What do you consider Debt Free?

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2002
What do you consider Debt Free?
7
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 7:24pm

What does everyone consider Debt Free? If I had a home, I would consider myself Debt Free even if I had a mortgage...

So, for me I will consider myself debt free when my credit cards (3 more to go) and my 2 unsecured loans are paid off. I will still owe $15,000 on my car and $21,000 to Sallie Mae but will be much better off so I guess I will consider myself "Debt Free Step One" and once the truck and the student loans are done "Debt Free All the Way!". What does Debt Free mean to others?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 7:54pm


I will be debt free when my credit card is paid off. :-D I will still have my car loan and my house loan, but it's the credit card that I consider my true "debt".

Pat :-D

Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 8:01pm

Hello,

I would consider debt free to be "completely, all the way, free of all debt". So, the mortgage would be paid off, loans would be paid off, credit card(s) would be paid off every month, carrying no balance. Basically, there would be no recurring payments owed and no interest charged on any balances anywhere!

Hopefully, once we become "credit card debt free", we can cancel all but one of our credit cards and pay it off each month. I do have a debit card that I use whenever possible, but sometimes the bills take up all of our first paycheck of the month.

So, since I shop for groceries once a week and fill up gas at the same time, I charge both expenses to our credit card for two weeks, then pay off that credit card on second paycheck day.

Eventually, I want to have a "cushion" in our account, so I don't have to charge anything, but can rely on having enough money in the checking account to use the debit card for *every* expense that doesn't use our freedom account.

Last year, we sent $12,000 in extra principal payments to our mortgage. My husband was working until September 2005, so we had a little extra to send each month. Unfortunately, we won't be making any extra payments on our mortgage this year until my husband finds another job or brings in some money working from home.

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Got Dot? Why Not? It Pays!
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Edited 1/14/2006 9:19 pm ET by endomagazine

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 8:40pm

Well, I think I may look at it like you.

Pumpkin

&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 10:22pm

We'll be debt-free when everything is paid off, which may be awhile. I like the idea of "Debt-free step one" though! That'll be when we have everything but the mortgage and the student loans paid off.

We're getting there, one shovel-ful of flakes at a time!

~Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2005
Sat, 01-14-2006 - 11:38pm
I will consider myself debt free once I get my credit cards paid off, of course by that time I have my car paid off too but I'll still have my student loan. Around that time though I'll need to buy a new car. My car is such a lemon. And sooner or later, I would like to buy a house so I'll have a mortgage too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-1999
Sun, 01-15-2006 - 12:04am

I will consider myself debt free (except the mortgage)when we finish paying sallie mae & pickup loan...19 months to be debtfree!!

Then we'll get our EF up to snuff ($7,000)& do 15% of income to retirement & start paying down the mortgage of $59,000. Trying to follow the Dave Ramsey baby steps.

cindylee

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2002
Sun, 01-15-2006 - 8:10am

Thanks for the replies. I feel good to know that I am not the only one paying off bigger items, but I hope one day we all own everything!

Pumpkin, I agree with you - my student loans don't bother me that much. That was my education and 100% worth it. My MBNA is a bunch of things I don't remember (although I do remember that snowboard - ugghh) all added up to a big amount. I do wish I had been able to pay Sallie Mae instead of defer the last few years because I pay $250/month right now and that hurts.

I used to kick myself about buying a new Jeep a few years ago, but knock on wood its great and I have 3 years before its mine with probably under 60k on it. At least if I get married and have kids, it will transistion wih me. Although lol the boyfriend has a Jeep too. Ok, if we get married, we sell one then! Otherwise I plan to keep it until it dies! I cannot wait to snowflake on that one.