Most lenders say a DTI of 36% is acceptable, but they want to loan you money so they're willing to cut some slack. Many financial advisors say a DTI higher than 35% means you are carrying too much debt. Others stretch the boundaries to the 36%-49% mark.
The average American with a car loan owes $26,162. According to recent research, car debt is one of the largest debts most Americans have - up by $1,000 from 2018 to 2019.
To cut to the chase, it's smart to spend less than 10% of your monthly take-home pay on your car payment, so you can keep your total car costs below 15% to 20% of your income. That might leave you feeling you can afford only a beat-up Yugo.
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.
About 52% of Americans owe $2,500 or less on their credit cards. If you're looking at $5,000 or higher, you should really get motivated to knock out that debt quickly.
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.
The simplest way to make this calculation is to divide $10,000 by 12. This would mean you need to pay $833 per month to have contributed your goal amount to your debt pay-off plan. This number, though, doesn't factor in the interest on 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.
It's not at all uncommon for households to be swimming in more that twice as much credit card debt. But just because a $15,000 balance isn't rare doesn't mean it's a good thing. Credit card debt is seriously expensive. Most credit cards charge between 15% and 29% interest, so paying down that debt should be a priority.
Senator Elizabeth Warren popularized the so-called "50/20/30 budget rule" (sometimes labeled "50-30-20") in her book, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. The basic rule is to divide up after-tax income and allocate it to spend: 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and socking away 20% to savings.
How much should you spend on a car? If you're taking out a personal loan to pay for your car, it's a good idea to limit your car payments to between 10% and 15% of your take-home pay. If you take home $4,000 per month, you'd want your car payment to be no more than $400 to $600.
Experts say your total car expenses, including monthly payments, insurance, gas and maintenance, should be about 20 percent of your take-home monthly pay. For non-math wizards, like me – Let's say your monthly paycheck is $4,000. Then a safe estimate for car expenses is $800 per month.
The pandemic and resulting supply-chain issues, inflation, rising interest rates all play a part. By Sebastian Blanco. Jun 19, 2022. Spencer PlattGetty Images.
The average debt for individual consumers dropped from $6,194 in 2019 to $5,315 in 2020. In fact, the average balance declined in every state.
With the 35% / 45% model, your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't be more than 35% of your pre-tax income, or 45% more than your after-tax income. To calculate how much you can afford with this model, determine your gross income before taxes and multiply it by 35%.
According to Brown, you should spend between 28% to 36% of your take-home income on your housing payment. If you make $70,000 a year, your monthly take-home pay, including tax deductions, will be approximately $4,530.
Yes, it is absolutely possible to buy a house with credit card debt. And by lowering your debt-to-income ratio before you apply for a loan, you may qualify for a better interest rate, too.
It's best to avoid using savings to pay off debt. Depleting savings puts you at risk for going back into debt if you need to use credit cards or loans to cover bills during a period of unexpected unemployment or a medical emergency.