If you were, how long..

Out of debt!?!?!? What does this mean Saggy?
Does this mean, no mortgage payment, no car payments, no credit card payments? Are you talking about, over your head, out of control, type of debt?
My parents have no debt...oh, I take that back. Back in November, my husband bought me a new washer and dryer, a Maytag Neptune, you may know that these are a little more costly. We bought it on a "12 months/no interest" type of loan, which is great as long as you pay it off within that 12 month period. My mother saw my new washer and dryer and decided she should have the same thing, so my dad called the same place where we purchased ours and asked for the very same thing, including the "12 month/no interest". I have no idea why my dad did this, he could've paid cash, easily. But this is the only debt they have, they have been out of debt totally, for at least 25 years.
We will have our home paid for in a little over 10 years. Yea!
I don't know how true this is, but I've been told after you have paid off your mortgage that you should then get a second mortgage for whatever, because it is tax deductible. I won't go into details about this line of thinking, mainly because I don't understand it. If you wanted to make home improvements I'd understand it, but why else would someone just want to have another mortgage payment, for tax reasons only? It seems to me, if you just took that monthly payment you are used to making, and put it into a savings account, and make those home improvements a little at a time, it would be a lot better. But I am not an accountant or a financial planner, just the lady that pays the bills at this house.
Sue

 

I don't know if I count - I have student loans still outstanding. But, I have had credit card debt, and that was bad enough.

When I went back to college, I owed around $3500 in credit card debt from my spending frenzy while I was working and not going to school, and it took me 4 years to pay it all off. paying $85 a month. Slowly, but it's now done. I have no credit card debt at all now, and no credit cards to "help" me get back into debt.

I do have the student loans, but I hardly consider that "bad debt." Nor do I consider the mortgage I hope to have in a year or two to be bad debt.

But, you just said "debt" with no qualifiers, so I figure I'll be in debt for a while. If I waited until I could afford to pay cash for a house, I'd be as old as Methuselah! Okay, maybe not that old, but still. Besides, to spend years renting would be a waste of money, as would paying cash for a house.

 

I have so much student debt it will take me forever to pay it off. I just hope to pay it off before I take out loans for my daughter (now seven months) to go to school.

 

It took my husband and I 8 years to pay off nearly 8,000 in credit card debt as well as paying off our vehicles which totaled about another 10,000. It wasn't funny, it wasn't pretty and it was annoying as all get out to have to guard every stinking cent we got.

I hated it so much that I would never ever again put myself back in that position. And if you know someone who is, encourage them to pay it out alone and not seek help from Consumer Credit Counseling, they make it too easy to get out and so you didn't struggle enough to get out which makes getting back in even easier.

My sister-in-law and her husband (my husband's brother) took out a second mortgage to pay off all their debt (easy way out) and within about 8 months they had emassed the same debt amount that they paid off with the 2nd mortgage.

So now they have a 1st mortgage $8,000 in credit card debt and a 2nd mortgage.

 

Saggy I was debt free other than the mortgage on my home and car when I got married. My husband was very deep in debt and had no control of his spending. He had no clue how to get out of debt. He decided early on that he wanted me to handle the finances after we got married. He brought home the money, gave it to me and I would give him what he wanted to get him through the next week. After our weekly and monthly needs were met, all that was left over went toward getting all debts paid off. He even had a $9000 dollar bill at a furniture store. When asked why that bill was so high, he said they always called him by his first name when he went in there and he liked that. So he bought a lot of things from them. Thats the truth, thats exactly what he said to me!!!! The $9000 dollar bill and a couple of smaller bills were paid off in the first 2 years of our marriage. Then all we were left with was the two mortgages (His and Mine) and the debt on one automobile. Second auto was even paid off during that 2 year period. Believe me, it was hard times for us with just those bills but we made it through.
Saggy, getting out of debt is not so hard as long as you do not create new debts while trying to pay old debts off. Sometimes I have to go in debt to make a purchase like a stove or fridge or something like that and I find the lowest interest rate for the loan. I keep very low fixed interest rate credit cards and throw the high ones away. Once I make a purchase, I will not allow myself to go shopping or buy anything un-needed until that bill is paid completely off. I have found that if I cannot pay cash for the small things like clothing or housewares, I most likely cannot afford to buy it to start with! This is what keeps us debt free! Works for us and my husband loves it!!!

~~GloryBound