and literally going to have to pay the piper at some stage, it's just when you choose to pay the piper is the key to financial freedom.
ZealousidealRanger67@reddit
Not if you die at just the right time. Suckers.
VonGrippyGreen@reddit
Years ago I wanted to buy a truck. The payments were affordable, but I still needed a co-signer, so I called my grandmother. She agreed, and the dealer let me take the truck to get her so she could sign.
Picked her up, and she listened to me tell her all the great things about the truck. Then she gave the dash a little swipe and asked me why I was buying a truck I couldn't afford. I said 'I can afford it', to which she said 'then why am I here?'
I know interest rates have changed, but 30 years later, I still refuse to buy something that I can't pay for.
Objective_Quiet3065@reddit
SMH 🤦
refinery28@reddit
I was completely debt free, finally, after a very litigious divorce. I'm self employed and a platform I sold on went under and owed me quite a bit of money. So now I have debt again in my mid 50s and I'm so pissed about it 😭
Secret-Function-2972@reddit
Only an auto loan at 4.99% for a vehicle we purchased in April. Could pay it off but would prefer to invest those funds and have them available should we need them for something else down the road. That said, not sure of anything guaranteed getting over 5% that could be sold immediately.
aeternumvaga@reddit
Lightweight. All the cool kids have three cards maxed out at 20 each, loans drawn on their 401K, multiple never paid-off cars, and of course the mortgage they just re-fid so all the payments go to interest.
Twitch-Weasel-51@reddit
It's the American Dream!
Huge_Many_2308@reddit
I have no debt. The last house we bought was for cash. I pay off my cc every month. If I don't have the money for something I don't buy it. The last time I had a cc with a balance it was a store credit card. It was for a large purchase and it offered zero interest for 12 months, I then paid in full at the end, paid zero interest. Compounding interest can help make your life easier or harder. I retired at 50, this is why.
relltj@reddit
Had to pay off my mortgage because we ran out of time. I wish I still had it because we were only paying 3.25% to use the banks money. Not all debt is bad if you can make more than the interest you pay
Twitch-Weasel-51@reddit
Similar situation. We live in debt - residing in a state with a super-high COL. I wish I could pay off my CC's every month. Refi'ed our house to pay off all our debt when the interest rate was 3% but our incomes still can't keep up with the bills and we end up owing again. We don't go on vacations, we don't buy expensive clothing (hell, I wear the same stuff I was wearing 20 years ago), we drive 10 and 25-year old vehicles, we rarely eat out... just trying to have a normal middle-class life and maintain our home as our biggest asset. And yeah, groceries are up 50-100% from 7 years ago, utilities are up, fuel is up, insurance is up. The only thing that isn't up is my salary! But I do have a hobby that does admittedly take up some of our income. If you didn't spend a little bit on doing things your enjoy, then what's the point? You might as well call it quits and end the suffering. We all need some joy and fun in our lives. And yes, sometimes that fun adds to our debt, but you can't take it with you.
Mk1Racer25@reddit
OP, how much of your monthly CC payment is interest? With $20k in CC debt, I bet the interest payment alone is at least $300 a month. CC interest rates border on usurious these days. Pay. that off
To answer your question, yes, I pay my CC off every month. Can't remember the last time I carried a balance, but I know it's been probably at least 10 years. Own my home and make 6-figures. My biggest monthly expense is my property tax, which is \~$725/month. Just bought a $30k car for cash
Valuable_Bluebird334@reddit
I only have my small mortgage. I pay off my credit card every month.i worked really hard to pay off my debt.
CSILalaAnn@reddit
Yes. I'm in about the same boat as you are
Heathen_Crew@reddit
A small amount left on my house. Working on it
Fight_Tyrnny@reddit
no, I paid off my house and all my debt about 6 years ago. Since then, I have been good about not getting any credit that cant be paid off after I use it the next day.
uncirculated_luster@reddit
I do carry some debt, which varies month to month. I borrowed to buy a 60k car for my wife; she does not work right now — it's almost paid off. I'm 54, my wife is 50.
Diasies_inMyHair@reddit
I have two credit cards that I mostly pay off every month. And I have a mortgage. Our cars are a 2006 and a 2016, both paid off. And a scotter that we found on FB and needs a little repair work.
Mogus0226@reddit
A car payment. That's it. No CC, no mortgage (own the home), no HELOC, no loans.
hells_cowbells@reddit
No debt. I'm currently in a race to build up my savings for a car before my current one dies.
What scares me is I'm still renting, and the thought of paying rent in retirement scares me. I saw how much having a paid off home helped my parents. They didn't have much in retirement, but my mom was able to retire at 62 because of no debt. At my age abs in the current housing market, I don't see any way I could buy a house and have it paid off before I retire.
Sasquatchmas@reddit
I think renting, at this point, is cheaper than buying a house. My only fear while renting is having to move suddenly. That TERRIFIES me. I owned a house in the 90s. I remember refinancing a few times, lowering my mortgage, getting money back for repairs. I don't think you can even do that now! I paid an extra $100 on my mortgage every month and that cut down the interest. When I got divorced, half of the equity kept me afloat for years. I feel lucky my parents instilled a strong work ethic in me and also drilled into my head "You pay off the credit card EVERY month." It seems most people my age have tremendous credit card debt. Multiple cards even. I have 2 cards. One I use and one strictly for an emergency.
hells_cowbells@reddit
I moved around and job hopped for years. I didn't intend to stay in my current place this long, but it's been 14 years. I got lucky because my landlord is just a guy and his wife with a couple of properties. They raised the tent this year for only the third time in the 14 years I've lived there, which is why I never bothered to buy a house. It's a nice little 2 bed 2 bath townhouse with a small fenced in yard.
As for credit cards, I had to learn that one the hard way. In college, credit card companies would setup in front of the student union and hand out credit cards to damn near anyone. I collected them like Pokémon. I never defaulted or anything, but it took me a damn long time to get out of that hole. Now I just treat them like a debit card and pay them off every month.
chatterwrack@reddit
Yeah, I remember getting a few cards when I started college and it just felt like having a ton of money. Predatory!
chatterwrack@reddit
I’m fortunate enough that I just paid off my house and am 100% debt free. I actually pay off my credit card every couple day because I am so scared of that number snowballing. I climbed out of a hole a few years ago and the interest swamped me. Never again.
Difficult-Map3465@reddit
We have no debt in our 60's, paid off home and 2 new cars (cash), 2M in retirement, 100k in savings but we still live like our parents did back in the 60's and 70's. Life has been this way for 15 years.
Have only used CC as a revolving monthly account paid of every month.
"Make hay while the sun is shining and save if for a rainy day."
We spend our money on our home and hobbies, which are one in the same. We built our world to be able to relax in retirement, take care of our parents and not be a burden to our child or families.
I grew up dirt poor; he grew up in the perfect nuclear family. We each came with knowledge and skills.
Combined we built a wonderful and relatively secure financial life together
No-debt-P22-7@reddit
None. Debt makes you a slave.
cocobear114@reddit
ok i wont join the debt free humblebrags here...52, wife 50. yes we have some debt. 1 car lease, another car almost paid off....cc debt kinda sorta fluctuates, never out of control but we carry a couple thousand every once in a while. 380k left on a house thats worth about a million.
kids are expensive and we dont know how much time we have in life, my dad got stage 4 cancer at age 63 and dying young is unfortunately common in his family. so YOLO...im not gonna live like a pauper. we do have enough to basically pay off all of our debt if we wanted to in savings, investments, etc.
PurposeConsistent131@reddit
$16,000 in debt. Home paid off. Work part time make $65,000 a year. Husband retired . Both 54
Tatsuwashi@reddit
You make 150k and struggle? What is your spending like?
Dahoppyz@reddit
This is relative to where they live and whether they have kids or not. A combined income of $150k will not afford you a lavish lifestyle in NJ where I live. That said, I have always done my best to live within our means and not spend what we didn’t have which now means that we are debt free, minus a mortgage that is about 15% of the current value of the home.
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
Prob have a lot of debt
alinroc@reddit
They stated it right up front. $20K on credit cards and $100K on a HELOC. They're grossing $12.5K/month so unless they're being careless with their money, they should be able to knock out the credit cards by the end of the year.
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
They have to have more debt then that . It dsnt make any sense .
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
Yes, that's crazy! We only make 125,000 and we are comfortable . I don't get it . lavish vacations possibly?
Typical_Hedgehog6558@reddit
No debt. I hate having to remember to make payments, so I try to buy things outright, if possible.
Affectionate-Map2583@reddit
I thought I was the only one with such a silly reason for being debt free. Mine is because monthly payments sort of piss me off, including most subscriptions, so I just don't do them.
lebookfairy@reddit
Been consumer debt free since 1992. Paid off our mortgage around 2013. We use credit cards regularly for the cash back benefits but pay in full every cycle. Being debt free allows for only one of us to work and still save for retirement, pay kids' tuition bills, have three cars, eat out when we want, etc. We are both thrifty, don't travel, don't buy big toys and don't drink/smoke, but otherwise have pretty much the middle class standard of life. The biggest financial hurdle we're facing right now is our house needs probably 100k of work done on it to bring it up to date, as it's 50 years old. Kitchen cabinets are 50+ years old, everything needs painted and refloored, master bathroom needs redone, etc.
Strong_Medium_6646@reddit
Only about 4K debt right now and Morty paid off!
SuchDogeHodler@reddit
Nope....
Desperate-Cap-5941@reddit
I have a mortgage and car payment. Bought a new car this year with a 0% loan for 4 years. I have a mortgage and plan on paying it off in the next 5 years.
I utilize my credit card for everything that I can to earn points and I pay it off in full every month. I refuse to let interest on anything except my mortgage, but I have a low rate. Using my credit card and points allows me to make money off the credit card. My credit score is excellent.
We save as much as we can, but also enjoy life. I’m really good with money while my husband isn’t so I’m in charge of our finances and, I think at least, that I do a good job.
VicDough@reddit
Crawled out of cc debt about 15 years ago. Only debt I have now is my house. It’ll be paid off in about five years, just when I retire. 😊
toqer@reddit
Sounds like my wife and I, except we're both expecting to work till 65 (12 years from now for me) just because we don't want early retirement penalties. We're just now starting to enjoy things like "just us" trips. No place fancy, just California to Oregon.
cosmoboy@reddit
Same. Still have the cc debt, but got rid of the HELOC by moving into a better house. Didn't live with the girlfriend before, but I do now so even in a better house, I've ended up with less monthly bills.
Bahlore@reddit
No CC, no Car payment, and 100k left on Mortgage. I dont travel, I dont party, I dont buy fancy things, we go out to dinner once a quarter, I take left overs into work for lunch. I need to be able to retire in 10 years; so I'm saving up hard core till then.
bondpaper@reddit
200k on a 3% mortgage. I think 15 years left. I'm in no rush to pay it off.
Ok-Commercial-924@reddit
Debt free since 08, we did nothing more expensive than camping in the national forest while in debt. Being debt free allowed us to concentrate on savin and investing, which allowed us to retire 2 yrs ago. We were both making about 20/ hr when we became debt free.
Nick_Fotiu_Is_God@reddit
My August both my wife and I will be debt free. We’ve been aggressively paying it down for the past year. We had $20k+.
ClumbsyVulture@reddit
Kind of same here. In the last year, because our jobs have seemed kind of shifty and have had layoffs, we have been aggressively been paying things off and saving. Not the funnest of times but feel much more secure.
C_est_la_vie9707@reddit
Debt free since age 42. It feels amazing.
girlpaint@reddit
Same
alegna12@reddit
Two mortgages (one on rental property) and my spouse’s car loan. Credit card paid off with every paycheck (biweekly) so it never gets too big.
JustTheBeerLight@reddit
No debt since 2007. I don't spend a lot of money on stuff. My credit cards are all set to autopay (full amount). Screw them, they aren't getting a dime out of me in interest.
Melodic_Principle0@reddit
This is the way. Interest is lighting your hard earned money on fire.
ithamore012@reddit
Only mortgage debt, 8 more years
Elguapo69@reddit
Damn 20 k in cc debt is no joke.
ComprehensiveCup7104@reddit
Credit card debt is almost loan shark rates, OP needs to get a handle on spending.
Elguapo69@reddit
Yeah I screwed up out of college and racked up like 5k. It just kept compounding and was impossible to keep up with. Took forever to get out of. Can’t imagine 20k. I didn’t know about the trick to open a new card with 12 months no interest and transfer the debt to pay it off. OP needs to learn that trick but worry he’ll just max that card out too if he doesn’t have discipline
archedhighbrow@reddit
I have been debt-free for three years now, for the first time in my adult life.
Kittenunleashed@reddit
No kids is the answer. No debt just a mortgage with about 5 years left. Pay all cc’s off every month and just load up on savings and retirement accounts.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
We have zero debt, no mortgage, nothing, and have 2 grown kids, so not "The Answer", lol. We worked at it, and had some lean years while they were growing up, and I wouldn't change a thing.
pth@reddit
3 adult kids, we worked at it, but also we were lucky too.
juleeff@reddit
Agree, not the answer . Similar situation but add another kid.
mrspalmieri@reddit
Down to about 2k in cc, 11 more months on my car and have 20 years left on a 30 yr mortgage
Outrageous-Many-2928@reddit
Mortgage only (due to a divorce). Pay cash or don’t buy it.
The person with no debt is wealthy!
mustardmadman@reddit
Onlyfans debt here
SamePhotographs@reddit
I currently have a car payment. It'll be finished in 2.5 years, at which point I'll likely have another car payment..
My last car is a '15, which I bought used in '16. It's still going strong, but was passed to my husband as we alternate on who gets the 'new' car, and it was his car that didn't last (something something, bad at maintenance..) So 4 years of his driving is a lot of pressure on that dinky car.
fridayimatwork@reddit
Only mortgage.
LyaNoxDK@reddit
Mortgage, a remodel loan and a few thousand left on the car. Credit cards get paid monthly. Unfortunately I was laid off too long ago and I was the main earner. now we are scraping by with 3 kids still living at home. One is college one in high school and one in middle school. If I had stayed employed we would be debt free and able to help the kids pay for college. Now we can’t. Trying to look on the bright side as I’m building my consulting business.
Yankeewithoutacause@reddit
American debt level is up to 1.6 trillion. The only exception is people on Reddit
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
IKR?!?! It seems like the majority of people don’t have debt at all! I
El_Dudereno@reddit
You can't poll the answer. Reddit is skewed to begin with but then you're also going to have selection bias where those who answer are proud to say "no debt" versus those embarrassed who remain quiet.
If you want to know how you stack up against your peers look to studies that randomize their sample. And by the way, your debt seems right in line with average Gen X (~$158k)
lorelie53@reddit
So much debt. I was doing okay for a bit then life happened. I have about $30k in credit card/ loan debt. I’m going to sell my house and pay it off though and just rent. At least a third of that debt is house repairs and expenses. Hot water tank went, floor repair for water damage, sewage clogged, roof repair, it never ends.
StarDue6540@reddit
30 k isn't much debt but I don't know your housing market. Generally owning a home is a hedge against inflation but again, i don't know your market or your income. If your retired a door dash job could help you pay down the credit card debt and allow you to control housing costs. Also renting out rooms is another way that people can supplement their income. Youtube is useful for learning how to do home repairs. When we bought our second home our mortgage was 25.00 a day in 1989. Today this 5 bedroom 3 bath home would rent for approx 3800 to 4000.00 or more. Today that is 126.66 for the lower amount. At the 3800.00 I have remodeled and updated everything. New windows new kitchen new bathrooms. Finished the upstairs. It's a 2800 sq footage 2 story. I paid 119 back then. It's valued at about a million today. Just food for thought if your healthy and want to have a home and its just the credit card debt that is causing issues. Of course health and age considerations can play a part.
lorelie53@reddit
30,000 is just my credit card debt. I owe over 50,000 on the house, and 20,000 on my car. Besides I’m moving south. I got a new job and want to be closer to my family. Good advice though.
1dayatatime_mylife@reddit
How old are you and what’s your salary?
Allmyexesliveintx333@reddit
Mortgage. We still have 13 years left to pay
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
About the same!
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
Ramseysolutions.com
TC_Stock@reddit
Was debt free including mortgage until last week when we took out a home equity line of credit for home remodeling. This setting us back 70k or so for flooring through the entire upstairs, new appliances, countertops, etc. I'm seriously bummed that we're gonna have debt again but the kitchen is falling apart.
IronGlum9561@reddit
I took out a 70 k home equity. We paid it off in five years.
TC_Stock@reddit
we're committed to paying it off in 5 also. I think we have like 20 years or something but I'm not having any that.
mlachick@reddit
I have an expensive kitchen renovation in my future, but I'm hoping I can put it off until interest rates aren't so awful and just do a refinance. I'm saving up what I can for it, but I swear the prices increase more quickly than I can save.
melty75@reddit
I have no credit card or line of credit debts. No car payments, both of our cars are paid off. We have a couple mortgages on our property and a rental.
xiphoid77@reddit
No debt. No kids, house paid off. Retired last year. My parents were huge believers in retiring early and being debt free. I am proud to have made them happy RIP.
HighSeasArchivist@reddit
Only my house, which is 22% of my bring home (100k salary) pay. No CC debt, car payment, no streaming services, just insurance, utilities, and fiber internet.
R5Jockey@reddit
Twenty five-ish years left on a Mortgage at 2.75 and about a year left on a 2.5% car loan. Not paying either of those off a day earlier than required. No other debt.
1dayatatime_mylife@reddit
What year did you buy your house with that low interest rate?
R5Jockey@reddit
Refi’d during COVID.
Junior_Article_3244@reddit
3 kids, 12 years left on mortgage, 1 car payment, and we pay off credit cards every month.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
We are in the fortunate situation of having no debt.
bonkersyeti@reddit
I have about 10 years left on my mortgage and about $30K in credit card debt that I'm working to pay off... but also enjoying life as much as I can. After all, I may be 8ish years from retirement, but I could die tomorrow.
SidMarcus@reddit
House paid off, cars paid off, credit card paid in full every month. We’re both 55 so there’s still a few more years of work left.
dinkeydonuts@reddit
Nope. I also have a perfect credit score (850).
Other-Revolution-275@reddit
🌏
devilgoof@reddit
Mortgage and husbands students loans. He graduated with his masters in 2024 after going back to school in his 40s. We pay our credit card off every month.
We are going on a huge out west trip in June. We have been saving to go for 4 years. We save for house projects as well. Saved for a new roof and windows. Have a car, fuel and Christmas fund we try to put money aside for all year. I was laid of on 12/31/25 so its been a struggle so far this year but we have been making it work. I go back to work after our trip.
Comprehensive_End751@reddit
Mortgage only. My Dad died last month though so it’s getting a chunk paid off as soon as I’ve finished the paperwork for probate and split it with my brother. Hubby is medically discharged on a military pension and I’m his carer and getting a pension for that so we’re already set up retirement wise.
nakedonmygoat@reddit
Just what remains on my mortgage, which has been in the 5-digits for a while now. I pay my credit card off every month. I retired four years ago, so I have to be careful with my money, and lately I've been focused on home maintenance.
Historical_Project86@reddit
I will take out a store payment plan from time to time, I think it's usually under £1k owing. I have a mortgage with about £80k left on it. These days we could travel if we wanted, I'm the sole earner and in a good year make £120k (basic + bonus). Everything has got a lot more expensive though, especially in the last 5 years.
The_Fugue@reddit
None thankfully.
aKIMIthing@reddit
Significant debt in my 30s… it was the worst!! Now I hover around $5k in debt and am okay w that amt.
thisoldguy74@reddit
We have all the debt. I'm pretty sure I'll work until I croak.
AstaCat@reddit
No debt for the past 8 years. Paid done $60,000 CC debt over 4 years, and never going to be in that position again because it sucks. Now I put the screws on the CC companies and take every advantage, every points system, every cash back, and pay my CC every month. They get NO INTEREST from me. Fuck these companies.
jojotherider@reddit
Lots of it
AnasandSF@reddit
Three mortgages. No other debt
Slow_Description_773@reddit
17K for the car, that's it.
knitty_kitty_knitz@reddit
No debt at all including house and car.
captain_hug99@reddit
No debt, house was paid off in 2020. We were able to pay for the kid’s college outright. I’m so thankful she got a better start than husband and I did. We’re not high earners, retired military and I’m a teacher.
Tokogogoloshe@reddit
I have a tiny mortgage in a rental property that's well in the green from a cashflow point of view. Credit Cards are paid off monthly and have strict limits in them. Big ticket items we save for by putting what we would pay in installments in a HYSA instead. Works out cheaper most times.
Iommi1970@reddit
Similar situation as yourself, but no CC debt and still owe 200K on the mortgage. Plan on selling the house when we are retired, and will either downsize or move to a cheaper area (for real estate), so not too worried about debt on house and HELOC.
Vacations right now are camping or maybe a weekend away to a place we can drive. Plan on more extensive travel when retired.
Key-Target-1218@reddit
No debt. No mortgage, no car payment for the past 17 years. I use my CC to pay for all my bills and expenses because it pays me to do so. I always pay it off each month, I refuse to pay interest.
Artichokeydokey8@reddit
Same. It feels good not giving my money to the banks in the form of interest. Also keeps me honest with myself. I don’t spend what I don’t have.
Kawil12@reddit
Only debt we have is about $20k of the mortgage left which I'm hoping to pay off this year. I have 1 CC that I pay off every month. I have a 2015 Ford Fusion that I paid cash for used (10k) back in 2020 that has just over 110000 miles.
Wife also has cancer treatments twice a month and our insurance deductible is $7500/person so that comes due in January when we hit that cap. We have about $36k saved and I've got a TSP that has around $200k.
I make $75k and Wife is on disability so that's like $11k. We're not struggling but shit is more expensive so we watch what we spend. It was harder back 23 years ago when we had our first kid. We'd go shopping on Saturday and my check would clear on that following Monday and we juggled which bills would get paid that month.
Meh...we just keep truckin'...ya know?
linguicaANDfilhos@reddit
I have a mortgage and a car payment. I pay off my credit cards monthly. I still live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t travel. I have vet bills.
Budgiejen@reddit
I’m disabled and poor. I have around $6k credit card debt that I’m paying off. I already closed the card. When I’m working I usually make around $1k a month, maybe $1200 to go with my disability check.
I do not travel. Sometimes I go to concerts. Usually not more than about $50. I do have expensive hobbies.
PoxyMusic@reddit
Have a mortgage on 1 house that I rent out for almost 2x the monthly mortgage. Got super lucky and bought it a month before covid at 3.1%, now it’s worth almost double. Have a mortgage for another that I inherited 2/3 of, bought out my siblings for the other 1/3.
I always pay off cc debt every month, no exceptions ever. It’s just throwing money away. If you can’t afford something, you REALLY can’t afford it with interest.
Outrageous_Plum5348@reddit
No debt, mortgage paid. Came from poverty. I don't pull out a credit card that I can't pay in full at the end of the month. Use credit card strictly to earn cash back on all purchases, and that kickback is invested every month. Extreme frugality, extreme saver, long time investor. Even as a youngster, saving and paying bills was my jam and gave me a charge. Taking trips or large purchases is as a result always doable, though I've admittedly gone years without a vacation at the height of my corporate career.
mtcwby@reddit
Just the mortgage and a car recently. The CC stuff gets paid off every month. The car was replacing a 15 year old car and we tend to keep them a long time.
eastbaypluviophile@reddit
We met, married and set up house later in life. And we live in California. Consequently we still have a rather large mortgage (>500k) even tho we are both looking to retire soon. No other debt. Cars paid off.
AccomplishedCash3603@reddit
Oh do I.
ShimmyxSham@reddit
Credit card debt is one of the worst waste of money. The interest is throwing money down the toilet. Pay it off every month if you can, I do
faust0matic@reddit
19 more years on our mortgage but that’s about it. I think we still owe around 225K. If all goes well I’m retiring in 4 years and we’re selling it for double what we paid and moving somewhere cheaper than WA State. Then I’ll just make shit on my machines for sale. Maybe work part time. I dunno. I’m so done with working full time.
StevieNickedMyself@reddit
Any? All I have is debt.
MaximumJones@reddit
None whatsoever. It is how I was able to retire.
ivylass@reddit
Me too. Paid off house and we don't use credit cards. Cars are paid for.
alinroc@reddit
Nothing wrong with using credit cards as long as you do it responsibly. Take advantage of the benefits and you'll come out ahead.
ivylass@reddit
You do you.
Intelligent-Exit724@reddit
No debt. Single income household for 12 years now, mortgage paid off, credit cards paid in full monthly, 15 year old minivan has less than 60k miles on it, travel internationally once annually with spouse, 2 adult kids and their significant others, travel domestically 1-2x annually.
Fickle-Milk-450@reddit
I was in a similar situation about 10 yrs ago, drowning in cc debt. I tried YNAB (You Need A Budget) and it changed my life. We finally had a real budget and a way to stick to it. Paid off 20k in cc debt in two years and have stayed out of cc debt ever since. If we don’t have the cash for something, we don’t buy it. Find a budget tool that works for you and stick to it, you’ll be so relieved when you see that big cc balance go down and have more peace of mind about current and future expenses.
ismybrainonthefritz@reddit
I can’t afford a mortgage (my rent is extremely low and I’ve been in the same apartment for 22 years). My only debt is 6k on my car and $200 on a credit card that I pay off every month. I don’t go on vacations and I don’t spend extravagantly. I live comfortably for my area and income.
rared1rt@reddit
Your not alone.
Make a decent bit more than you and have a mortgage and 20K in debt. Things are on there way down with some extra payments and such.
However we travel out of the country at least once a year. Travel in country 6 to 8 times a year. Family of 4 with 1 at 18 about to head out.
Have a good emergency fund, just burnt through some of it being laid off for a couple of months. Thankfully back to work.
Have stocks, trading accounts and some crypto as well nothing to crazy there. A 401K and a Roth IRA (no where near where they should be).
Both my mom and my dad (step-dad) were gone by their mid-60's. Lost my daughter last year in her mid-20s.
Buried multiple classmates and friends in their early 50's.
Nothing in life is promised. Prepare for the long run but for me not at the cost of the here and now. I still have my wits and my health is average but has been improving slowly as well.
So take that as you will. Interest paid on CC debt is stupid so that should be a reason to focus on that, I am just not a rice and beans kinda guy.
totallyjaded@reddit
I have a mortgage with a fairly low balance right around 4%. I could pay it off, but the money is doing more for me in investments.
Other than that, no. I pay off my cards every month. I haven't really needed a new car in the past decade (not that I don't want one, but the car that just turned 10 in my driveway has less than 70,000 miles on it.) If I really curbed my spending altogether, I could probably retire at 50.
Ok_Schedule5017@reddit
We have debt. One vehicle, one small credit line credit card. We did file chapter 7 bankruptcy in November 2025. Discharge was February 2026 and it got rid of just shy of $164k of mostly medical debt. We rent.
NojaysCita@reddit
It’s disgraceful that medical bills bankrupt people.
Relative_Figure_601@reddit
No. I own my house, & I own both my cars. I have 2 CCs with zero balances; I use them once/twice a month & pay them off immediately to keep my credit score up. Quit buying sh*t you don’t really need & save - you’ll be better off financially in no time. Yes - it can happen!!
whatisdylar@reddit
Right there with you. Zero debt. 56. My neighbors have Amazon packages littering their porch every day, and it's like, why do you need so much shit? I'm happy with my stock and Range Rover. 😀
D4rthcr4nk@reddit
Spent my first 50years barely able to make ends meet, always in debt with a car payment, at least 10k in CC, always one paycheck away from losing the house. Then I got divorced, all kids out of the house. Suddenly I have no debt, I’m in a position to actually make “catch up” investments, and retirement looks more and more possible every day.
Pinecone1000@reddit
You got rid of your most expensive kid.
65variant@reddit
Zero CC debt, paid off student loans before kid, mortgage is the only financed thing we've got. Bought one car with cash after saving for 8 years, leasing a 2nd one that's covered by a car allowance from work.
Unlike my parents, I taught my kid how money works - he's got a checking/debit card, savings account and manages his money well through budgeting and projecting his chore income and desires for spending. He's doing better in Jr. High than I did in my 20's.
mydoghank@reddit
Just my house.
AngelHeart-@reddit
The other scam is the reverse mortgage. I don’t watch tv anymore so I don’t know if they’re still pushing that scam.
Daytime tv played two commercials more than any others; the factoring companies which buy structured cash settles from awardees and reverse mortgage.
Stealing Grandma's Home: The Reverse Mortgage Scam
Habeas-Opus@reddit
About 15K left on mortgage and that eats at me. I was raised extremely averse to debt and it’s always stuck with me. Can you not roll your CC debt into your HELOC? That should save you a substantial amount of interest payments. Then use that clean start to be sure you don’t put any more on those cards than you can pay off at the end of the month.
At 150K that ought to be doable.
FinancialCry4651@reddit
He probably did that already but then continued to use his credit cards
NutshellOfChaos@reddit
You gotta get a handle on that money! 150k and you should have no cc debt period. Write out a budget, find the waste, and cut it out. You can do it. You just have to focus and make the decision to solve the problem. Get that 401 going as well, you're gonna need it!
ChrisKetcham1987@reddit
No. Paid off mortgage and student loans. No credit card debt.
Taikiteazy@reddit
150k between 2 and you "struggle"? I make 50k. You're blessed, fuck off.
addctd2badideas@reddit
My wife and I have a few thousand in CC debt we're paying off, a HELOC, and a mortgage. My car is almost paid off and her has been for years.
Shit is just too damn expensive right now. That's really what it comes down to. My energy bills are sky high. I've had to spend thousands getting my A/C fixed after this ridiculous heat wave the East Coast got this past week. I'm saving for my daughter's summer camp, Bat Mitzvah, and college. It adds up.
If you have no mortgage, some CC debt and a HELOC, that's better than some. I'm sure the debt free folk will be boasting with a lot of the folks like us a little shy. Debt is okay if it's manageable and especially if it creates equity.
Dry-Coast-791@reddit
It might be worth your time for you to consult with a nonprofit financial counselor. LSS Financial Counseling
Or AFCPE
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
I should say too that my net worth even with the debt is around 1.5m if you count my house and a property we own and get lease payments every month. The taxes on that unearned income kill me tho (22%). So with that net worth i tend not to freak out more than maybe i should. I also had a small business that failed due to COVID and i lost half my savings
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
Basically I suck with money.
PsychologicalRip6998@reddit
So do I
Impressive-Health670@reddit
20k in credit card debt is a lot, how much are you paying in interest each month?
1dayatatime_mylife@reddit
You have $1.5M more than a lot of people do!
geekspice@reddit
That's a lot of debt at our age. I have zero myself. Do you have a budget that you and your wife go over regularly?
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
We don’t. I tell her we spend too much but she doesnt want to deprive the kids of anything. And me saying “spend less” doesn’t work. Perfect example: my son is graduating from HS next week and we’re going out to a fancy dinner with extended family. We are paying for everyone and it’ll prob be $800 which we can’t afford but am i going to say no? She also never wants to talk about money in front of the kids who are teenagers. They can handle it IMO. But she doesn’t want to scare them. It’s very frustrating.
sp0rk_walker@reddit
Lifestyle creep is a real thing. Faster you can control it the better you'll both be.
I'm astounded by people our age trying to "trade up" to a nicer house/ lifestyle. Don't matter how much you make if you're always chasing more.
G-C-W@reddit
You have to put your foot down.
Create a budget that includes paying down your debt and has another bank account for her. My wife gets $300 a month to spend on whatever she wants. If she want's expensive concert tickets, she has to save up. If she want's to take everyone out for $800, that's 3 months.
It's uncomfortable, and she will be mad. But it will pay off in the long run. She will be happy when you can retire in 15 years or so.
I look at it as the responsiblitity to be able to care for ourselves in our old age. We should eat healthy and exercise so we can physically take care of ourselves, and we should be fiscally responsible to financially take care of ourselves. Otherwise we will be a burden on our children.
The good news is you have a manageable amount of debt (that's probably how it got where it is). You don't have to radically change your life to get it in shape.
Good luck!
Black_Raven_2024@reddit
Why are you paying for everyone, even at a wedding the guests are expected to bring gifts. Are they bringing gifts?
geekspice@reddit
She's raising financial illiterates. This is why we have so many young adults who can't manage money - the behavior was never modeled for them.
Unspicy_Tuna@reddit
No is a complete sentence 😊
MzunguMjinga@reddit
Mortgage only. Credit cards are always paid in full monthly. My last car loan was in 2016.
Reason: My wife and I were blessed with continuous employment and didn't spend money on trips and toys until our 40s. We also bought the ugliest house on the street and it worked just fine raising two kids. We run our cars into the ground.
TheBeachLifeKing@reddit
61, own a house and have no debt.
whatsupgrizzlyadams@reddit
I owe $75 on the home depot card that I pay off monthly. Its in my name, not my husbands and I only have it so I have some kind of credit.
We have no other debt. No car payments, no house payments. We have a master card that we only use on vacation for rental cars and hotel reservations etc. I dont even know what amount of credit is on it because its always paid off.
beek7425@reddit
We typically don’t carry more on the credit cards than we can pay off in a cycle or two. We put all of our expenses possible on the cards for the points. Ideally, id like to never have any debt on the cards, but occasionally we carry a little. Otherwise, no debt. Cars are old and paid off, commutes are really short so the cars will probably last a while. Condo is paid off. I was in a lot of debt in my 20s so I’m pretty happy with our situation, though a lot of it was my luck in marrying someone who’s much better with money than I am.
rosesforthemonsters@reddit
20 years left on the mortgage. Three years left on the car loan. Roughly $6000 on the credit cards.
StarDue6540@reddit
Doesn't it bother you to carry debt at 18 to 20 percent on 6 grand?
rosesforthemonsters@reddit
Nope. I don't feel any sort of way about it, TBH.
Ok_Common_1355@reddit
No debt. Have a modest home, paid for. Rack up a mean cc bill each month but pay it off in full. Goal was always to have mortgage and all debt gone by 50 and retire at 52. Debt gone at 49 but didn’t retire until 53.
1dayatatime_mylife@reddit
Do you have kids?
Pristine_Frame_2066@reddit
Yes. This is about the same for me plus I still pay mortgage.
chipinserted@reddit
The trick is to have bad credit then you have a whole new set of problems
EllwynX@reddit
Mortgage and credit cards. I make about the same as you. Partner makes a little less. He has a car payment and credit cards.
We are pretty comfortable really.
Time-Spell-3494@reddit
Hear me out…. A HELOC is a mortgage.
AngelHeart-@reddit
Someone tried to talk me into taking out a HELOC.
He said the people who go nuts spending the money are the ones who get in trouble but I’m responsible with money so this wouldn’t happen to me.
It also won’t happen if I don’t have a HELOC.
This same person tried to convince me to refinance while I was paying my mortgage.
Then when I paid it off he told me I did the right thing.
Yeah no fuckin’ shit.
Now he’s trying to convince me to sell my home and pay him rent. “Everything would be a lot cheaper.”
Sure it would. Would be even better if he sold his home and paid me rent.
This is why the only One I trust is Jesus ❤️🙏🏻.
CatStretchPics@reddit
When he said “I have 100k HELOC” I thought he meant he had that available as a line of credit. So I was thinking “why not pay off your CC with that?” :p
Not that he had taken out $100k debt
Time-Spell-3494@reddit
I just paid mine off this year and the paperwork basically says congrats on paying off this mortgage, sucka.
prisontat@reddit
I was surprised I had to scroll this far to find this comment....
Kombatnt@reddit
Yup. Our parents called them “second mortgages.”
PMismydream24@reddit
Just my mortgage and at 2.5%, ill keep paying the mini6and knvest my extra. Car ..a 2023 is paid off, I work from home..it could be my last car I buy. I vacation, use cc and pay in full every month. I do it for the points ( helps pay for vacations) if i can't pay in full, I dont buy it.
MamaPajamaMama@reddit
No cc debt since I shed 180 lbs in the form of my ex-husband. Learned pretty quickly he was the reason we were always in cc debt, and he continues to be. I'll be able to retire early. He likely won't be able to retire at all.
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
Good for you .
gr_rn@reddit
No debt. No credit cards. Credit frozen. Paid off mortgage in 10 years 8 years ago.
mrr68@reddit
Wife and I were both born in ‘68. No debt since 2011, save for a short period when we moved to a VHCOL area both new jobs and had to take out a mortgage to afford a house in that area. Paid off the mortgage is 4 years. When we were younger and had far smaller incomes and some debt, there is no way we’d take expensive vacations or eat out save for very occasionally. You must pay down that CV debt ASAP. Get focused and make it a joint goal for yourself and your spouse.
You have no mortgage and a combined income of 150k, yet you’ve accumulated significant debt and claim to struggle. This sounds like a spending habit problem. Where is all your money going?
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
Vacations, gambling problem . ? I don't know but they have plenty of money to pay everything and save
EverythingScrolling@reddit
Yes, I've got debt, and it bothers me. I pay more than the minimum, everything is paid on time, and I've got a nice FICO score. But I'm single, and all the expenses and responsibilities fall to me.
It's hard making it on a single income, especially when—whoops—your house needs $40K worth of foundation repairs and drainage improvements. For example.
I'm bitter about it, and people can be so damn judgmental. I am trying to pay everything down/off. As soon as I pay something off (and usually beforehand), I get slammed with something else. I'm not going into debt taking vacations, driving a fancy car, or living in a big house. I'm literally replacing my modest home's 15 year old roof and and fixing the foundation. That's not fun money.
Character-Twist-1409@reddit
They can only be judgemental if they know about it right? Stop telling them maybe?
EverythingScrolling@reddit
I don't tell people. What I meant but didn't articulate is that financial advice types of articles, etc. are very quick to talk about the horrors of debt and taking on multiple jobs and side hustles to pay it down.
I know it needs to be paid off, and obviously, the sooner the better. But I do think there is a difference between debt incurred from lavish spending vs. unavoidable home repairs or medical needs.
Character-Twist-1409@reddit
Oh you feel judged. I think they're just giving advice to help.
I agree there is a difference in how debt is incurred but I think the negatives are the same. I think student loan debt is also different to me. Good luck! You also should be able to have a little fun while paying down debt too. I paid my student debt working in another country.
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
Its the unexpected stuff of owning a house that kills me. New roof: 10k. New furnace: 12k. Leak in the foundation: 8k. It never ends. We got the HELOC for those things because we don’t have the cash to pay for them
Far_Anything_7458@reddit
No debt. House paid for years ago. No kids no spouse just me yay
PeanutButterToast4me@reddit
Pay off about 2k in cc debt each month. Mortgage is about 220k left on value of 600k. Nothing else. 3 cars paid off (all bought with cash, 2 used when bought).
No_Bluejay4066@reddit
Nope, zero debt! Feels amazing
Unspicy_Tuna@reddit
I have about $30k left on a mortgage for a rental property that I'll probably pay off this year. Primary residence has been paid off since 2018. Paid cash for 2 cars, no cc debt, student loan was paid off decades ago.
ChimpoSensei@reddit
Nope, not a dime
SquirrelBowl@reddit
Just my mortgage. Rate is so low I don’t worry about paying it down. I reinvest in the market and make more
alinroc@reddit
There was a time I considered refinancing, but I couldn't find anyone offering a rate low enough to make it worthwhile. Scored a pretty good rate on this note and been putting extra against principal every month.
alinroc@reddit
Mortgage and a camper. Cars are paid off, college is paid off, credit cards get paid off every month. Haven't carried a balance on a credit card in probably 15 years (and even then it was short-term).
No-Assistance476@reddit
Just my 1% car loan.
MaryUsefulMath@reddit
For several years, we had $30,000 credit card debt. I paid that off about 4 years ago. It was a long, hard, and grueling, but we paid off every penny. Now, I am debt free. I use the credit card for almost every purchase, but pay it off in full every month. Being debt free is the most awesome feeling in the world. With you and your wife each making approx $75,000/yr, you should be able to pay this off in around 2 years. Live on one income and devote the other income to debt reduction. Plug the holes in your income bucket - no eating out, no new clothes, no travel, no new cars, etc. Two years isn’t very long. You can do it!
ElderBarenziah@reddit
Yeah, we call debt holes in the boat, got to plug them up ASAP.
ElderBarenziah@reddit
Mortgage paid off
30k left on solar panels, should have them paid off in the next 2 years.
No other debt
Use and pay credit card off in full every month.
42 years old
Jackpot777@reddit
My wife and I make around the same: but we paid off the mortgage in 2021 and have no kids. We made sure we save enough to pay for things outright if we can. Our tastes are not expensive - we do have cable and internet, but I have old games on an XBOX 360 and my wife likes getting library books on her Kindle. We hike, which is free. We birdwatch, which is free.
We last went abroad in 2018 (four days staying near St Pancras in London, four days on the border of the 7th and 15th districts of Paris). We ate like locals, found cheap and free things to do, went everywhere with an Oyster Card / Navigo Découverte. We do like to go to the shore (a 300 mile drive) once a year otherwise. Our idea of splurging is a night out with a drink and sharing appetizers.
We buy things on an LL Bean credit card to earn points that go into buying clothes and footwear. We don’t smoke. We maybe drink once a week. We order out food once a week and it’s usually good for two meals - we never DoorDash, we always phone in an order and pick it up ourselves.
Just like Homer Simpson wanted: instead of three kids and no money, we have no kids and three money.
grumpvet87@reddit
i earn 84k. no other debt- max out ira/401k. i live off around 45k takehome after retirement savings - i travel "home" 3x past 2 years
JayVincent6000@reddit
cashflow is the way! I've got plenty of debt. I refi'd my mortage when rates were lower, no way I pay that off before I retire, so I plan to sell and downsize when the time is right. I float at least 50k in 6-18 month credit card debt (new cards/balance transfers at 3-5% fees up front, with proper investment you should make more than that over the timespan, even if you only break even it's 12 months of cashflow for free). I put all of my daily expenses on credit cards, rotate them every two months and pay them off as they come due, so 30-45 days of "free" cashflow. Lastly I do have a safety net, I can borrow against my 401k if I get trapped with a large credit balance due and no new/open credit card for a balance transfer. If I borrow against my 401k, I pay myself back and the interest ends up in my 401k with no prepayment penalty. I'm no billionaire with stock options to borrow against, so I leverage my good credit rating for short term borrowing, backstopped by my 401k. The wife, kids and I probably have 12+ credit cards in rotation with limits between $8k and 25k so more than enough for a year's cashflow, although I'm really only using 4 at any time. Lastly, I make several domestic vacations a year, at least 4 weeks total, with a combination of hotel/travel points from those daily use credit cards... sure I have to supplement those points with cash, but I save at least 50% of the upfront cost by using cc tied to vacation points.
Full disclosure, I'm no financial genius, so I'm actively looking for better options to "get rich slow" and get off the hamster wheel before it kills me, but don't assume what I'm doing will work for you. And if any of you other Redditors out there have some advice, post it so u/fastballcdm2019 and I can both lean something new!
ffrock307@reddit
That sounds exhausting but if it works for you, good deal. I hate owing money. Been debt free since I was 40. I’m sure my net worth would be higher if I invested more instead of paying off our house early but it suits me.
AngelHeart-@reddit
F57; single.
I make $65,000 a year.
I have debt; $12K on a credit card and $23,000 remaining on a $50K car loan.
I’m paying for major dental work that never ends. For now it’s $300 a month.
I used to pay my credit card in full every month if I used it but haven’t been able to do that in a long time.
No; I don’t travel. Haven’t been anywhere in years.
I went to school a few years ago which is where the credit card debt came from.
I started home improvement that I can’t continue. At least I don’t have a mortgage.
One day things will be better; hopefully sooner than later.
mydogisalab@reddit
We've paid our 30 year mortgage down by half in 10 years, one car payment, & around $3k in credit card debt. My wife's student loans are in deferment while she's in school. When she's finished she have a ton, but the plan is to live on our current income level & through any extra income at her student debt. We do several small long weekends a year & a 'legit' vacay every other year or so.
sleepy_unicorn40@reddit
We pay off the credit card every month and have a 3 month emergency fund. We get enough miles to travel once a year. We still have a mortgage too. We also invest a decent amount and I contribute 15% of household income into my retirement fund.
meeme1234@reddit
I was 43,000 in debt. I started paying every 2 weeks. I got transfer balance offers and kept paying them. I now have 10,000 bc of spouse being not responsible with money. It helped alot.
SemperFudge123@reddit
My wife and I own our home outright and pay off our credit card each month. Only debt we have is a payment for a roof replacement we did last summer (they offered 0% interest for 2 years so we went that route instead of taking money out of our savings all at once) and I owe about $2000 on a vehicle. We usually pay cash for our vehicles but when I bought a new Jeep in 2022 my credit union was offering 0.8% interest new car loans which was actually lower than they were paying out on their money market accounts, where I would have taken the money to buy the Jeep. Seemed like a no brainer.
Competitive-Cod4123@reddit
As far as the credit card debt see if you can move the highest ones over to a 0% interest, free credit card and see if you can get that paid off as much as you can in the next year. And then stop using credit cards. If you have good credit, you should be able to get approved for a 0% interest credit card and then stop using them after this is finally paid off.
MrSniffles_AnnaMae@reddit
I have outstanding credit and have been unable to secure a 0% interest cc. Please share who is extending 0% interest !!!
Perfect_Peach@reddit
Check nerdwallet.com, they post all the best credit card offers every month
Complete_Coffee6170@reddit
I just secured a Capital One Quicksilver - I have about 2,000.00 in debt and I want to touch my HYSA - 0% interest for 15 months - 3% fee to make the balance transfer.
JayVincent6000@reddit
\^\^\^ This is the way!\^\^\^ Move your largest credit card debt to new credit cards with 0% interest** for 12-18months with 3-5% down, then take that time to catch up on your debt. (** Assumes you have a credit score high enough to qualify)
nothathappened@reddit
We have our house, less than $5k on a credit card, we lease a car, and a little student loan debt left. Not a bad position to be in though. It’ll all be done in three years, that’s the plan anyway.
ImmySnommis@reddit
I pay my cc off every two weeks. Less than $40k left on my mortgage. That's it. Not zero but close.
bb9116@reddit
No debt, but not much in the way of assets.
bobj33@reddit
I paid off the mortgage and always pay my credit cards off at the end of the month.
Junior_B@reddit
None, thankfully.
Ok_Ad3036@reddit
I have about $15k left on the mortgage. It will be done this year.
LunaZelda0714@reddit
A mortgage and a student loan that is almost done but that's it, thankfully.
snarkmeister99@reddit
We have $340k in mortgage but our interest is under 3% and it’s fixed rate and has about 20 years left on it. 14k for a car loan, and 30k for solar. We do pay for most things with credit cards that we pay off every month to get the points. We have a bunch of cash in savings and investments, and could easily pay off the solar and car loan, but this gives us the option to do home improvements and travel and such. We bring in ~400k per year (gross, not take-home).
Minimum_Payment_3078@reddit
We have no credit cards . Mortgage is 1100 a month . Owe 100,000. No other debt and make 125,000 from the both of us.
ItsCatCat@reddit
Mortgage is the only debt. Once you get your cc paid off, stop charging. That’s the quickest way to get underwater fast.
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
We use the cc’s for points and travel but I wasn’t careful enough. Def need to pay off the cc’s. Ty
Temporary_View_3303@reddit
If you can, charge everything. Pay it off every month & travel on the points.
ItsCatCat@reddit
Yes, of course. But given OP’s current situation, let’s start with baby steps.
L_wanderlust@reddit
This is the way if you’re responsible enough and have enough restraint to only charge what you can pay off each month
Ok-Conversation-7292@reddit
This! There's no rewards for using cash.
L_wanderlust@reddit
Why do people always want to compare financial success (or lack thereof) in these generational subs?
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
I just asked in here cuz i know the people on this Reddit are the same age as me. If i asked on Instagram i’d get a bunch of friggin 20 year old influencers telling me “no debt here! I’m going to the Caribbean next week!!!” STFU
Krazy_Kat_Lady_2025@reddit
To see how they can improve or see how others handle same-time-of-life choices and trials?
L_wanderlust@reddit
But they didn’t ask for advice or recommendations
AnteaterGlittering96@reddit
Because we’re all looking for confirmation that our decisions aren’t bad, they’re justified. If you read the personal finance subs you’ll think unless you live the Dave Ramsey way then you’re failing at life. It’s a natural human instinct to seek validation.
L_wanderlust@reddit
But I guess that’s the point - just because someone is doing the same thing or in the same financial situation doesn’t mean it isn’t “wrong/bad”. I guess it’d make more sense to me if it was - here is my financial situation. Anyone else better off and if so, how are you paying all these bills plus traveling - so you only cook at home and not eat out, do you only shop at thrift stores, do you invest in the market, etc. just asking if anyone else is in debt is like confirmation bias because those struggling will be like - me too and have no helpful advice and those not struggling don’t want to pile on and be like “nope, doing well here here bud!” So they stay silent and don’t offer advice as none was aought
AnteaterGlittering96@reddit
The OP is just looking for others to commiserate with. Like, "I'm debt, you are too, lots of us are, the system is rigged against us, so why not just enjoy life and accept it?"
RedQueenWhiteQueen@reddit
In any sub, even financial ones, I think it's weird. There are numerous consumer and government surveys that present this data much more reliably than casting a net on reddit. I like the ones based of the triennial Survey of Consumer Finances.
It makes a little more sense when there is another question attached, like "How much does the debt bother you?" or "What are you giving up to get out of debt" or something that might lead to constructive action.
GWBrooks@reddit
In shocking news, humans prefer human stories to stats.
L_wanderlust@reddit
Exactly - if it’s looking for advice on how to better your situation then I get it. If it’s just like - who is better or worse off than me, that’s odd
sweeteatoatler@reddit
I have found that our generation has some gaps in financial literacy. My parents were very open about finances and savings but I have many friends who were never taught how to budget. Now that we’re approaching retirement, it can be educational to see where and what other people are doing.
L_wanderlust@reddit
Yes educational id you find out the why and how behind it but not just “who else has money or not”. That just seems like comparing for the sake of feeling good or bad and not actually learning anything to help one’s financial situation.
sev45day@reddit
To see where they stand among their peers?
L_wanderlust@reddit
Yeah but why? If you’re poor you know it. If you’re rich, you also know it. Is it people in the gray area that want to see if they’re trending up or down? Seems like it would either make you feel like shit reading how great others are doing or feel great realizing you’re not as poor as your peers. Either way it’s strange because it’s never asking for advice like how to invest to make money it’s just - how many people can afford their lifestyle and pay their bills each month with some leftover.
Comparison is the thief of joy, people
PlantMystic@reddit
Yes. Student loans.
SignificantTear7529@reddit
I live my life like I'm 35. Kids just now off the payroll. Looking to increase my earnings. But I've lived and I don't plan to stop because I'm 55. It will work out. It always has.. The best part of this age is no more pretending, no more contorting and no fear of failure..I find it glorious. You can't take it with you.
Severe_Feedback_2590@reddit
Completely debt free
WasabiChickpea@reddit
100k in student loans
SouthOrlandoFather@reddit
What year did you attend school?
WasabiChickpea@reddit
In the 2000s. Half is mine and half is what I've had to take out more recently for my son. I'll probably have to take out more for my youngest in a year or so.
SouthOrlandoFather@reddit
Oh ok. I see.
EggSpecial5748@reddit
Why do you have $20k in cc debt if you make $150k?
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
We didn’t always make that much. My wife got her job within the past few years. And we live in Massachusetts.
highknees69@reddit
Only a mortgage at this point. It’s at 2.375% and refinanced during Covid to a 15 year. Not paying it down early.
Generally people fall into the “I make X, so I can afford Y” trap. Been there, done that and now we’re the opposite.
Subject-Stuff-2829@reddit
I have all the debt.
fastballcdm2019@reddit (OP)
Me too!
EverythingScrolling@reddit
Glad it's not just me.
jaxbravesfan@reddit
We have about $130k left in debt between the mortgage, one car payment, and a credit card used for a medical emergency. $100k of that is the mortgage. It’s the other $30k that drives me nuts.
DrSassyPants123@reddit
Thankfully no.!! I am squirreling my money all towards retirement.
The_Machine80@reddit
Just the current house im in which i only owe about 30% of what its worth. No other debt and owe a duplex outright.
Economy_Care1322@reddit
Nope.
Just2Breathe@reddit
Mortgage will happily be paid off a bit before retirement, pay off cc monthly, bought last vehicle for cash. We don’t live lavishly, and are careful with money, live in medium-low cost of living area (though in this economy everything seems up). We budget two vacations a year, roadtrips. I hate paying interest.
Needmoreinfo100@reddit
I think was 59 when we finally paid off our mortgage but even before that we didn't have any other debt. We use credit cards for convenience but pay them off monthly. We buy used but good cars and drive them for 10-15 years. We've never had high incomes and live in a fairly HCOL area but we know how to do things for ourselves so don't pay for too much in services or repairs (other than cars).
MartyFunkhoosier@reddit
Mortgage on a modest house. No student loans anymore. I make $108k and my wife is disabled, does not work and does not receive any benefits of any kind from federal or state. No credit card debt. Can’t really travel with her disability so we don’t do much but she spends money like it’s going out of style, so I’ll never be able to retire and will have to die at work.
AssistTurbulent1678@reddit
Are you my brother in law??
UrCreepyUncle@reddit
About $8000 in cc debt... Mainly from dental work and vet bills. About to add about $2k more tomorrow for more dental work. We're scraping by making about $160k
Loose-Scientist-2916@reddit
Mortgage at around 3%, but otherwise no debt. single professional in a VHCOL city. I think I have a little less than 15 years left on the mortgage. refied during 2020. I could make extra payments/ pay it off more quickly, but right now literally I earn more getting the money into investments rather than dumping it into my mortgage.
blooobolt@reddit
I owe about 900 grand between a mortgage, student loans, credit cards, and a personal loan. And now my cat has cancer so YAY.
mlachick@reddit
Yikes!
mlachick@reddit
I have a reasonable mortgage, but that's it. I use credit cards, but I always pay the balance every month. Credit card debt sucks.
skateboardnaked@reddit
Only debt is the house. I went on a mission at the start of 2025 to have the 132k balance paid off before 2027. Been living frugal and working as much overtime as possible. Got it down to 32k!
LIslander_4_evr@reddit
Would a "no" be believable??
MassConsumer1984@reddit
Nope
MomtoWesterner@reddit
I am 100% debt free including paid off house. I do not buy anything I can't pay for. Drive cars till they die and do great car maintenace so they last >200k miles (Hondas). I have always lived frugally and put max contributions in 401K with healthy savings. My vacations are to my sisters' homes. Getting all the grand kids together and enjoying the pool of one the sister's.
IronGlum9561@reddit
I stopped driving my 2021 f150 and am driving a 2005.honday civic with 200k plus miles. I absolutely love driving it. Nothing wrong with it. Also, save a shit ton on gas.
Bug_Calm@reddit
I have 13K remaining on my law school loans. That's it.
mustbethedragon@reddit
Credit card Two car payments until my kid gets on her feet Student loan payments that I'll be paying until I die
Unless something radical changes, I'll never dig out.
Lady_Midnight4097@reddit
I feel you.
JenNtonic@reddit
Mortgage is paid off. Then car decided to breakdown, so car loan, 30k😉
IronGlum9561@reddit
No. Paid off all debt in 2017. Two kids and three degrees with no debt. I worked two jobs for 13 years to do it. Done working in three years at age sixty.
Old_Instrument_Guy@reddit
60 here, just sneaking in as Gen X.
We have a mortgage (170K) and a car payment. Everything else is cash in hand. The wife and I make good money. We started over 10 years ago and in track to be retired in 10 years,
FishNinja7498@reddit
No
DonaldKey@reddit
Zero
mmaygreen@reddit
Just a mortgage and HELOC. No car or cc payments.
AnniemaeHRI@reddit
Debt free at 59 and 62, downsized to a smaller home on acreage in a LCOL area close to one of our kids. About $2M in assets/investments and still contributing. Husband left a mid six figure job for 1/2 the pay but we’ll have more time to visit w grandkids and kids, also drastically cut our spending. Husband has worked hard on saving and investing so he can retire when he wants to.
PennieTheFold@reddit
Just a tick below 100k left on the mortgage at 2.6%. Zero credit card or other debt. Cars are older and long paid for but we’re going to have to replace my daily driver in the next year or so. We have about $25k put aside for that, we have additional cash savings of about $175k, and healthy retirement accounts as of today’s markets, haha. We haven’t lived frugally but we’ve lived below our means for 25 or more years now, and we never had kids so that’s a BIG advantage to our bottom line.
Though, living below our means has crept uncomfortably close to merely living within our means in recent years. Fingers crossed that we can work as long as we’re planning to, and no major medical expenses or limitations. I just had a breast cancer scare (all good) but am now considered at a 40% lifetime risk to develop it, so we’ll see what the future brings on that front.
We’re in good shape and have made good choices but I certainly am not smug about that, because it can get yanked out from under you damn fast. That part keeps me up at night, rather than feeling secure and confident.
Next-Drummer-9280@reddit
56, single, renter. CC balance is less than $1.5k (and frankly, the majority of it was payment for my recent move, so it'll be paid off shortly). No car loan. No other debt.
Trahst_no1@reddit
Car note that’s it.
kitschywoman@reddit
Completely debt free and own my own home. I do use a credit card, but it gets paid off every month.
OzarksExplorer@reddit
Y'all should try living within your means lol.
Almost twice the median household and y'all feel squeezed? yeesh
Antique-Salad-9249@reddit
That’s compassionate. They might live in an expensive city or have other stuff going on, for all you know.
Serious_Ad4542@reddit
55 single. Only the mortgage…$150k…done in 9 years. However, the house is either a tear down or complete gut. Retirement accounts are sufficient if I can keep my job for another 5-8 years (increasingly unlikely).
Zardoz__@reddit
Just the mortgage and 4 points away from 850
Lakers1moretime2021@reddit
Damn congrats!!
Lakers1moretime2021@reddit
I have a mortgage that’s debt, everything else is paid for 🎉🎉🎉
Fuzzteam7@reddit
I don’t have any debt but I do have a strict budget
Educational-Dirt4059@reddit
Other than a mortgage, no debt. We don’t buy a lot of stuff beyond needs not wants.
Past-Butterscotch-68@reddit
It’s tough to get out of that debt. We started the snowball about 2 years ago and now have 2 of our 3 vehicles paid off, less than $1k cc debt, and owe less than half of our homes worth. We just bought our 3rd car because our daughter is in a power wheelchair so we have to have someway to get her around.
When we started the snowball we had to rewire our spending habits. We would buy useless crap that we didn’t really need. My wife and I decided that we wanted to live our golden years without worrying so much about what financial burdens we have so we paid them off early.
You are fortunate that you don’t have a mortgage, but the $100k HELOC is quite a bit. Just do your best to pay more than the minimum payment and you’ll get there!
GravityTracker@reddit
I owe a about 2k on a vehicle and about 160k on.my house. we're doing bi weekly house payments that will allow us to pay it off around 10 years early.
If I wanted, I could pay off both but the interest isn't that bad. I'm lucky.
Loose-Psychology-962@reddit
None. No assets either, so it balances it out.
Shorty-71@reddit
Just house debt. Saved hard since I was 22. Still not enough to retire with current standard of living.. but getting closer.
ThisIsACompanyCar@reddit
Mortgage
Vehicle loan
Student loans for life
Small home improvement loan
Longjumping-Soil-644@reddit
Ton of debt. Not insurmountable, but I'd rather I didn't.
EverythingScrolling@reddit
Same.
Provocating@reddit
Paid off everything 10 years ago, max out my 401k every year for a while now.
NYC-WhWmn-ov50@reddit
Was doung well yntil the first Stock Market crash in the early 2000's whiped out my investment accounts, modeat as they were. Now have about $100k in medical expenses that had to go in credit cards so they didnt go to collections. That includes other cc debt too, but mostly because I'm constantly using Peter to pay Paul.
Almost nothing in IRAs or 401ks and what pension I had was cashed in during the Great Recession. Was starting to make headway on the bulk of it and then got laid off in 2023, after managing to survive covid, was unemployed for about 6 months and landed what I thought was a good iob, but it lasted 9 months and then I was unemployed another 6 months (and it turned out they 'forgot' to pay certain taxes so I got KILLED on my 2025 filing).
I barely have any regular savings left and have been considering cashing in what I have left in retirement savings since (1) I wont possibly have enough to retire more than a year or rwo anyway and (2) have health issues that likely mean I wont make it to 65, much less older if they raise the required age.
but it would probably be enough to lighten the heavy load of the debt and interesst constantly accruing.
I havent been able to think hard enough in it yet. Keep hoping some other miracle shows up, but with my luck? it would be in the form of a speeding bus...
EverythingScrolling@reddit
I'm sorry. In my mind, there's a big difference between people who get into debt for material items they can't afford and people like you who are just trying to live their life and have a bunch of shitty things happen that can't be helped.
GinX-@reddit
I owe 20k for my house. Otherwise, I don't do credit.
IDunnoReallyIDont@reddit
I’ve learned (since early 20’s) that credit card debt is the worst form of debt. Interest is insane and you’re losing more money every single month. It was a hard but valuable lesson.
From that lesson forward I have never carried a balance. I always pay off my card every month. They will not get a penny of interest out of me ever again.
I don’t spend what I don’t have. I have 120k in a HYSA too for emergencies.
House has 100k left to pay off. Interest is low enough (2.75) and most already paid by this point, so no incentive to pay off early.
I’m lucky to have a well paying job.
IDunnoReallyIDont@reddit
I’ve also invested into my 401k since my mid-twenties so I’ve got 1mil+ in mine. Husband has similar.
Relative-Peace-9569@reddit
100K on mortgage. Use CC for everything to gain the 5% cash back but pay off before the statement posts each month. We have around 900K saved in 401K and other investments and 50K in HYSA.
Livid-Technology-396@reddit
Debt free for now. The bottom could fall out from under me tomorrow, so I’m not bragging here. I’m very guarded about my finances. I track my investments very closely. My wife makes fun of me because I track the investment trends on paper in a graph book labeled “Beans and Taters Log.”
User_Name_Taken_3@reddit
$50k left on mortgage. no cc or other debt. we only make about $135k total and not enough savings to retire as I didn't work until 2013 (was a sahm).
SmokinHotNot@reddit
Nothing really outside my mortgage and I could pay that off if I had to.
OwnScar3202@reddit
No cc debt. Five years and my house is paid off. Small loan a truck. But it’s my last vehicle until I retire. I have about 10 years to go. We usually go for hikes around the area on the weekends.
Rude-Fortune6583@reddit
$455k in total debt, house, 2 cars, cc and med bills. I make $150k, wife makes about $60k. We have some struggles as well. Time was we’d be loaded but not in today’s world.
MistyMtn421@reddit
Besides my house (paid off in 3 more years, still owe 12k) nope! Haven't had a credit card since '06 or a car payment!
Dear_Treat2592@reddit
Just my mortgage which is close to $300k (starting over after a divorce). I’m hoping to pay it off within about 5 years.
Lighteningbug1971@reddit
55,000 still owed on house, car loan should be paid next year, only 1 credit card, try to keep it paid down, but no savings , and only one of us works . Uugghh . Just get by
Grand_Taste_8737@reddit
No debt other than credit card which I pay in full each month.
1questions@reddit
If you pay in full each month that doesn’t count. I wouldn’t call that debt.
Grand_Taste_8737@reddit
Well, it's technically debt until it's paid.
1questions@reddit
Some of you are exhausting. Get a hobby. If you pay off your credit cards in full every month no reasonable person would consider that debt.
ArcticPangolin3@reddit
Agree, but the credit reporting agencies count your current balance before it gets paid so it's technically debt - just very short term.
1questions@reddit
Your current balance is considered versus your credit limit if we really want to be pedantic about it.
CarrionWaywardOne@reddit
40k in student loans and 79k left of our mortgage. We avoid credit debt like the plague.
0fcknzs0@reddit
Oh about $3k on cc and no mortgage. I'd say I'm doing purty good.
Horror_Ad3292@reddit
$95k on home, that’s it, and saving fast to pay off.
sekuhn@reddit
Just a mortgage, but with 80% equity and low enough rate that it doesn’t make sense to pay off.
CaffinatedManatee@reddit
Serious question: how can i do this math for my mortgage? I had always assumed paying it off made sense but we're at 80% equity too so now I'm curious
oldirishfart@reddit
Hmm, about $700K debt and a car lease. Also unemployed / early retired 😂
Bchbnd@reddit
Yes
Trolldad_IRL@reddit
Nope. Paid off the mortgage many years ago and only buy cars for cash. We keep a zero balance on credit cards, but do use them for the convenience.
Z-man1973@reddit
About 140k on home loan, about 2k on the car I bought late last year. Cards paid off often, will never carry cc debt again if I can help it
secderpsi@reddit
Just the mortgages (primary and rental). I've never owned a CC and have only gotten a loan outside of the mortgages once. Okay, that's not true, I had debt from college for about 10 years. I hate debt. I've paid cash for all my vehicles. If you don't have the money, keep saving.
OliveBadger1037@reddit
We own our house and cars, no credit cards, no student loans. We do have one kid in college though, and we want to help him as much as we can because our parents didn’t do shit for us.
TXtogo@reddit
We have like 145k total debt with cars and the mortgage.
We don’t give a fk about it.
Certain_Luck_8266@reddit
No debt other than monthly cc payoffs. Own house, cars, investments. First of 3 going to college this fall, we'll see how long that lasts
TakitishHoser@reddit
I live cheap. I don't have any debt. I don't even have a car payment.
I keep my cc limit low and pay it off every month.
I have never trusted the "system".
For context, I'm single, no children & rent. I make a decent salary, but I'm very careful about expenses. I've had the carpet pulled out from under me before, I don't want it happening again.
MoneyBee74@reddit
I wish some of this hackers would just erase peoples debt!
moccasinsfan@reddit
I was debt free since 2021 but had to unexpectedly get a new car in January.
I financed it for 6 years will will pay it off in about 3 years.
starksfergie@reddit
Mortgage still (it should be paid off by the time I reach SS age), no cc debt (and haven't had any since 2011, when we were preparing to leave the US for the first time), no HELOC either, when I work, I make about 2 1/2 times what my husband makes (not currently working). I also received a little bit from my most recent job's 401k and have been existing comfortably since that job ended last October. In the middle of interviewing now, but sort of putting it on the back burner as we leave for vacation in a few weeks, so plan is to be back to work later this summer (though, truly if it takes the rest of 2026, it won't impact us that much).
If push came to shove, I could cash out my big 401k and pay off the condo, but hopefully it will not come to that.... getting our debt under control in 2011 was life changing and yeah, I pay off our cc not just every month but usually within a day or two of making the payment. We do travel but usually international is down to just once a year but if we travel domestically, it is not usually for a vacation (and even a coastal rental property we rent allows us to work from there too) and visiting family is just that (not a holiday by any stretch of the imagination)
REDDITSHITLORD@reddit
I rent and drive shitbox cars. I have a real knack for picking winners.
ProperBar4339@reddit
We owe just over $200K between our mortgage and heloc, and that’s it. House if worth around $600-650K
Low-Rooster4171@reddit
Fortunately, my house is paid for. I still owe a little on my car, but my credit card debt is down to maybe a few hundred dollars. We don't have much in the way of savings, but my husband draws a decent pension and I'm a freelancer. I'd say we're okay, though a savings would obviously be nice.
thatguyTimatgmxcom@reddit
I have about 40k left on my mortgage and a inexpensive but new car. All credit cards are paid off each month; learned that lesson the hard way. No, I do not travel or do luxury type stuff. I do, however, buy anything I want. Funny thing is that at this point in my life, I mostly have all I want so it is ok . Spent most of my life with absolutely nothing due to kids and other life stuff.
Electronic_Agent_251@reddit
No mortgage, pay off credit card every month. Recently bought a half ton truck only to realize we needed another truck (I needed to take farm animal to vet and he needed truck for work) so now I I have two truck payments.
tranquilrage73@reddit
We have a mortgage and student loans. No other debt.
We pay off CCs every month and use our savings to travel.
Mind you, we live well below our means. Our house was 200,000 less than we could "afford," we have one car and one motorcycle that are paid off, our furniture is mostly hand me downs, and our 50s house still has the weird old tile? Wood paneling, and (GASP) carpet. We just don't care, as long as we can travel.
Strange-Marzipan9641@reddit
No debt, mortgage paid off in 2020, 2 (well 5 if you count our young adult kids') paid off cars.
We use CC for points earning, and pay them off each month. We do travel, once a year to Europe, two summer weeks at a timeshare, and I take a girl's trip each Oct and Mar.
My husband makes a very nice living- but we still have health issues, (especially now that our bodies are aging) his parents are energy vampires who are elderly, set in their ways and awful people, my parents are both ill, our child fought addiction as a teen, we lost a child very young.
All this to say, money doesn't buy happiness- just comfort.
simplykewl69@reddit
$100K on a SBA loan. (Failed business). $60K in credit cards. About $300K left on the mortgage. Also took on a student loan for my kid. $80K. We make about $325K/year. Will get this taken care of , before 65.
NegScenePts@reddit
No mortgage anymore, 7-ish left on a LOC that was used for a new roof, and just sub-9 CC debt. I'm retired and my wife still works. We're doin' alright :).
Ok-Entertainment5045@reddit
Mortgage for a few more years and a camper payment that the wife had to have. It’s fun but not something I would have gotten a loan for.
overindulgent@reddit
Campers are fun but they depreciate like crazy. Used is the way to go when buying. Or find that “New” “3 year old” never been off the lot unit that they’re desperate to sell.
Ok-Entertainment5045@reddit
Yeah I understand but happy wife happy life. She didn’t want to sleep in something someone else used before. I pick my battles
tc_cad@reddit
No. I got a small inheritance that was able to cover all my debt. I’m thankful for the money. I can’t believe how even 6 digits money can be truly life changing.
AmharachEadgyth@reddit
Me and myself are completely debt free. We pay off our credit cards every month in full. In all fairness, we do not travel. We’ve been together over 20 years and I’ve only flew in a plane together twice and taken two road trips that took us more than a few hours away from home otherwise it’s local beach vacations sometimes. At this point, we are actually saving to build a forever home that we can AJ so we’re squirreling away money to take care of that.
mmrocker13@reddit
I have a mortgage. That is the only debt I've ever actually had, save for the one time I bought used car and did payments. Had a 0%, 36 month loan. That was the car I still have. It's a 2012 4 Runner, and I have had it for 12 years. If it weren't going to completely disintegrate bc of rust at some point, I'd plan on keeping it until I no longer could drive, TBH.
Did not have student loans, pay of CC every month. When I was married, we paid cash for all big ticket things (roof, driveway, big home projects)... now that I am divorced and broke...if/when I have those things, I'll have to decide how to pay, but it depends on interest rate, etc.
Stonerkittylady420@reddit
Nope, we paid off our house 5 years ago. We own our cars so no payment. And credit cards get paid off monthly.
ststaro@reddit
O for the last 20yrs. Yes I travel. You’re 150 combined is more than I made until this past year. Wife stays home to tend to kids.
MaybeLost_MaybeFound@reddit
Only a mortgage - well, two of them because we just bought so we’re going to sell the first one. No other debts.
Spindrift850@reddit
No debt. Dont own anything except my car. Maybe I’ll buy a home if I ever figure out where I want to live for a very long time. Otherwise I save and invest as much as I can.
Rich_Group_8997@reddit
No. Debt stresses me out. I use my cc for just about everything then pay it off every month, regardless of the balance (I budget for most cc expenditures). No mortgage, everything else gets paid off and my second paycheck gets banked and invested.
Special_Cranberry679@reddit
Yes, two mortgages and about $7k in CC debt at 0% until Nov. I try to balance paying off debt and contributing to my Roth.
ExtraAd7611@reddit
Mortgages on our home and rental properties. I have a lot of credit cards but I don't carry balances. My wife has a small balance left on her auto loan. My son and I share a car that was paid off many years ago. I don't ever plan to replace it.
Jolly_Werewolf_7356@reddit
I’m normal. I have no debt.
Attjack@reddit
Just what I owe on my house. Zero debt otherwise.
peaceful_pressence@reddit
Just a mortgage right now. Car is paid off. Motorcycles paid off. We do go on vacation here and there but try and stick to less flying travels.
No student loans which is nice. But I have my grandparents to thank for that, and honestly a lot of help where my parents failed. So it wasn't without help. But I also will be losing my job in October, so yeah ... things could be worse, but they could also be better.
AurorasCastle630@reddit
Single, no mortgage, about 8K in cc debt (mostly from Euro travel) and grad school loans.
Mattyj273@reddit
Sure do. It's been a struggle with my wife raising the kids at home. I got a raise before the decision but inflation has taken me to the woodshed.
hacksaw2174@reddit
Our debt is house-related: 28k HELOC from remodeling and 85k mortgage. We tend to pay off our CC monthly.
whiskeygirl@reddit
We both have zero debt. Our house is paid off as are our vehicles. I have three rental properties that were owned by me before marriage.
I purchase everything with credit card and pay off before the end of the month. Love that 6% cash back!
onions-make-me-cry@reddit
What card is giving you 6% for every day purchases? Love that.
whiskeygirl@reddit
Citibank gives me 3% on purchases and an additional 3% when the purchases are paid. Considering that I never carry a balance, the 6% is a pretty nice return.
Special_Cranberry679@reddit
Double cash card, I believe.
onions-make-me-cry@reddit
That's crazy! I wasn't aware they had a card like that.
Character-Twist-1409@reddit
I also wanna know
Jeepin_4_Life@reddit
We have a mortgage. I have a student loan. I did get a wild hair up my butt and bought a new Jeep, so now I have that. With our expenses low, my husband was able to retire last year (he gets a military pension). We were making combined $250K and last year we both left our jobs (fed gov) and I took a position with a local municipality - which cut our income by half! If it weren’t for living below our means and budgeting, we couldn’t have made a move to a much less stressful lifestyle.
If you are feeling the struggle, I would say start a budget and track where your money is going. We did this when we noticed we were spending $1400 a month on DoorDash!
GumbybyGum@reddit
I have a mortgage. No cc debt. I pay it off monthly. I pay myself first every month and have a lot of savings - about 2 years worth of salary. I travel a lot. I definitely live frugally - car is 17 yrs old. Condo is tiny and not updated. Also single so living on one salary from teaching.
joshua_addison_music@reddit
No cc debt
Mountain_Exchange768@reddit
Too much debt. To be fair, half of it is mine alone and the other half is because I’m a nice idiot who has allowed her family to take advantage.
My goal is to pay everything but my mortgage off in 8 years. And no more ‘helping’.
Opposite-Lake-9679@reddit
I don't have any debt except for a rental property which my ex is in the process of buying me out of. Then I will have zero debt. Yes I pay off my CC's every month, they are on automatic payments so I don't even think about it. I also travel without really thinking about it and buy what I want without really thinking about it unless it's a big ticket item. I did downsize to a fully paid condo so my housing overhead is very low. I also go out socializing and sometimes other people pick up my bill and sometimes I pick up the bill. I don't eat out a lot because I like incredibly healthy food so that saves some money. If you have such low overhead I'm surprised given your income level that you are still struggling. Might be time to look at that budget. 🤓
doveinabottle@reddit
Mortgage. No other debt.
ReadingCat88@reddit
Ditto
jwezorek@reddit
same
StriperHerring@reddit
Same same
95Counties@reddit
No debt at all
Will_Munny_7@reddit
I have 6700 in CC debt. No mortgage or car payment. I paid for my house with the CCs
Trying very hard to clear out this final debt but I'm on SSI and dirt poor
quasifun@reddit
Zero debt of any kind.
1questions@reddit
Just student loan and that’s it.
Amazing_Weird3597@reddit
I am still paying off my undergrad and as a result, I have no house or children. The boat is the same for most of us unless there was a trust fund or all expenses paid through college.
No_Profile_3343@reddit
To me having a HELOC is the same thing as a mortgage. You OWE that if you sell the house as it’s a loan against the equity.
Ok-Entertainment5045@reddit
Only if you’ve borrowed against it if I’m not mistaken.
yangstyle@reddit
No .. HELOC is always against the equity.
highknees69@reddit
Only a mortgage at this point. It’s at 2.375% and refinanced during Covid to a 15 year. Not paying it down early.
We went all in on a budget app 10 years ago and it changed things for us.
CleverJerzGirl@reddit
We also refinanced to a 15 year during COVID! Those were the days!
yangstyle@reddit
So did we. 2% on a 15 year.
eltrombones@reddit
60k left in our mortgage that we could write a check for if things got crazy. We pay the CC monthly (I do sales so it gets reimbursed) and my monthly tax bill to the govt. we took several years of being poor to pay it all off.
Temporary_Lab_3964@reddit
Yes
_Losing_Generation_@reddit
Mortgage only. I put all of my expenses on my Amex and pay it off in full every month
2ndChanceAtLife@reddit
This is the way!
yangstyle@reddit
That's what we do.
yangstyle@reddit
About $250k mortgage. $50k HELOC. $3K left on school loan. Lease the car.
Secret_Fun_1612@reddit
Mortgage and household bills but no credit card debt. Try to pay cash for everything.
OTF98121@reddit
Mortgage only, otherwise debt free.
majorttom@reddit
Just about $100k in mortgage. I think I could pay that off in about 3 years if I really tried.
CleverJerzGirl@reddit
Lease my car and have a mortgage (about 140K). Use a cc for points and pay it off every month.
We travel but we’re about 300K in income combined and don’t have kids.
Marathon2021@reddit
Primary mortgage, mortgage on rental property … that’s about it other than the monthly routine spending which we pay off every month.
ccannon707@reddit
That CC debt is at a really high interest rate - concentrate on paying that off asap.
harmlessgrey@reddit
Retired. Slow traveling full time, mostly in Europe.
I put everything on my cc and then pay it off each month.
No debt.
katneedle@reddit
No debt, house paid off credit cards paid monthly. CC debt will bury you forever, cut up all but one and use it for emergencies
Upstairs-Safety-5191@reddit
Correct if you can’t be trusted/trust yourself to pay a monthly credit card bill in full each month. Lots of cash back or travel benefit cards out there with no annual fees. And some with fees where you easily cover the fees and then some. Leaving free money out there, at least in the US. But again, only works if you stay diligent and responsible on paying your bill in full each month.
Spicercakes@reddit
Yeah, Abt 10k across 2 credit cards and a car payment. I was debt free for most of my 20s and 30s.
jessper17@reddit
Just my mortgage. I use my card for everything because points = “free” or cheap vacation and I pay my card off every time I get paid. I had a 5 year car loan that I paid off in November last year.
lanfear2020@reddit
Yes, I have high income but spend more than I should
inot72@reddit
I have $1700 left on my car. The interest rate is lower than my HYSA so it's on autopsy and I don't think about it.
I currently have $750 on a credit card thay will be paid this month
I have been in major credit card debt more than once in my adult life. It's a heavy weight that I don't want to carry again.
I don't use my credit card very often now. If I can't pay cash, I can't pay. I have a balance now due to an unexpected vet bill.
SameDimension1204@reddit
No mortgage on primary residence or CC debt. Just some business loan for wife’s business and investment property mortgage
ennuiandapathy@reddit
We have a mortgage.
Nine years ago, we started digging ourselves out of 30 years of debt. I grew up in poverty and my partner grew up in a very low income family and, when we had jobs with a steady income, we decided we were going to have and do the things we never had or got to do growing up. Then we realized we qualified for credit cards – and that was all she wrote. We spent the next three decades maxing out credit cards, transferring balances to 0% cards, paying off debt with tax returns only to run it all back up again within six months. When we finally made the decision to educate ourselves and get out of debt for real, we owed $30,000 on credit cards and another $20,000 in loans. The relief we felt when we paid off the last balance was incredible.
Ruenin@reddit
I can't wait. I'm at $15k and that's bad enough.
Conscious_Bus9956@reddit
Dude, cut up your credit cards. You're crushing yourself.
Ruenin@reddit
Yes. School loans, a second car, credit cards, a mortgage, and a HELOC. It ain't pretty, but I've never missed a payment on any of it. Yet.
Bobloblaw_333@reddit
Way too much debt! I’m tempted to sell my stocks to pay all my credit card debt off! Then we can reset and start fresh even though it would suck not having those investments anymore.
2xEntendrex2@reddit
No. We’re both on the early side of GenX and from our early years maxed out 401Ks. No kids here made it much easier to save.
The_Man_in_Black_19@reddit
My CC debt ranges from $0.00 to 2,000.00. If it hits 2K, I'm unhappy and focus on slamming it down.
No mortgage (thanks to in-laws) and no car payments. Have 2 teenagers, so college will be fun.
Yummy_Castoreum@reddit
I had student loans, now thankfully paid off. I had longstanding credit card debt out the wazoo (mostly related to trying not to starve during the lean years along the way), which I'm about a year from paying off. I have a car loan that I'm paying off on schedule (I will accelerate the payments once the credit card is paid off). And I have a mortgage that I will literally never pay off, but which at least predictably locks in my housing expense.
I'm keeping my head above water, but finally with a tiny cushion. This is the best my financial situation has ever looked.
ThrowingAbundance@reddit
$8,000 student loan balance, $12,000 balance on my car. Payments total $510 per month. My net income is $3,300 per month, retired.
I cut up all of my credit cards years ago. This will be the last car I buy (Toyota), and I have become very frugal.
sfdsquid@reddit
I've never had a credit card or a car loan. With the exception of student loans, I made the mistake of thinking I shouldn't spend money I don't have. What was I thinking? That's not how it works in the United States.
macphile@reddit
I pay off my credit cards--the only exception is I bought something on an Apple card under their 0% for 12 months thing. So that's technically debt, but it's no interest, so it's kind of academic.
LayerNo3634@reddit
We've never made $150k annually and certainly have never had $20k in cc debt. Why?!?
We had paid off our mortgage, then "downsized" and now have a mortgage. Not smart, but we ended up buying a property 3x the value of the old house. We do have a car loan because we trade in every 3 years, but no cc debt. The car loan has become a bad habit.
Physical_Ad5135@reddit
We still have about $125k mortgage but the interest rate is 2.25%. And yes pay off CC monthly. I budget and tract my spending each month.
creepy-farter@reddit
We usually pay off credit cards each month.
If we need to finance something longer term we use a HELOC as the interest is tax deductible(for next few years at least) no primary mortgage as I paid it off with a severance payout after I was let go from a former employer.
Have one car Paid off the other is leased.
But comparison is the thief of joy.
Don’t compare yourself to our situation. We struggled to pay everything off and save and we sacrificed some early on. Not everybody would be happy living our life.
bzee77@reddit
I have debt, but it’s relatively manageable, meaning no we don’t travel or drive nice cars in order to avoid getting deeper in. My car is 19 years old and we go on a family vacation about once every 4-5 years.
largos7289@reddit
20k in cc debt and 100k in a line of credit for what? To me this is insane if you own the house outright. You driving in lambo's or something?
I have a mortgage, a car loan that's just about paid off and 4k in cc debt that drives me crazy at night. We do some inside USA travel, been wanting to do some Ireland and UK travel. I have three kids thou and evidently at 22 they still require money...
gertonwheels@reddit
The sleep I lost over cc debt when our kids were young and we were on 1 income!!! Was never more than $9K but it made me so stressed. Never again!
BraveG365@reddit
Isn't a HELOC technically a mortgage?
Sensitive-Rip-8005@reddit
No debt. I pay off my credit cards in full monthly. I’m able to take a few trip annual trips.
Myfanwy66@reddit
No. No debt. We pay off our credit cards every month so we can amass points for travel.
Potential_Stomach_10@reddit
About 40k left to pay on a HELOC and that's it
wilcojunkie@reddit
Most people do. Hard to live life without it these days unfortunately.
Temporary-Library597@reddit
Yes. We bought a small second home for one of our kids because the mortgage was less than rent. They'll get the house, anyway, someday, so why not start now.
And that's it. We use credit card and pay it off every month. Miles.
Luv2Dnc@reddit
No, I'm pretty debt-adverse. No mortgage or credit card debts; I took a car loan only because I was offered 0% interest so I invested the money I had on hand.
JSTootell@reddit
Just my car loan. Though I could actually pay it all off right now, but I'm making more money with the cash invested vs what I am paying in interest.
Luv2Dnc@reddit
That's what I did too. Had cash in hand, but invested it when I was offered a 0% loan.
notevenapro@reddit
I have debt. I have five credit cards with a combined available credit limit of $250,000
Think about that
BlacksmithThink9494@reddit
So much I want to go take a long walk in a forest.
SnooPeripherals6196@reddit
I’m upvoting your honestly and love of walks
BlacksmithThink9494@reddit
Thank you ❤️❤️
butterflieskittycats@reddit
5000 on my house (thereabouts). Nothing else. I am very frugal and certainly not rich.
Tree_killer_76@reddit
A HELOC is a mortgage.
Nutz4hotwheels@reddit
I owe $28K on my mortgage and $15K for my RV. That is the only debt
metallicaset@reddit
My wife and I have combined CC debt of $50k. Half of hers is for her insurance business. We owe about $300k on a 3% mortgage. And one auto loan with $12k left on it at 3.99%. We were paying down the CC debt but then I lost my job in November. I’ve had one zoom interview that led to a disappointing “we picked someone else email.” So, I may have to start door dashing or Uber driving for some cash.
Displaced_in_Space@reddit
I'm 61 and wife is 52.
We still have a small mortgate (\~$300k @2.5% with \~$1.6mm equity) that I'm riding until the wheels fall off.
No credit card debt/pay off each month for the points to travel.
We both like to travel a lot, and our spend is a bit high so a tad worried about the inevitable belt tightening that will have to happen when I retire in a couple years. Right now we literally don't really think about spending much and will have to be much more mindful about it then.
BucketOBits@reddit
That’s some sweet home equity with a wonderful mortgage rate!
Displaced_in_Space@reddit
Yea....silly SoCal.
And it's a home built in the 1950s too! Just nuts.
OtterMumzy@reddit
Only the mortgage (and it’s almost paid off).
fadedtimes@reddit
I don’t have any debt.
undeniably_micki@reddit
Only house debt.
WaterFrogSnail@reddit
I have credit card debt, about $8k remaining (down from $20k) because I got catastrophically sick in 2018 and it drained everything I had, put me out of work and on Cobra, and put me in debt. I am caregiver to my disabled brother so I was not able to save much prior to my illness as I was paying for his medical expenses. Student loan is paid off. I had ~25k in student loans, I paid 80% of that off while in graduate school as I only needed the loans for undergrad and the first year of grad school (worked 2 jobs while in grad school) then the remaining 5k over the past 7 years. No mortgage, no car, no other debt, but not earning enough to save and on a very tight budget.
MajorLingonberry6743@reddit
Only one car less than $8000 left, and paying that off a year early. Paid off mortgage 12 years early. Use credit cards for points but pay off way before they're due. 2 other cars paid off. I have two teen boys so car insurance is eating me alive! I take at least one vacation every year.
Silly-Dot-2322@reddit
Zero consumer debt and our home is paid off, but we're a little older 58, retired at 55.
Far from rich, but living the absolute dream.
TrainingLow9079@reddit
Just mortgage. We pay off our ccs every month. Someday soon we'll have to get another car loan but it's nice not having debt
boringlesbian@reddit
We were thiiiisss close to having everything paid off. Then, our main sewer line under our house collapsed. Apparently, you have to have a special sewer line add on to your home insurance in order for it to be covered. We did not.
$30,000.
BucketOBits@reddit
Oh no!
tungtingshrimp@reddit
OMG
pcbuilderboy55@reddit
We had quite a bit of debt coming into the 2000s, but we sacrificed & cut back on all nonessential niceties for about seven years and paid it all down, including two car loans, all cc and student loan debt, and our mortgage. Holy smokes what a game changer it is to have no debt.
AlmiranteCrujido@reddit
My wife and I have a mortgage, at about 20% loan to value; for around here, it's tiny. We send a little bit extra each month but I'm not sure we actually should: at 2.625% not one I'm in any rush to pay off - when we refinanced to it to another 30, the intent was to pay it off in 15, but then when interest rates went up it made more sense to send that $400/month to an investment account.
We are co-owners/coborrowers of the condo on my mother-in-law lives in, and pay the mortgage. It's a low but not crazy low 3.75%. She's very old, and we're not likely to keep the property after she passes or has to move to care, so it wasn't worth refinancing and it's not worth paying down.
My wife has a student loan with about 10 years left, having refinanced onto a fixed 30 year plan when rates were low. Mine got paid off years ago.
I run my whole life through credit cards - basically any bill that doesn't have a convenience charge and doesn't give us a discount for not using credit.
Typically have $2000-3000 waiting to be paid off, but never run a balance. I don't wait for the end of the month for that tiny fraction of a percent in float, I just pay off the full balance when each paycheck comes in.
Maleficent-Pear-4542@reddit
Small mortgage left one car payment and we travel several times a year. No credit card debt I buy everything on our credit cards but I pay it off every two weeks.
Stigger32@reddit
Just the car. Because I had to have it NOW!!🤣
space_wiener@reddit
No mortgage because I can’t afford a house but only bills are school loan and a moto which between the two is around 40k. That kind of sucks but oh well.
Ive been paying the school loans for 20 years and probably won’t pay off for another 20. What a deal.
mramseyISU@reddit
Mortgage still, a couple more years worth of car payments but that’s pretty much it. Going to be putting some money on a heloc sometime this year for siding and roof work on my 25 year old house.
Agile_Connection_666@reddit
No debt, grew up poor worked hard and lived below means.
mjs_jr@reddit
My husband and I have far too much debt. There was one year we went through $80K in cash just for medical bills that weren't covered by our late-stage capitalist hellscape called "insurance". Before that it was a lot of CC debt from years of just bad spending habits at one point, that were compounded after job losses and the health issues.
But we're in a place now that we're starting to knock it out completely and have a solid plan to be debt free except for the mortgage, a car, and some student loans.
I think part of it is coming from families who taught us nothing about money. But a lot of it was still an issue of discipline, or lack thereof. And getting used to a certain way of living that we financed with CCs for too long.
ThatLiberalGirl@reddit
I feel this. Our boomer parents prepared us minimally by telling us to “always keep good credit” but couldn’t be bothered to teach us how. So, after a rocky start in our early life, it’s better now by far, but no thanks to helpful guidance from parents.
paperbasket18@reddit
I got told “just live within your means” along with “money isn’t everything, if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.” (I ended up choosing a low-paying field and actually grew to hate it, so lose-lose there. I’m now doing something else with my life.)
IRingTwyce@reddit
2 houses paid off (just inherited one), no car payments, only owe about 2k on one credit card.
On the face of it I'm in a pretty good place. But with the house I also was gifted about $3500 in debt for an earlier AC repair. I haven't had a lucrative or steady job since getting laid off at the start of COVID. Both houses are currently without insurance, as am I. I've had to bleed my 401k down to barely 6 digits to stay afloat.
So, I'm not in a great place and I'm not in a horrible place. If I can find something that offers me insurance then it won't take a while lot extra to get me back in a good place financially.
Red-Pill1218@reddit
I have 8 more years on a 2.785% mortgage and that's it.
CantFeelMyLegs78@reddit
Just a mortgage. No car payments or CC debt. I pay of CC as soon as the charge shows up online just to collect the rewards. We travel a few times a year for 3 to 4 days at a time without the kids because they are ungrateful for what they have. We call them ungrates
ridbax@reddit
Just the tail end of a mortgage, will be done with that in a year.
Thin_Ad_9816@reddit
You migjt want to finance a mortgage as the interest rate would likely be better than your credit card rate. Pay of your credit card and work on paying off a lower interest home mortgage.
philemonslady@reddit
Paid off our mortgage in April, done paying tuition, all cars paid off - we (54 and 53) just need to juice up retirement with all our spare pennies now.
These-Analysis-6115@reddit
I have my mortgage. Pay off credit cards every month. I live on SSDI.
ZombieButch@reddit
About... $4000 worth altogether, which we'll have all cleared up in the next couple of months.
Ca1v1n_Canada@reddit
Zero debt of any kind. Live in a modest century home. Instead of upgrading to a larger house we just did updates to what we have. Been here 20+ years and would like to stay until I need to move into assisted living when I’m in my late 80’s. Built a small extension, added a ground floor powder room, etc. Our cars are a 10 year old Honda and a 7 year old Honda. Plan on driving both until they fall apart but thanks to regular maintenance that could be another 10 years. I don’t think we have enough saved for retirement. It’s not like we will be destitute but I was hoping to travel more and that seems unlikely. Assuming I don’t get replaced by AI was planning on working until I’m 65. Helping two kids through post-secondary so that they don’t get saddled with a student loan burden.
Sleep-Improvement613@reddit
young GenX married to millennial (dual income) with 2 young kids. We have no debt bc we pay off our cc every month ($4000-5000) and 3 EV cars paid in cash but we do have a mortgage of $500k left on a $1m house (now worth $2m - VHCOL). We’ll still travel once a year internationally and have smaller vacations every quarter. We own with Marriott vacation club (paid off) so for local trips, we don’t pay any extra.
tjmcfarling@reddit
Nope. Paid off house, cars, cc every month. We retired thank freaking god. Nothing I want is as good as sleeping in every morning.
Sitting_pipe@reddit
Fuck yea, hell yea!
General_Pea_3084@reddit
My only debt is my mortgage. Credit cards are paid off every month and I anticipate my mortgage being paid off at least 10 years early.
Continent3@reddit
Similar. But I’m not paying off the mortgage in ten years.
Standard-Cockroach64@reddit
Mortgage only
Absotivly_Posolutly@reddit
Married here, and we’ve got 9 years left on a 2.79% APR / 15yr mortgage, the balance of which is less than 25% of the current value of the home.
We have 2 nice cars that are 2 years old and owe less than 20k on each of them. Either one would sell for 30k as is.
That’s it. No other debt. We make about $175k/yr in a low cost of living area.
I make a good bit more than the wife, but we changed HOW we spend our money about 15 years ago.
We have 2 bank accounts. My payday goes in one, hers into the other. We are joint owners of each account and have full access to both.
The difference is WHAT they are used for.
All of our bills are setup on autopay and are paid from my paycheck. All the “fun stuff” comes from her payday. That way the bills are guaranteed to be paid and if fun money is available then we enjoy it.
xczechr@reddit
Pretty much just our mortgage.
MarcTraveller@reddit
Always lived below my means. Was fortunate to sell a business. Now no debt and a net worth of $10 million. This is the first time I’ve told anyone
Special_Cranberry679@reddit
I imagine it’s easier to tell strangers. We won’t spend it for you.
Not_High_Maintenance@reddit
I volunteer as tribute!
farter-kit@reddit
Went to grad school and graduated 10 years ago. Flipped a house and paid all debt off at that time. Debt free for 10 years now. Retiring in 5 mos.
Honeybee3674@reddit
Mortgage only.
I had scholarships and then just a small federally subsidized (low rates) school loan for college. The loan was paid off with easy payments in 10 years. My husband's parents paid for his school. So, we started off in a good spot, but we were also careful to choose mortgage we could afford, and pay cc balance each month.
We buy used cars, and while we did have car loans early on, when we were giving my ILs old car, we started putting payments into an account, so we had enough money to purchase the next vehicle outright.
We lived on my husband's income when our kids were young, and then I went back to full time work (I kept up skills with freelance part time work). So, we don't have full college savings for our 4 kids, but they have some money saved for them. They are going to CC first and then transferring to a 4 year local school, and living at home so they can start out adulthood debt free as well.
iykykuydk@reddit
Yep. Shit ton of debt, but living and traveling while I can. The way shit's going we'll either have a civil war, financial collapse, or if we somehow survive, UBI will kick in by the time I hit 67. Regardless, a wise rich man I know says "he who dies with the most debt wins."
Not_High_Maintenance@reddit
Burn it all to the ground on your way out! Lol. 😂
I_Like_Hikes@reddit
This
Not_High_Maintenance@reddit
Almost completely debt free, and it feels AMAZING!
The only debt we have is about 20k on our mortgage. I haven’t paid it off yet because our rate is 2%. We downsized into a small cottage.
We buy older, reliable cars with cash. We pay all expenses with a credit card which we pay off monthly.
We earned about 4K monthly from pensions.
Daliguana@reddit
I have $60k HELOC and $130 k left on my mortgage. I was a late starter and didn’t really have an adult job until I was 40. I also have $15k auto loan on a totaled vehicle that insurance fucked me on. At this point I may just wait for the financial institution to write off the loan and sell it to a collection agency and settle with them. I have a 10 year plan to pay off the mortgage and HELOC and get ready to retire at 65. I may work another 4-8 years past 65 as I will be building on 12 years federal with the VA. However, I am just returning from seeing my younger brother on life support after a hemorrhage stroke at 53 so
Square-Wing-6273@reddit
One active car loan, a mortgage and a HELOC. CCs get paid off every month.
Retiring in 24 days.
RevolutionarySea5077@reddit
Our only debt is our mortgage. We bought a house lower than our maximum budget so we were not house poor
Aggravating_Job_9490@reddit
Just mortgage and car payment- we live by a rule of living below our means. I did spend 230 at Whole Foods yesterday and 130 at Ralph’s. I can’t believe how expensive groceries are.
SkipNYNY@reddit
Right? Grocery prices are sky high
cpbaby1968@reddit
Couple 57 & 54 here.
We have my student loans(I got two degrees super late like an idiot). A car payment thanks to an inattentive driver on an on-ramp. A couple of credit cards we use then pay down. Otherwise it’s just monthly bills.
Yes. We travel. SEVERAL long weekend trips a year. At least one cruise. Sometimes 2. Maybe a beach trip. I’m of the opinion that at this age, we may as well travel while we have our health. If I’m going to be old and not able to travel at some point, I, at the very least, want memories.
stonemadcaptain@reddit
No. Nothing can be accomplished with debt. A mortgage is acceptable as that asset will continue to appreciate.
Witty-Awareness-8819@reddit
No debt.
Knitwitty66@reddit
So, so so much debt. Only $30k on the house, and about half that left on the truck, but we have camper payments plus credit cards in both our names. As soon as we get something paid off, we have a sudden disaster and up go the balances again. Life keeps lifing.
I_Like_Hikes@reddit
So much- parent plus loans, debt consolidation, mortgage, car. Working till I die I guess.
Separate-Relative-83@reddit
Still owe like $25k in student loans and less than $1k cc. I’ll need to buy a new car soon, not getting anything expensive. I feel pretty fortunate tbh, wish the stupid student loan wasn’t a thing but whatever.
Sitting_pipe@reddit
Pay down high interest first...don't even put money in savings. maybe 1-5k but that's it pay down that card. and dump everything in that heloc. cancel all streaming services switch phones to US mobile etc, you will save thounsands. It's the stupid small shit that eats your money.
RichEmu9748@reddit
Zero debt. Pay off any credit card use in full every month.
mrsdigi@reddit
Just paid off my law school loans so except for a mortgage, which we could pay off early, but our money is making more staying in the bank than paying off a mortgage. Pay off credit cards as accrued. Investment accounts etc.
Expensive-Vanilla-16@reddit
How on earth does someone get 20k in credit card debt? Or a 100k heloc?
I've rarely spent $5k on a credit card and pay that sucker off ASAP. I only buy things that are a necessity. I saved up $18k for my roof because I knew it was going to need replacement but if it needed it badly I then would have considered a home loan. There's nothing I need done that's worth $100k.
Moist_Rule9623@reddit
I racked up CC debt when I divorced and got what I think was completely inadequate legal representation and was saddled with an unfair alimony burden; since that was only “temporary” (what’s eight years in the grand scheme of things 🙄) it’s long since paid in full. I still use my CCs for some monthly spending but it’s far more manageable now and I pay them off monthly
paperbasket18@reddit
As for how someone gets 20K in credit card debt, I can tell you how I did: Low wages in a HCOL area combined by generally poor budgeting habits. I’m also a young Gen X who got fucked by the Great Recession. When hubby and I got married, we were each carrying around 25K in CC debt. We’ve now more than doubled our income and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Am I proud of this? No, and we’ve never told our friends and family about our debt. But we’re paying it off ourselves, no help from anyone needed or wanted.
samder68@reddit
Not everyone is as fortunate as you, and sometimes it’s a matter of life or death. My parents went into major debt when health insurance wouldn’t pay for my father’s cancer treatment when he was self-employed. He’s alive today, thankfully, and it was “worth it”. That’s “how on earth” something like that can happen. Have a day.
middle_age_zombie@reddit
We just have a mortgage, paid off my student loans finally about three years ago. Just paid off the car last year. We only have one car and currently one income.
whatsi@reddit
Debt can get really bad. I got all the credit cards, charged everything (including college bills) and ended up in bankruptcy. Best move ever, credit recovered in a few years. Can get credit fine now but Amex doesn't forgive (interestingly I got a business card from them, but not personal.) No debt these days apart from a mortgage. I now live below my means and do fine.
Majestic-Pilot3718@reddit
Just my mortgage. If I do charge something it gets paid off immediately, and that's usually just to keep the card active for an emergency.
Ok_Elephant6640@reddit
Pay off the highest interest stuff first.
Sitting_pipe@reddit
This is the way!
Tim-no@reddit
Tax debt.
gkcontra@reddit
Mortgage and 3 cars. CC get paid off every month. Getting ready to upsize our house so mortgage will go up a little, but putting over 50% down on new house.
charleytaylor@reddit
Only about $85k left on our mortgage. No other debts. We pay our credit card balance every month.
Minute_Dog_1793@reddit
I have no cc debt. If I use one, I pay it off at the end of the month. Cars and bikes paid for. I do go on vacations. Minimum of one a year. My home is not paid off yet although that's my next goal.
blackcloudcat@reddit
No debt of any kind. Mortgage paid off. Vehicle bought for cash. One credit card, paid in full monthly.
hernandezcarlosx@reddit
Me too. For better or worse, I was born naturally cheap. Paid my house as soon as I could, buy vehicles cheap and keep them for a long time, I don’t cave luxury anything. About to retire in y early 50s.
kobuta99@reddit
If I can't pay off my credit card every month, I don't charge it. I understand some folks may have had emergencies, so not being judgemental. I have no debt right now, and living below your means is important for saving as well as general fiscal responsibility.
It's why I wouldn't even buy a car when I asked myself how often will I really use it and cost of insurance, gas, parking, etc.
pippi_longstocking09@reddit
I hate to break it to you, but a HELOC is a mortgage. (it's a lien on your house, right?)
beakermonkey@reddit
Nope. I’m grateful for that.
DeaddyRuxpin@reddit
I cleared out all my CC debt, student loans, and HELOC several years ago. I paid off my mortgage last year. I don’t carry balances on CC any more. They get paid off in full each statement. The only debt I have is I replaced my car with a new one the end of 2024. I got a 5 year 0% interest loan from the manufacturer so they get their 1/72nd of the purchase price every month.
DanaMarie75038@reddit
Mortgage and hubby’s car.
Kimber80@reddit
Just my mortage, but the payments are low and the house is worth twice what we owe.
We bought two new cars in the past 2 years but paid cash in full for both of them, and we pay off our credit card every month.
Agoodhope@reddit
No
kermitsfrogbog@reddit
Car debt I just took on and an old student loan I peck away at. I might borrow a little to get me over the hump for my son's last year in college, but that is yet to be determined. Waiting for them to release the financial aid award and final bill and can only hope I set enough aside. I hate this process but it's the last time. Thank God.
sysaphiswaits@reddit
Still paying off my student loans from going back to school.
manic-pixie-attorney@reddit
Significant mortgage debt; 15 year mortgage
Marigold1976@reddit
Mortgage at sub 3%. That’s it. We only consume what we can pay for each month, but we know life could throw us a curveball and change all that. In the meantime, we’re grateful for where we’re at.
Disastrous-Mousse837@reddit
Yeah, a revolving CC debt of a couple thousand or so. Credit score seems to like it. Don’t own a home, don’t have a family, travel a lot, work as a researcher. It’s a good life.
Icr711@reddit
Credit score isn't liking your debt. Credit score is liking you paying it. It's a myth that credit scores are positively impacted by you carrying debt, as opposed to paying it off every month. If you can't afford it, that's one thing, but it's not helpful to do so and paying interest is lost money.
Disastrous-Mousse837@reddit
I don’t really care; I don’t even live in the US most of the time so a credit score is not that important to me.
Money_These@reddit
This is also me—except not a researcher. 🤗
fruitless7070@reddit
I make 125k he makes 150k. We struggle. I have student loans, owe 65k on house. Pay off credit cards every month. No other debt than that. He has debt from his small trucking company but not much given the amount he makes of the company.
It's rough. We have 3 adult children that are financially independent and moved out. 1 11yo child at home still (best oppsie we ever made). But it's pretty close every month. Probably because u spend too much money. I'm not a big saver but I also don't go out and spend massive amounts of money. Just little stuff. About 2k monthly on unnecessary stuff, but it makes me happy 😊
No_Cake9356@reddit
Zero debt. Have a monthly phone bill, that's it. Though I will be getting Starlink mini and canceling the Tmobile next month, pay the $20 and import my # to WhatsApp. But yeah, no debt.
TiredWillie24@reddit
About 3K on credit cards and thats it. It could be paid off at any time. Just like to keep a few lines active.
MoreCanadianThanYou@reddit
I’m 57 and my husband is 58. We owe $4,500 on an LOC. That’s the only debt we have. We own our own condo. We use a cash back credit card and pay everything possible with it. The credit card is paid in full twice per month.
We’re currently trying to stuff money into our RRSPs. Currently have about $200k between us. We earn ~$160k gross in total.
Feels like no mortgage is the biggest reason for our current decent financial situation. We don’t travel but we do shop a lot and buy pretty much everything we want. Hubby has a motorcycle and we both have high end gaming PCs and electronics.
We made a ton of money on a house and cashed in at the right time. No capital gains on principal residence here in Canada so we basically made $600k tax free, which allowed us to pay cash for our condo.
JVBass75@reddit
Zero debt (monthly credit card doesn't count since we pay off in full every month for points) and we now invest what was car payments and mortgage into short and long term investments.
Ready to F.I.R.E. at 50...
DryFoundation2323@reddit
I have about 50k remaining on my mortgage. that's it.
Vylnce@reddit
Mortgage and car payment. The CC gets paid off every two weeks, which generates about \~$1800-2100 yearly.
Bobofettsixtynoune@reddit
Just a car payment.
Nightgasm@reddit
No debt. I always paid extra on my mortgage to pay it down faster. So I ended up paying off the 30 yr mortgage on my first house in 11 years. Sold it and got a bigger house with 15 yr mortgage on what the principal from the first didn't cover and paid it off in six years. I've always paid my credit card in full every month and I was driving a 2006 car up til last year when I paid cash (no mortgage makes it easy to save) for a used 2023 car.
makeup1508@reddit
We had CC debt but paid it off when we sold our house. Now we pay our CCs off each month.
SubatomicGoblin@reddit
No, but I don't have much money either.
Cannagurlie@reddit
I've had to live partially on ccs. I'm on ssd which has not kept up with inflation. I've had to charge groceries. When my mom was here we shared the bills. Now it's just me. It's getting harder and harder.
Dry_Ad687@reddit
I owe $220 on a $1000 MRI.
Nothing beyond that.
Outside-Ambition7748@reddit
The real question is if your combined income is $150k, what are you spending on? Your heloc is likely around $1k month. Do you have 10 kids? Do you eat out everyday? Do you live in Silicon Valley? These things all would shift the conversation in one direction or another. If it’s 2 of you and you live in a normal priced area you need to look at what you’re spending and why.
Zealousideal_Draw_94@reddit
I just spent $600 on credit card and owe $65 on another, but should have $1K back from taxes.
Finished paying off Car in January, and repaid off all my cards in February.
All I owe is all the monthly service charges…the “newest” scam. Want a new phone, it’s free, with a service for next 3 years. Want to get your computer fixed, “It’s free” with yearly service charges. 🤷🏻♂️
nrith@reddit
Mortgage and some students loans for the kids. 830+ credit score. This was after YEARS of debt caused by layoffs, massive medical/therapy expenses (we really should have sued the people responsible for it, but that’s a different story), and some other factors truly beyond our control. That’s despite living very frugally. Sucks.
Foamfollower_65@reddit
No loans, only a car lease payment.
Have numerous credit cards that we use to get the sign up bonuses. SO and I have 7 total credit cards, but they're all paid off monthly.
We use the points earned on the CCs to travel.
cgund@reddit
Mortgage only. I think it's right around $100K, and we'll be selling in a year. Got a ride on the inflation train so that the house will probably get close to $2M which we'll turn around and put right back into a house where we plan to retire (HCOL).
We will also send our one kid off to college next year but depending where he winds up, it'll probably be covered by our 529.
Grafakos@reddit
Nope. Paid off the mortgage when I moved to a cheaper state upon retirement.
Legitimate_You_3474@reddit
I’m carrying around a lot of emotional debt but I don’t owe anyone a dime at least
monkey_monkey_monkey@reddit
I have a mortgage. I think the balance is around $90,000, that's my only debt.
I don't have any credit card debit, I mean I did do groceries today so there's a debt on it but I pay off my credit card once a week so I don't carry debt month to month.
I got into trouble with credit cards when I was in my 20s and it caused me so much stress I swore I would never do it again and so far, 30 years later, I have stuck to it.
I am sure my credit card company doesn't like me. I have my original no annual fee credit card, never pay interest and get a cash back on purchases. So once a year they pay me a few hundred dollars for using their card. I keep getting offers for fancier credit cards but they all come with an annual fee.
Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit
Nothing except a mortgage. Had my last house paid off and like a dumbass decided to upgrade to a new house and got another mortgage. Partly smart because I upgraded just before real estate prices went insane and partly smart because I got one of those bitchin rates in the 2% range when they were so low and the value has gone up a lot since. But I have a lot of equity since my last pile was paid off so my mortgage is less than most people’s rent on a small apartment. With the interest rate so low I’m in no hurry to pay it off, my money is better off invested. But still partly dumb because I freaking had a paid off house.
Other than that I always avoided debt. I never carried cc debt. I just did without. Worked overtime to pay cash for stuff (except the house) or did without.
Paint-by-numberrs@reddit
No debt, and I live frugally.
RzorroK@reddit
Just mortgage debt. At 2.5%, I have no interest in paying it off early.
Outside-Ambition7748@reddit
Same. I invested instead of paying off and I’m happy with my choice.
Dangerous-Art-Me@reddit
I still owe like $365k on my mortgage and about $7k on my car. I pay off CCs every month. I don’t have any unsecured debt.
robotfrog88@reddit
Bought a cheaper house ( old, needs work) but have no mortgage, have older cars and no payments, I was influenced by my parents and grandparents about trying to avoid debt when possible.
the_niles_crane@reddit
Zero.
PugLoversince2003@reddit
I'm in debt. A HELOC, a small balance on my mortgage, Care Credit full of thousands of dollars in vet bills and some othe cc debt. My husband passed 8 months ago. He paid utilities and groceries. I'm feeling the squeeze with gas and food being more expensive.
Ican only allow 3 to 4 meals out a month. I try to pay my gas credit card off each month. My brain is mush and I am so worried that I am forgetting something else that needs to be paid! I forgot my car payment 2 months ago and was so upset when they reached out to me. Worrying about money was easier with my husband telling me we would be OK.
Vast-Goose1674@reddit
So sorry. That sounds like a heavy burden.
Alternative_Sock_608@reddit
We have gotten into a lot of debt because our job situations became unpredictable in the last few years and we had a bunch of personal family things that required a lot of flying back and forth. We are working our way out of it. Cc debt, HELOC and mortgage. Hope to have the non-mortgage debt paid off in 3 years. We still take vacations and eat out and things, just nothing elaborate or too expensive and make sure we can pay for it without adding additional debt. I get that we could also use that to pay down the mountain of debt. But life is unpredictable and too short.
Ineffable7980x@reddit
Aside from a mortgage, no, I don't. I might have a few hundred dollars on credit cards at any given time, but I make sure it is paid off quickly.
OptiGuy4u@reddit
We use an app called goodbudget. And it really helped our spending and ensuring we could pay off our CCs every payday.
RoofAway1331@reddit
60 male. Never owned a home. My SO does. Company supplied truck. No cc debt. No student loans. All toys bought and paid cash.
780 credit score
paperbasket18@reddit
Yep. 200K or so on a mortgage, 20ish on a car loan, maybe around 15-20K at this point in credit card/consumer debt. Used to be closer to 50K in credit card debt!! My spouse and I currently bring in about 170K/year, but are still paying for poor career choices that we made 15-20 years ago. I’m not too stressed about it though and yes we still travel and live life. We’re fully funding our retirement accounts and we should be free of the consumer debt in the next two years. House is also worth way more than what we paid for it.
StandardRaspberry509@reddit
CC gets paid off every month. Only debt is about $50,000 mortgage. No car payment. No travel, little to no eating out. Disabled.
PrimalSixFive@reddit
60m. No debt. I pay the credit card every week. House paid off over ten years ago. Taught my kids the same ethic.
Wrong_Staff_6148@reddit
Just out mortgage. CCs paid in full each month never carry a balance.
Adorableviolet@reddit
My debt has debt.
TemperReformanda@reddit
Thankfully, just the mortgage which is a 5 digit number at this point.
ThisIsMyUsername303@reddit
Mine is falling below $20k when my payment goes through later this week. 🥳
TPIN1977@reddit
Around 50K on my achieve HELOC using it primarily for renovations and around 2K left on my Chase CC. I try to pay them off every month.
CoastalMom@reddit
No debt. Bought our current house for cash, drive old cars, and pay off the credit cards every month.
Question going forward will be whether to withdraw from IRA for big house projects(which increases income and potentially tax bracket) or do a home equity line. Pros and cons to each. Husband retired last year and I hope to next year. Plenty of funds in retirement accounts but nothing liquid.
us2bcool@reddit
I still have a mortgage because I moved from a MCOL city to a HCOL area fairly late in life, but that was a conscious choice. Other than that, any time I take on a debt I treat it as an emergency and pay it off as soon as possible.
Ok_Arachnid1089@reddit
Only my house and that’s getting paid off soon
rochvegas5@reddit
yes. cars, trucks, mortgage. No student loan (that was paid off). Mortgage is done in about 3 years. We pay our CC off every time we use it
MidwestAbe@reddit
Family of 4.
I have a mortgage.
We make about $120k. I never have a cc balance, I own 4 cars outright. Paid cash for the last 3.
Have cash on hand in a HYSA and a mostly well funded retirement. We take vacations every year - but we drive. I cook 90% of our meals at home. The last car I bought was a 2012 civic for $8k. I funded 12 years of travel hockey for my oldest. I also haven't paid a mechanic anything in 20 years. I don't buy many new things. Our kids are happy but not spoiled. I make both of them pay for their own car insurance.
I'm pretty disciplined about it all. I was given a Dave Ramsey book when we got married and read it on the flight to our honeymoon. I liked the approach. But I still use credit cards daily and I'm an atheist so Dave wouldn't be happy with me. But what I so works well for me and my family.
sev45day@reddit
I grew up watching my boomer mother struggle with debt her entire life.
It left a very strong impression on me to avoid debt, especially cc debt at all costs. Luckily my career/salary has also allowed us to be able to pay our bills every month.
So we have a mortgage (~20% of the homes value, at 6.2% rate), and that's it. We pay all our bills on our credit card and then pay it off every month to get the points. We own our car (2025) outright, but I would consider a car loan if we needed another as "good debt", them I would pay it off asap.
HTLM22@reddit
OMG yes. $75k in student loans. $200k home loan, $25k car loan.
mountain-guy@reddit
Only debt now is mortgage. And trying to pay it down as quickly as I can. Wasn’t always that way. But I’m 50 now.
Had a lot of cc debt in my early 30s with little savings. Made a decision to dig out and never looked back.
GWBrooks@reddit
Carrying $20k on a credit card as part of a remodel; it'll be gone in 60 days.
Other than that? No debt. Did two bankruptcies earlier in life and finally got smarter about collecting assets rather than liabilities. Well, that and everyone died so there's no mortgage.
There's either enough in the retirement pile a few years from now ir there isn't. If there isn't I'll top it off with a reverse mortgage. (I don't plan on moving.)
damageddude@reddit
No CC debt (aside from rolling). Mortgage will be paid off in July. That's the good.
I do have a car loan as I bought my first brand new car in 25 years to "celebrate" outliving my father's lifespan (he was car shopping the week before his heart attack). I also have a HELOC to finish paying for my daughter's college. I could pay it off but the stock market is outpacing the interest rate.
I'm not rich but at 58, it is nice to have options.
tonyevo52@reddit
Just mortgage. Pay CC off each month, a little over $10K a month in passive income. I still work to fund my unnecessary spending habits though (yoyo's and spin tops can be expensive). I didn't grow up poor, but we were close and always struggling for rent and food, so I really don't travel or anything crazy as I feel money should be spent wiser, left in savings, and make sure my kids and grandkids are good to go!
1quirky1@reddit
You're going to get the entire spectrum of answers here. We're a varied bunch.
A mortgage has been my only debt for the last 25 years.
Keeping a car long enough to not need a loan for the next car is the most difficult. My friends gave me a lot of crap about keeping a car for that long but the sacrifice paid off.
Temporary_Shirt_6236@reddit
Four years ago I stopped a 20-year cycle of leasing new cars. Used the cash the dealership gave for handing it back 6 months early (!) and bought an older car in good shape, old enough that I can work on it myself (with lots of help from YouTube).
No car payments and minimal insurance premiums unlocked a fair bit of cash flow, which turned out to be the right move given how bad inflation has become.
Reader47b@reddit
No debt. I don't travel much. I am cheaply entertained. (I read a lot of library books, watch a lot of TV on streaming services totaling under $30/mo, write, play board and card games with friends). I do eat out at a sit-down place at least once a week, though.
missdawn1970@reddit
I owe about 90k on my mortgage, and I'm paying extra every month to pay it off early. I have about 2 years left on my car, and then I'll keep it as long as possible. I don't carry a credit card balance from one month to the next.
Nazz1968@reddit
No debt anymore after some years of default purgatory, following a permanent Covid layoff. My credit rating is back above 600 again, and I lead an existence free of credit cards. Everything else is paid off, and my monthly budget is predictable. I’m liquid, but live very modestly. I built up a financial reserve in case of car troubles.
MysteriousStandard68@reddit
Mortgage, zero credit card debt. Two cars paid off. Camper loan. Boat paid off. Harley paid off.
Acceptable_Mirror235@reddit
A mortgage and a never-ending student loan. That’s it.
Amazing-Software4098@reddit
We’re clear of our student loans. My wife’s family really helped out with her’s. We still have a mortgage, but it’s manageable. I’m damn glad we bought in 2000.
bluealien78@reddit
Other than my mortgage, I have two student loans from my masters, and a small amount on my CC from one of my dog’s needing surgery last month. One student loan will pay off next month, the other will pay off in February. CC will be cleared at the end of this week.
I hate hate hate carrying debt and will do everything I can to avoid it.
threedogdad@reddit
Nope, and I'll retire very early next year. Roughly planned for this since the.moment we started earning decent money
NetJnkie@reddit
The only debt we carry is low interest stuff that's not worty paying off early. My truck has a year left at like 1.6%. Year left on the tractor at 0%. House is 4% and I've set it up so it'll be paid off early the year we retire.
Nour_Taman@reddit
Still got some debt to the tune of 15K left on my achieve loan. Much more manageable once I consolidated but before that it was a STRUGGLE. I don't plan on doing anymore trips until it's paid off early next year.
daveyconcrete@reddit
I owe about 75,000 left on my mortgage and 50,000 left on my dump truck.
KalistoCA@reddit
I make about 55k a year my wife was making like 100k once we paid off mortgage she called working a day and we have no debit other than monthly bills
We are doing fine .. we love a simple life and take a trip to the Caribbean once a year
We are in southern Ontario Canada and have two of our 3 adult children living with us
WillDupage@reddit
Mortgage only.
I had a bad run in my 20s with credit card debt. It took 3 years to dig out.
Never again
dbrmn73@reddit
Zero debt here, house is paid for as well as my vehicles. I make 80K and im single.
Krazy_Kat_Lady_2025@reddit
Early 50's. Combined income <100k.
We only have a mortgage which is ~1/2 home resale price.
Pay off ccs every month.
Drive really old beater vehicles.
No high-end clothing brands.
Middle of the road android phones.
Just how we were raised. BUT we also don't have kiddos which makes a big difference. Kids are a 20+ years huge chunk of your income.
We do have too many pets.
tharesabeveragehere@reddit
beyond moral bankruptcy? no, no I don't.
KungFuAdam@reddit
Not a dime!! I pay loans off right away as a matter of priority, i will sacrifice to do it!
LisaMiaSisu@reddit
Just a mortgage and our car is almost paid off.
Lickford@reddit
No, zero. None.
trUth_b0mbs@reddit
no debt; I loathe debt.
I always pay off my credit card in full, no more mortgage, no other loans etc.
fLeXaN_tExAn@reddit
I was in debt before Covid...it was a suffocating feeling. It felt like I would never dig myself out. Once you are on the plus side, you get to start building rapidly. It's incredible having the percentages work for you instead of against you. The APR on credit card debit is insane. Once you are debt free and have money invested, those percentages turn around and pay you. OP, come join us over in r/personalfinance it will change your life.
Michigander_4941@reddit
A student loan and about $20,000 in cc debt. You're not alone.
djmc0211@reddit
Unmanaged debt can make life miserable. I have friend who between him and his wife, bring in around 14k a month and still live practically paycheck to paycheck.
Jebgogh@reddit
under 100K on mortgage with 2.75%. paying off early by paying extra $450 a month but will hate to give up that percentage. Hope is pay off in another 4 years. under 20K on car note with 5.25% and also paying early by paying extra $100 a month and hope to have paid off in next 3-4 years.
No credit card, no other debt.
Do have 401K and that seems like a lot, but not a lot right now.
But....I have a daughter going to be starting college in another 1.5 years. trying to save for that but tough sledding. I figure that will probably give me about $25K-$35K in debt after 4 years.
Advanced_Tax174@reddit
Why would you not put 100% of any overpayment towards the debt with the higher interest rate??
Jebgogh@reddit
honestly- just the practice of how we had done it prior. We had the house prior to the car note and was paying extra on that one already. and also cause we like the feeling of the equity. Meaning that the house payment goes into equity of an asset that is appreciating versus the car goes into an asset that is depreciating. So somewhere in my mind i feel I get more for my buck on the house payment versus the car. Not a right thought but its a stuck one in my head.
I really want the house paid off. that feeling of freedom from not having a house payment just seems like something to aspire to.
hollyprop@reddit
I had some credit card debt but paid it off with a personal loan that offered a much lower interest rate. Haven’t used the cards since and it’s been great for my credit score.
rcook55@reddit
Mortgage. We should be very close to having the house paid off within our retirement timeframe, potentially sooner if I somehow inherit anything from my mother.
z44212@reddit
Zero debt. I don't take on bills I can't pay.
damutecebu@reddit
Just my mortgage, but we will have that paid off before we retire in seven years.
yarnhooksbooks@reddit
Went back to school on my 40’s so I have student loans. Should be able to get public service loan forgiveness, so I don’t stress about them much. Don’t own a house and likely never will. Pay off the credit cards every month and use the rewards to help supplement travel. Wouldn’t spend on extras if I had credit card debt. Interest is too high and I’d want them paid off.
Throwaway7219017@reddit
Through years of hard work, dedication, austerity, and an inheritance I’ve managed to stay debt free.
Which is good as I’ve made shit money most of my life.
youngkpepper@reddit
I owe $20k on my car still. House is paid for, I still work (about $70k).
I did get a little bit careless with my CCs a couple of years ago, accruing about $8-9k split between two. But I got a small severance pay windfall when I got laid off and that enabled me to pay those off; I've kept usage minimal and manageable since.
I have 2 cards that I only pay an annual fee on. I'd cancel them except that they're my oldest cards and age matters on credit history.
DasArtmab@reddit
Paying off my child’s student loan. Was going to pay it all off in full, until I saw the rates. With the markets on fire, there was little sense in that. Plus, it builds their credit
whistlepig4life@reddit
A mortgage. House is 2/3rds paid off.
2 credit cards, both will be clean by EOY.
Nothing else.
Electrical_Fishing81@reddit
Pretty much same here.
DogsAreOurFriends@reddit
A dirt cheap mortgage that’s it
Invisibella74@reddit
I don't even have that. Paid it off a few years ago.
I realize I'm incredibly lucky. I grew up dirt poor... To be able to live debt free and not worry is incredible compared to life when I was a kid.
Ok-Conversation-7292@reddit
Yup, same with me.
DogsAreOurFriends@reddit
I’d pay it off but that $ is earning 7x the interest in the market. Would be stupid to fo that.
Invisibella74@reddit
Totally! Makes sense! 👍
seemsright_41@reddit
None. I grew up poor and spent my 20's and early 30's working multiple jobs
JudieK123@reddit
We have no debt. House and cars paid off, no cc debt.
Ok-Conversation-7292@reddit
Same.
Weird-Girl-675@reddit
Just a car payment for the first time in 25 years
Hausmannlife_Schweiz@reddit
One car loan but only because of a 1.5% interest rate. The money in my cash account is earning more than that.
fraghead5@reddit
Mortgage, HELOC, and 1 car payment. We cover everything every month but can’t save, besides retirement savings
InevitableCodeRedo@reddit
Back taxes. It's like a yoke on my life.
Bubbly_Following7930@reddit
We have a mortgage. I pay off my credit cards every month, my husband doesn't (we keep separate accounts. ) He has a loan for some stereo equipment and leases his car.
Scoobysnax1976@reddit
only debt is a small mortgage. Put as many bills as possible on credit cards that are paid off monthly to get the cash back or travel points. We are able to travel to see family most years and go on larger destination vacations every few years.
AdventurousPound3688@reddit
Mortgage and 2 car loans and the car loans are relatively new, we spoiled ourselves last fall. We do have the money to pay them off but we're keeping our savings. No credit cards, just what I put on costco then pay off each month.
Temporary_View_3303@reddit
Gotta mortgage… probably 200k. Just opened a heloc with 20k or less on it. That’s it.
Ornery-Ad-6149@reddit
We’ve been fortunate. No cc debt, it’s paid monthly. No car loans. We have one mortgage, on our retirement home. It’s 230K at 3% Our main home and our rental home are paid off. We vacation in Maui for 2 weeks each summer. Other than that we live a pretty frugal /low key life.
SufficientOpening218@reddit
a mortgage, and about 8k in cc debt, but thats because the damn dog got sick over a holiday weekend
Fun-Corner-5364@reddit
I guess ppl with cc debts aren’t blowing their trumpets here…
Ok_Key_4731@reddit
I have debt, more than I would like at this stage in my life. I am divorced, 54f and make less than $70k. Raises at my company are scarce, I've only had 1 on the 2 1/2 years I've been there. {sigh} I love the job and I get tons of time off for Holidays and I get to WFH 4 days a week b/c of my distance from the office. I'm selling my house and will pay off the cc debt with some of the proceeds.
CleMike69@reddit
Got rid of my debt 12 years ago and never looked back
Think_Welder3430@reddit
Ant the same as you, OP. And I just drained the last bit of my checking today on an unexpected vet bill. Most people don’t make enough to cover the cost of living. But Congress doesn’t seem to care.
ExistentialPenguin70@reddit
I have no debt, my wife owes about $37,000 on a car she purchased and about 88k left on her mortgage with a sub-$800 payment (this is both our second marriage). I’m retired but receive a military pension and some VA disability. Together we currently make about 65K a year. We are minimalists, rarely ever eat out, and enjoy staying home. We are comfortable.
mudshark698@reddit
Other than my mortgage...nope
Sensitive-Issue84@reddit
None but my mortgage. I have a low interest rate so I'm in no hurry to pay it off.
Boring_Major_2935@reddit
I have about 16K on a personal line that I took out to finance a new roof in 2021, then a new HVAC system last year (sigh). No cc debt & no mortgage and it is still a struggle! Semi-retired widow and can only afford a trip every other year or so since the hubs died. I try to budget for a couple meals out with friends each month but thats about it.
voidchungus@reddit
You'll find every combination of answer under the sun, in both affirmative and negative.
The question is less "does anyone else" have this or do that, and more "should I/do I want to" have this or do that. Definitely don't make conclusions about your financial status based off of whatever comments you get on this post, in case that's part of why you were asking.
ElJefe0218@reddit
Zero debt, zero savings. Just the equity in my house around 400k, and surviving on 50k total a year.
the-dutch-fist@reddit
Buddy I’m still paying off my loans from law school and i now have a kid in college with two more on the way. I’ll be in debt until the say I die.
akobie@reddit
Oh man. I got mine forgiven last year and that was a massive relief. Was able to finish paying the remainder of my daughters tuition (after scholarship) now shes in grad school and im still helping. My good friend is in similar situation as you and hes locked into the work hell
easily_abused@reddit
Mortgage with 10 years to go and one car payment. We keep our cars until the wheels fall off, so this might be our last one. Never got over our heads with credit cards.
jblue212@reddit
No debt. But I also rent and don't own a car or anything. Single no kids.
R4t4t0skr@reddit
No debt anymore. some savings.
mushyspider@reddit
No debt. 60k income for family of 5. I have always paid off my cc every month. All cars bought with cash. Travel only with free hotel/flights through credit card signup bonuses. Most clothes are purchased from thrift shops and are nicer than a lot of new clothing.
watch-nerd@reddit
No debt. No mortgage, no car loans, CC paid off every month
TransatlanticMadame@reddit
Zero debt. No car payment, no mortgage, no credit card debt or loans.
kittybuckmeow@reddit
Sames
IndyColtsFan2020@reddit
Just a little left on the mortgage, which will be gone soon. We don't carry CC debt and have no other loans or debt, so traveling and other activities generally aren't an issue.
FLAtarian@reddit
The only debt I have right now is my mortgage. I do some traveling with my kids but I also pick up grant writing gigs from time to time to pay for things on top of my regular job. I have had to be very disciplined with money after my divorce.
Trap-Lord-Supreme@reddit
I have zero debt, but I also have zero savings. So...
punkolina@reddit
No debt. We’ve always paid our credit cards off every month. We maintain our cars and drive them for years. We just paid our mortgage off last week. It feels amazing!!!
flixguy440@reddit
Credit cards with access to $250K. No debt on any of them.
wellbloom@reddit
I have zero debt
AaronTheElite007@reddit
Travel? LOL. I wish.