A post about debt

katiewhompus · May 2010

After reading the post about getting out of debt, I'm curious with how much debt posters have. No need to say specifically, just a ball park figure. Also any stories about succesful debt reduction.

with debt, I'm including anything that would show up on a credit report, minus a house payment. So cars, credit cards, student loans, etc contribute.

Eta: I should say "family" debt, as in you as well as your bf/fi/dh.

JessAndTrav · May 2010

I lied. I thought you said excuding cars. So mine is $1000 to $10000. My car is the only debt I have.

ricksang · May 2010

A lot higher than 50,000.

shellydiane820 · May 2010

those are big gaps.

kellyjellybelly · May 2010

Mine is bad - I wish I could blame it all on student loans. Part of it's from grad school classes, the rest... I just like to buy things. it's slowly getting paid down. After the wedding, it will be much easier to put a lot more towards my CC bills since I won't have WR stuff to pay for.

I will say that I've paid cash for everything WR, so that makes me slightly proud of myself. haha.

MeaghanandMichael · May 2010

Take away student loan debt and I would answer MUCH differently.

jaimebeth9 · May 2010

When I met DH I had a boatload of debt. In 3 years we've paid off almost all of it (except my car) and we'll have the rest of the cc debt gone this year. We did this while paying cash for our wedding and buying a house with a hefty downpayment.

My suggestions. Stop using any credit card immediately. When I switched to a debit card my spending habits also changed. Read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Even if you don't follow it to the letter, there is a lot of good information in there. Transfer any balances to a low interest. I was able to get all of mine to 2.99%. Be diligent and put any extra cash towards it. Just think when it's gone all that money is yours to do what you want with.

crfische · May 2010

Dude, with student loans in there, it's just bad news.

Without my student loans, we're golden. But just in student loans, that puts me in the over 50,000 mark.

number55 · May 2010

just mine or with FI?

Mine is fairly low since I have almost paid off my car (August) and my student loans (December? Depends on if I keep paying minimums or not).

But FI still owes about the same on his car as I do as well as a lot in student debt (he only graduated two years ago.

Neither of us have any credit card debt, we pay it off each month.

Mrs.B6302007 · May 2010

I'm a Ramseynerd!

katiewhompus · May 2010

Ok here's another question (I'm bored), what do you consider debt when you do your finances/talk about debt? Just car payments and credit cards? Mortgages? Student loans?

number55 · May 2010

k, just read the last line of the OP...so I guess we are between 20 and 30k but like many PPs, take out the student loans and it isn't bad. My total debt is under $4500 (I just checked online!). His is another story, but university here is not nearly as expensive as in the States so I imagine our student loans are much less substantial than yours (when I finished my 3 degrees I owed $16500).

Goldlie11 · May 2010

I had a bit of CC debt for quite a while. Over two years ago I paid it all off. I've never carried a balance since then. It's a great feeling. Both FI and I still have student loan debt though. It could be worse.

Mrs.B6302007 · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:c0d5102d-b3bd-42ee-88e6-20bcb064c53b">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]Ok here's another question (I'm bored), what do you consider debt when you do your finances/talk about debt? Just car payments and credit cards? Mortgages? Student loans?
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]
Everything. Even the house. Ramsey talks about being debt-free except the house because the house is the largest goal.

crfische · May 2010

We don't have much debt other than our house and a small credit card we have because Scott's paranoid about buying shiit online.

I suppose my student loan is in there, but my dad pays that. I mean it's in my name and all, but I hardly think about it because it doesn't come out of our account every month.

number55 · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:c0d5102d-b3bd-42ee-88e6-20bcb064c53b">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]Ok here's another question (I'm bored), what do you consider debt when you do your finances/talk about debt? Just car payments and credit cards? Mortgages? Student loans?
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]

<div>I count liabilities vs. assets. My mortgage isn't a debt because it has an asset value associated to it (meaning I owe money but I also own something of value that off-sets the debt). Cars are usually not considered assets unless they are luxury vehicles...my crappy kia is not a luxury vehicle. I consider the money I owe against it a liability and I do not consider the car itself an asset.</div><div>
</div><div>So I would consider my car payments, credit cards and student loans as debt. If I had a PLC I would consider that a debt too. </div>

Goldlie11 · May 2010

I too consider anything that you owe debt. Some types of debt are worse than others.

MeaghanandMichael · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:c0d5102d-b3bd-42ee-88e6-20bcb064c53b">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]Ok here's another question (I'm bored), what do you consider debt when you do your finances/talk about debt? Just car payments and credit cards? Mortgages? Student loans?
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]

We just consider credit cards and car payments. We also kind of consider our savings a type of debt in that we would feel horrible not contributing our set amount to it every week. I think that is good though - even if it leads to some conversations about what we COULD do with the money if we weren't stashing it that particular week.

Student loans will be paid eventually. We already pay double the amount each month so we are really not worried in the long run. I have heard most places underatand student loan debt as normal.

ricksang · May 2010

Credit cards
Student Loans
Car payments

I don't consider the house payment, debt, even though it is, because it is kind of something we will always have unless one of us starts making loads of money to but outright.

jaimebeth9 · May 2010

When we talk about being 'debt free' we're currently talking about credit cards. Next will be my car (his is paid off), then my student loans. The house will be last and while we're shooting to have it done faster than the 30 year mortgage...it's going to be a while!

ricksang · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:b14c4c47-3d9d-4bae-befa-e709dab3ff85">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm a Ramseynerd!
Posted by Mrs.B6302007[/QUOTE]

My H loves him!

lauralaur · May 2010

I have no debt. No car payment, no student loans, no credit card debt, nada.

H is another story... He puts us over the $50k mark. Since we got married we paid down his credit card debt as well as a personal loan that he had so that feels pretty good. We're trying to pay off his car next.

Aedes* · May 2010

I bought a house so I owe over 200,000 but I don't think of it as bad debt. I have no other debt than my house. But FI has 30,000 in student loans though, and will have around 100,000 more after law school. EW.

Mrs.B6302007 · May 2010

I've even recently started to do the envelope system and really clipping coupons. Since I'll be staying home next year, I'll be the primary grocery shopper so I've really started buckling down. Been doing emealz for just under a year. That's saved us quite a bit, too.

Mrs.B6302007 · May 2010

We paid off both cars when my townhouse sold.

Nebb · May 2010

I feel like these threads just turn into a pissing match of who has the most or the least debt, in a braggy way.

lisarose7 · May 2010

I'm not considering student loans at the moment (I'm in school now so the remainder of the loans from my previous degree are in deferral and the new loans won't kick in for 2 1/2 years). Cars are paid off, we rent not own...but I do have over a $10,000 balance on my credit card. I was unemployed for a while and was paying for gas and groceries with the CC because we didn't have the money otherwise. It's down considerably from the $18,000 we started out with, and I'm not using the credit card any more.

crfische · May 2010

I didn't have a credit card until graduate school, and then I thought it was THE BEST THING EVER.

Oh man, I wish I never had that card. I used it and abused it, and it took forever to pay off. BLARG.

MeaghanandMichael · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:d8f63689-8be2-4dd6-a3ce-45202d2778d3">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]I feel like these threads just turn into a pissing match of who has the most or the least debt, in a braggy way.
Posted by Nebb[/QUOTE]

Always. I think some one mentioned once (lpstl?) that these can not possibly be true. Maybe with the clicky poll it will be, but most people have way more debt than we see mentioned on this board as a national average.

ps- you were wooed on SB, not that you could stand it there ;)

ricksang · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_post-debt?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:34221102-ddaf-439d-9a73-13afbb7fe97dPost:d8f63689-8be2-4dd6-a3ce-45202d2778d3">Re: A post about debt</a>:
[QUOTE]I feel like these threads just turn into a pissing match of who has the most or the least debt, in a braggy way.
Posted by Nebb[/QUOTE]

I have more debt than GOD. J/K :p

ggmae · May 2010

We just have my student loans that we pay toward each month. No CC debt and no cars to pay off. I bought my car outright from my parents and N paid his off in a year while he was in the Army. We are also really carefully with CCs - N doesn't have one and I only use mine once a month. I usually charge $20/month on it and then pay it off just so I can build a bit of credit. We use debit cards for just about everything.

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