Which is better: Debt Edition

sinnedambition · October 2009

Which is better: 1. Scrimp and save, and never spend money (except on neccesities) to pay off all the debt as quickly as possible? or 2. Pay off as much as possible without completely changing your lifestyle?

stebbe81 · October 2009

I would say pay it off as quickly as possible!

mink492 · October 2009

what kind of debt are we talking about? like school loans or "i don't know how to manage money" debt?

sinnedambition · October 2009

Cars, school stuff, etc.

boogerbearoriginal · October 2009

Option 1 is the best choice financially but Option 2 is far more feasible.

boogerbearoriginal · October 2009

Additionally, if you have debt because you're living outside your means, ie credit card debt, you will have to change your lifestyle.What I did to pay off the credit card debt accumulated in college was to set up a spreadsheet of all my monthly bills that I had. Then added estimated costs for groceries, gas, and other things like months I knew of birthdays I allocated funds for a present.Whatever extra I had I added to my credit card with the highest interest and worked down from there. I did maintain a little padding for discretionary spending. This may mean you cannot go out as much, cannot buy new things as often etc. But its soooo worth it!

mordacious · October 2009

When it comes to credit card debt, pay it off as soon as possible imo and never get into cc debt again. I wouldn't say go so far as to never treat yourself to a nice meal but quit buying nonessential stuff for a while and soon enough you won't want that stuff anyways.

sinnedambition · October 2009

The reason I ask is this: I am furgal to a fault: if I have ANY debt, I'd rather not buy paper plates so that I can put that extra 1.50 towards the debt. Fi is a little lose with money: Would rather buy the latest video game than put a double payment on his truck. Neither is "wrong," I just was curious the opinions of others.

Gwenwhyfare · October 2009

It depends on what kind of interest the debt has. Credit cards get paid off right away. I personally like to pay off debt ASAP.

catstoy73 · October 2009

We did this when DH & I were both laid off at the same time. We got rid of cable, only bought the necessities, sold DH's car (79 Trans Am-miss that car!), did Flea Markets to get rid of stuff (didn't want to but needed money), didn't go out to eat except once a month for 'date night'. We saved a lot of money and when DH finally got a job at the end of April, we didn't go back to the way things were before and we really don't miss too much of it. We only go out once a month for date night.

mordacious · October 2009

Me and FI are the same way. I'd rather pay off cc debt (or save for the wedding) and he would rather buy new computer speakers...literally just a conversation we had the other day. He was whining about how has to listen to movies through his headphone on his computer when we have an entire basement dedicated to home theater crap and surround sound and flat screen tvs and video games and a computer hooked up to said flat screen tv so he can watch netflix instantly!!!!!!!!! God it drives me nuts >:(

jujubee455 · October 2009

lmao... I would say a combo of the two. I mean you can't make yourself miserable. I think you should compromise and lets say treat yourself once a month. Everything else is necessities.

ms nobody · October 2009

ditto juju. i'm pretty darn frugal, but i will go and buy 3-4 pairs of shoes about once a year, a few trips to old navy during the year, a pair designer frames. a new (cheap) bag. now that i think about it... all of my "splurging" is crap i use everyday... so it's not really even splurging. lol what a loser.

cmkuno · November 2009

I know I'm a little late answering your question, but I just thought I'd let you know that it isn't always better, financially speaking, to pay off debt as quickly as possible. It depends on the interest rate and what your investment options are. FI and I are going through this right now because I have a VERY large amount of student loan debt from law school. With our combined income, we could pay them off much faster. But interest rates are really low right now, so if there was ever a time to delay paying off debt, it's now. We're thinking of buying a house in the next year or so, and we're considering continuing to make the minimum payments on my student loans so we can save up for a down payment. Even though that will add to our net debt, buying a house is most likely a good investment right now. As is the stock market, since the economy is still slow but looking like it will pick up soon. It's a long answer to a short question, but my point is to examine all of your options. GL!

Which is better: Debt Edition

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