Living debt-free is possible. With a bit of financial management and handling your money properly, you can pull yourself out of debt. Doing so has its perks. Living a debt-free lifestyle can save you money and allow you to also start saving toward your financial goals.
They don't owe anything to the bank, so every dollar they earn stays with them to spend, save and give! Debt is the biggest obstacle to building wealth.
Kevin O'Leary, an investor on “Shark Tank” and personal finance author, said in 2018 that the ideal age to be debt-free is 45. It's at this age, said O'Leary, that you enter the last half of your career and should therefore ramp up your retirement savings in order to ensure a comfortable life in your elderly years.
Generally speaking, a good debt-to-income ratio is anything less than or equal to 36%. Meanwhile, any ratio above 43% is considered too high.
When you have no debt, your credit score and other indicators of financial health, such as debt-to-income ratio (DTI), tend to be very good. This can lead to a higher credit score and be useful in other ways.
Is being debt-free the new rich? Yes, as long as you have money and assets, in addition to no debts. Living loan-free is a fantastic way to stay financially secure, and it is possible for anyone. While there are a couple of downsides to being debt-free, they are minimal.
And yet, over half of Americans surveyed (53%) say that debt reduction is a top priority—while nearly a quarter (23%) say they have no debt. And that percentage may rise.
Being debt-free is a financial milestone we often hear about people striving for. Without debt, you can focus on building more savings, investing those extra funds and just simply having more peace of mind about your finances.
Our recommendation is to prioritize paying down significant debt while making small contributions to your savings. Once you've paid off your debt, you can then more aggressively build your savings by contributing the full amount you were previously paying each month toward debt.
While mortgage rates are currently low, they're still higher than interest rates on most types of bonds—including municipal bonds. In this situation, you'd be better off paying down the mortgage. You prioritize peace of mind: Paying off a mortgage can create one less worry and increase flexibility in retirement.
How much money does the average American owe? According to a 2020 Experian study, the average American carries $92,727 in consumer debt. Consumer debt includes a variety of personal credit accounts, such as credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, personal loans, and student loans.
Many people would likely say $30,000 is a considerable amount of money. Paying off that much debt may feel overwhelming, but it is possible. With careful planning and calculated actions, you can slowly work toward paying off your debt.
A Critical Number For Homebuyers
One way to decide how much of your income should go toward your mortgage is to use the 28/36 rule. According to this rule, your mortgage payment shouldn't be more than 28% of your monthly pre-tax income and 36% of your total debt. This is also known as the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.
25—34 year olds = $78,396
Credit cards often have high interest rates that can cause debt to snowball. Younger millennials carry an average debt of $78,396, primarily due to credit card balances, according to Experian.
The first big reason is because wealthier people, in general, tend to have much higher mortgage debt than those with lower incomes. And since they are in a better position to get approved for mortgage loans, they are more likely to own a home.
What would really happen? The economy would slump. Consumer spending is roughly 70 percent of GDP.. Since, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the savings rate is currently 3.7 percent, increasing the savings rate—a corollary to paying off debt—would mean a decrease in spending by 26.3 percent.
Make sure that no more than 36% of monthly income goes toward debt.