quote:

Originally posted by billfasttax:
I, too, am amazed at the percentage of SF respondents that are debt free (58%). Include me in that group, too. I'm going to start another thread with a poll on age for the SF bunch. Maybe gun people are better money managers. In my case my wife is the money manager. I wonder if we, as a group, are older? Hell, I'm 75, ran our own businesses for 45 years, retired 10 years ago and have been debt free for 15 years. Still owe a tiny bit on a commercial property but that is because it has tax advantages.

No it's called the internet. I have seen these types of threads on many different types of forums and everyone is Dave Ramsey Jr.

Debt? What debt? There is no debt.

Well except for the mortgage, which will be paid off ahead of time.

Debt is encumbrance. Limits you, constrains you, makes you brittle and less resilient. (Having available credit helps make you resilient. Already using your available credit is the opposite.)

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by billfasttax:
I, too, am amazed at the percentage of SF respondents that are debt free (58%). Include me in that group, too. I'm going to start another thread with a poll on age for the SF bunch. Maybe gun people are better money managers. In my case my wife is the money manager. I wonder if we, as a group, are older? Hell, I'm 75, ran our own businesses for 45 years, retired 10 years ago and have been debt free for 15 years. Still owe a tiny bit on a commercial property but that is because it has tax advantages.

No it's called the internet. I have seen these types of threads on many different types of forums and everyone is Dave Ramsey Jr.

Selection bias. People with less debt are more likely to speak up.

I was nearly debt free once. I was 40 years old and had 6 payments left on a small house and 55 acres. Cattle herd was paid for and paying for its own upkeep. My computer business was doing well. I was on my way to quitting a job I hate.....
Then my wife of 14 years went nuckin' futs.
I bought my kids, basically, during the divorce.
I shut down the computer business.
I went to day shift at my DOD job (steady pay & benefits looked better to the judge when determining custody).
I made the last payment on the place one month before the divorce was final. Then had to pay her "her share".
divorce lawyers got all my cash...gas & groceries went on the CC. Refinanced the place to get her signature on a "quit claim deed".
Some of the debt is my fault, I freely admit that.... Trying to keep up the two income lifestyle to which I had become accustomed.
But I'm getting there.
Might even happen sooner rather than later if cattle prices take another jump up.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
I've really gone through an evolution on this issue over the last few years. Until about 2013, our focus was to pay off the debt we had, which was mortgage, student loans, and a small car note.

In about 2013, we shifted to focusing on saving / investing our extra funds rather than paying off fixed rate low interest loans. We generally do not carry any credit cards balances, but we do use cards for points /miles / cash back.

This shift (and good investment returns from the stock market) has made our net worth grow at a faster rate than just paying off our debts. It also gives us the potential for more long term growth from the compounding effect of our investing.

Everyone's circumstances are different, and it is not always comfortable to have money owed to others, but I believe that the highest and best use of our dollars is growing our assets rather than retiring our debts. YMMV

Great for you! Nothing wrong with some debt, especially low rate fixed mortgage and other low rate loans. Of course credit card debt is usually the worse with loan shark interest rates and that is the downfall for a lot of people not living well within their means.

A well known financial adviser Ric Edeleman has an interesting article on the benefits of having a big long mortgage at today's near all time low interest rates. Of course he also advises to live well within your means. A good balanced financial plan includes saving and investing with goals for wealth building rather that solely focusing on paying off any and all debt.

"11 Great Reasons to Carry a Big, Long Mortgage"

http://www.edelmanfinancial.co...-a-big-long-mortgage

I am 71 and we are debt free except for a small fifteen year low interest mortgage which will be paid off in about five years. We have about 85% equity in the value of our home. We could pay it off, but we are making much more in the stock market than the interest rate on the mortgage. The Corvette and the Honda are both paid for.

We have a fair amount of debt but are working hard to pay it off. The scary thing for me is that my wife is way too comfortable with debt and when I talk about being debt free, she gets irritated as if it's a pie in the sky goal.

I've only got the mortgage at this point, although I did get a loan to pay for the garage/shop to be built this fall because I didn't feel like writing a check for $30K.

BTW, does anyone have suggestions for a good amortization program? I'm thinking of paying off the mortgage early and am looking for an app or program to do some calculating. What I'd like to do is keep the current mortgage/rate and just pay off more each month toward principal but I don't know how to do the figuring on that. Is there an app that'll do that for me? Thanks.

If I would have known how simple and uncluttered life is being broke, well,

I’m in the black. Home, car, life is all debt free. And have been since I retired over a decade ago at 59.5 years of age.

House is paid off, personal vehicle is paid off. Month to month bills.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I've only got the mortgage at this point, although I did get a loan to pay for the garage/shop to be built this fall because I didn't feel like writing a check for $30K.

BTW, does anyone have suggestions for a good amortization program? I'm thinking of paying off the mortgage early and am looking for an app or program to do some calculating. What I'd like to do is keep the current mortgage/rate and just pay off more each month toward principal but I don't know how to do the figuring on that. Is there an app that'll do that for me? Thanks.

There are some online. Search for mortgage payoff calculator.

A couple examples.

http://www.calculator.net/mort...yoff-calculator.html

https://www.dinkytown.net/java/MortgagePayoff.html

https://financialmentor.com/ca...ge-payoff-calculator

https://www.vertex42.com/Excel.../extra-payments.html -- Excel spreadsheet download

I could pay off everything and live in the desert for at least 3 years.

quote:

Originally posted by BillyBonesNY:
Don't really fit into any of those brackets as I have a decent amount saved... however I still have a mortgage and a car payment and a little credit card debt.

I could pay everything off if need be.

I resemble your remark, so I didn't fit in any of the poll categories. Mortgage, truck payment and credit card debt (at 0%). Cash is available to pay them all off.

Thirty years ago, I owed nearly $1 million in debt. Most was secured by rental properties, but when I added it up it scared the beejeepers out of me! An orderly liquidation followed, and the only remnant now is a single paid off rental condo (which is nice $) and farmland (which is pretty).

There is nothing wrong with debt, if you manage that debt effectively. I still have over twenty credit card accounts.

I once bought a 10 acre waterfront field using credit cards. The guy's wife was sick and he was desperate for cash. Closed in ten days, and his wife got better. Paid no interest on the cards due to promotional offers.

I have recently opened up several new credit card accounts. The credit card companies will give you a substantial rebate for starting and using a new account. A couple banks gave a $150 credit for spending $500. Capital One gave a $500 credit for spending $4,500, plus 0% plus 1.5% on every purchase, so I bought next year's fertilizer and 12 tons of cow feed, and ended up with a "free" new PSA H&K VP9 Tactical. I consider this effective debt management. I pay for everything with a credit card to get the rebates.

If you borrow and pay interest on money for a vacation, please reconsider.

I've got a house payment and two new car payments (after replacing old vehicles that had been paid off for years). I pay off my credit card each month and max out my Roth and TSP Roth so I'm not too bad off.
I move to often as an active duty Soldier to have a paid off home while I'm still serving, that will have to wait until after retirement.