Key Takeaways. In order to keep your debt load under control, a household may look to the so-called 28/36 rule. The 28/36 rule states that no more than 28% of a household's gross income be spent on housing and no more than 36% on debt service.
The 20/10 rule of thumb limits consumer debt payments to no more than 20% of your annual take-home income and no more than 10% of your monthly take-home income. This guideline can help you limit the amount of debt you carry, which is important for your financial health and your credit score.
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.
What is an ideal debt-to-income ratio? Lenders typically say the ideal front-end ratio should be no more than 28 percent, and the back-end ratio, including all expenses, should be 36 percent or lower.
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.
While the average American has $90,460 in debt, this includes all types of consumer debt products, from credit cards to personal loans, mortgages and student debt.
“Good” debt is defined as money owed for things that can help build wealth or increase income over time, such as student loans, mortgages or a business loan. “Bad” debt refers to things like credit cards or other consumer debt that do little to improve your financial outcome.
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.
If your DTI is 35% or less, you're doing well. Your repayments are manageable, and you may have room for another financial obligation. If you have a DTI ratio between 36% and 49%, you're not doing too badly—but you have room to improve.
Monthly debts are recurring monthly payments, such as credit card payments, loan payments (like car, student or personal loans), alimony or child support. Our DTI formula uses your minimum monthly debt amount — meaning the lowest amount you are required to pay each month on recurring payments.
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.
If you have credit card debt, you're not alone. On average, Americans carry $6,194 in credit card debt, according to the 2019 Experian Consumer Credit Review. And Alaskans have the highest credit card balance, on average $8,026.
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.
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.
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.
A 45% debt ratio is about the highest ratio you can have and still qualify for a mortgage.
There's not a single set of requirements for conventional loans, so the DTI requirement will depend on your personal situation and the exact loan you're applying for. However, you'll generally need a DTI of 50% or less to qualify for a conventional loan.
Back-end DTIs compare gross income to all monthly debt payments, including housing, credit cards, automobile loans, student loans and any other type of debt.
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.
"House poor" is a term used to describe a person who spends a large proportion of his or her total income on homeownership, including mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities.
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.
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.
A simple rule about debt is that if it increases your net worth or has future value, it's good debt. If it doesn't do that and you don't have cash to pay for it, it's bad debt.
Likewise, millennial consumers (ages 25 to 40) have an average of $27,251 in non-mortgage debt, presumably across credit cards, auto loans, personal loans and student loans.