Are you in debt?

[ROBOTRON]

Assuming some of you are around my age, how in the f*ck did you do it? You cash paid for your home, cars, etc. all your life?

I'm 35. I have a 3 year old kid. I've owned a new car (once) and paid cash for it. Never owned a home, or a boat. Owned lots of $1000-$2000 PCBs over the years. That's about it.

Way cool.

Working as a heavy equipment operator through the early dot.com boom I made money hand over fist. I had a significant savings, owned my home outright, then I began my midlife crisis early on and purchased a fishing boat, classic sports car in addition to my Eagle Talon TSI, and finally a motorcycle. I also Bought a NeoGeo AES in 1990 when it first hit the market. I now have almost 60 carts for it and its like owning another car note as carts for it ran $200 U.S. and up.

Life am good.

Suddenly, I was derailed by an unforeseen occurrence and am now disabled. I am able to work in my field but no one will hire me, not even my own stinkin' union.

After awhile, so long motorcycle (couldn't ride it anymore), so long classic sports car (I cried) and lastly, so long fishing boat. Girlfriend for 10 years left me (Had a kid with her, meh.) I now live modestly just north of Detroit, MI. in a small cozy house 15 surgeries later. I am afloat but would like to replenish savings. I wouldn't mind fishing again, maybe a small boat, but its impossible in my current budget. Ever heard the old saying? "A boat is a hole in the water you pour money in". Well thats some true sh*t. Boats are a fortune to keep up. Got a Jeep Gran Cherokee 06', wife has a minivan.

I dream of being debt free like you guys, but it is beyond my grasp right now.

(sigh)

[rancor]

Well, I may be debt free with a bit of savings, but I also don't have a damn thing to my name. No car, no house, no Neo Geo AES system, nothing. Honestly the most expensive thing I own is a 2 year old macbook. I have also never been able to describe myself as making money "hand over fist"... (sigh) I honestly wonder what that feeling is like. As my wife and I live fairly austere lifestyles, I also don't work very much either. In this month, I've only been to work 10 days (by choice). We get by, and I love having time to help raise the baby.
I have a few online ventures, as does the wife but for the most part we don't make much, and don't spend much. I suppose I have a lot of freedom and free time, but I've learned that free time leads to spending money, and buying junk I don't need or cant take home (to America). I've pretty much grown up with nothing, lived with nothing, and to this day have almost no material possessions to call my own. I don't know if thats good or bad. I see all of Robotrons stuff and I have to admit I get a bit jealous. The awesome boat, the cars (Well, I see one nice car at least.. ) and that living room with all that STUFF looks so appealing. But on the other hand I see those things as something that will limit my mobility and freedom. I do know that when I get back to America, I'm going to go on a spending spree though, mobility and freedom be damned. I want some stuff!... Anyhow, thats what I have to look forward to.

[Khan]

Sweet pics ROBOTRON

One of the reasons why I suppose I can save cash is because ive always been that kinda guy who is scared of one day waking up and finding myself with nothing to fall back on, I get guilty if i buy something expensive for myself so rarely does that happen....the only thing I spent money on that I do kinda regret is my motorcycles I have 4 with 2 that havent been used in years the other two do get used but I should sell off 2 of them and keep two that do get used....it sucks because I know the value of them do drop I have lost money on them but you could say at the time I thought it was worth it.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I try to save as much as possible while having some fun now and then. Now, if my company would just buy some microwaves... lunching in NYC ain't cheap.

[ROBOTRON]

Oh well, I'm alive....still have my corny sense of humor, and a wife that says I play too much video games, get rid of all that crap....meh.

Oh yeah, wait a minute! I have RSG and a rough, coarse hands...perfect for slowly suffocating my chicken leg and lots of left over debt!

Thats worth living for!

[sven666]

cool pic dude, that boat must have been a blast! (v8?).

[DEL]

Skykid wrote;

Anyway, capitalism is slavery and debt is the methodology. If everyone took heed of that I reckon we'd all be better off.

There was only one interesting thing in the film 'The International', when the corporate expert said that "The banks want to control your debt". They want you IN debt, they want Countries in debt, so they can control it.

ROBOTRON - Life is a rollercoaster. Up is not always the direction.
I still maintain that it was impressive to have all the things you listed .

btw. What is RSG? (if you're not referring to Radiant Silvergun that is?)
A condition?

[ROBOTRON]

image

cool pic dude, that boat must have been a blast! (v8?).

yeah, thanx sven. 90'Bayliner I/O 305 outdrive was Cobra.

@DEL affirmative, RSG = Radiant Silvergun....and yup, life is ups and downs.

The main reason I kinda opened up my life on here is I hoped it might help others here focus on whats more important in their lives. Toys are nice, no debt is better, me thinks. In hindsight.

[greg]

My wife and I bought a house at the end of 2005. At the time, it seemed like if we didn't buy a house, we'd never be able to afford one. We bought a beautiful starter home, and we figured that we'd live there for a few years and sell it on the equity once we had a baby. At the time we only had about $4k in credit card debt, but it was all interest-free. Then 6 months later the mortgage crisis hit, and we were stuck. Then the economy started getting really crappy, and the job market took a nosedive in the fall of 2007, right when I found myself unemployed. I was told that I was losing my job the day after we found out my wife was pregnant. nine months later and I finally found a new job, but it didn't pay well. We had to live off of credit cards during that time just to make the mortgage payments. In 2008 they started doing the short sales, and I really should've taken advantage of it back then. I just figured that I could bounce back and get a better paying job real soon. Then when that job ended December of last year, I was unemployed for 5 months again. We were over $35,000 in debt, and the house was driving us into bankruptcy. We're now doing a short sale, but the buyer may be flaking out on us and we may end up going into foreclosure.

For those who are struggling with credit card debt, I highly recommend careonecredit.com. Their debt management program allowed us to select which credit cards to enroll into the program, and those interest rates were significantly reduced. Citibank was really killing us when they jacked up our interest rate to 23%. We're now on track to becoming debt-free in four years from now. There are also less-conservative credit settlement programs available, in which your overall amount of debt is reduced. It'll kill your credit, but at least you'd be able to build it up sooner once you're done with the program.

[ED-057]

I worked fast food and went to a local community college for which my dad paid the tuition. Then I got a factory job which pays relatively well considering that no qualifications are needed other than a functioning body. Cost of living is not too high around here either. For a while I lived in an 800sq.ft apartment for only $430/month. A few years ago I moved into a small house and incurred some debt but as of this year it is paid off.

I've always driven old cars that I bought with cash and maintained myself. New cars are a bad investment, especially in a climate where they are prone to rusting.

One of the things I admire about my dad is his general handy-ness. He tought me the basics of working on cars, and he also helped me fix my own roof and install my own furnace. DIY saves a lot of money, `cuz the hourly rate that professionals charge is MUCH higher than what I make.

[Pirate1019]

I consider myself in an extremely lucky situation financially for a student.

The highschool I went to has a program where you attend classes at the local community college for both highschool and college credit, while the state paid the tuition. Essentially I got 2 years of college for the cost of books. When I graduated and moved up to a 4-year university, my parents, who have incredible credit, decided that instead of letting me get fucked over on school loans, they would take out a line of credit for my schooling and pay the interest while I attended. The end result is that instead of owing a bank I owe my parents, who aren't quite as daunting as an instituition that is barely above breaking kneecaps to guarantee payment.

As for credit cards and the like, the idea of spending what I don't have doesn't sit well with me, so even if I didn't have a crippling fear of bureaucracy and paperwork, credit card debt isn't something I'm too worried about.

[neorichieb1971]

So what was the money for? Boob enhancements, gastric bypass, skin removal..

now she is dead, she died last June.

CC companies say "fuck you pay me" "fuck you pay me".

God damn! That sucks. Sorry to hear that.
I'm sure you looked into this... gotta be a way out, no?

I wasn't asking questions beyond that. The more I talked the more info they had on me. I was burying myself. The lawyer said bankruptcy or settle in court to get possibly 40% of it paid by my ex. I had 20k in savings that I worked damn hard for so I wasn't giving that up. In the end I took the 3rd option which was run to England (home). I haven't been bothered since by anyone. In fact the same credit card companies are still offering me more money. I guess the SSN system isn't relevant here.

The Lawyer said that after 10 years the debt is cleared anyway. A sort of "wipe the slate clean because the CC's aint getting shit". Anyways, I see it as misconduct by the CC's. She shouldn't have gotten the CC's, she should definitely had been confronted with purchases over 20k and why didn't anyone come looking for me when this was getting out of control? So in 2016 I'm debt free according to the lawyer. I don't have any sympathy for her or those sons of bitches.

I wish that debt wasn't a destructive force but it is. Once it has its mits on you, its possibly the end of any happiness you had.

[Ghegs]

Sorry Skykid, weekend was a bit crazy so I didn't have a chance to give the thread a proper look before now.

The girlfriend-related discussion a few pages back is so tightly woven into the debts thing it's hard to split off properly, but let's start a new one here: Inspired by both Vyxx and Skykid, I give you "Life and what it throws at you, get it off your chest here".

[cools]

Mortgage and that's it. Use my credit card constantly for purchases (I get Airmiles with it) which is paid off regularly.

I was at a point where I had about 12k's worth of debt. Some of this was student loan, some of this was credit card, some an overdraft, the bulk was a loan I took out immediately after buying a house - to furnish it etc. I overspent my budget (hence the credit card debt and overdraft) which was a little disappointing, but stopped myself spending once things were to my liking and focused on clearing the debt. CC first, then overdraft, then student loan (was lucky to recieve a small amount of inheritance money that cleared this out), then overpaid as much as I could on the bank loan and cleared it a year early.

Credit is NOT a problem as long as you keep an eye on things and control your debt.

Currently trying to save a chunk of "rainy day" cash. Once I've hit my target (and I should've started 6 months before I actually did start) I'm overpaying the hell out of my mortgage. It'd be nice to be truly debt free before I'm 40.

[KindGrind]

I've got a mortgage, car payments and quite a bit on my line of credit at a low interest rate. I had pretty much 0 debt before taking my mortgage/started having kids 3 years ago.

A recent jump from 1 to 3 kids in one shot put a bit of a financial strain on us, but hey.

When I look at people around me, I feel my situation is not too bad. I have friends that owe 20-25K in students loans alone... Glad we cleared that off before real life kicked in.

[Domino]

I want to bring this thread up from the dead but minus the relationships stuff. Also I'm curious if anything has changed with some since 2010.

I'm only $7k in student loan debt, but I'm doing excellent since I came out of Uni with $16.6k back in 2011 and two years later I paid off almost $10k of it. At this point with three loans totaling $7k there's no point for me to consolidate my loans. Monthly payments are $92 a month but I put in $100 monthly by doing $50 every two weeks (so a month is usually four full weeks so $50x2=$100). With this I should be around $6700 to $6800 by end of the year.

My credit card has a limit of $7k but I only use about $100 per month on it before paying all of it off.

And besides that I don't have any other debt. I'm trying to increasing my saving by putting in 10% of my gross pay into my savings account (currently at $4500 but will be over $5k easy by end of the year) and put in 3% full match into the 401k (which is only a whopping $1400 ATM).

Bringing home $1900 gross pay (after medical, 401k, and taxes) is a slight challenge at times to save.

[boagman]

Never seen this topic before.

Quickly: no, I have no debt. I sleep *very* well at night living this way. Yes, I have credit cards. They're tools for me: they get used instead of cash, but they are paid off every single month, to the penny. I have no mortgage. I rent, and I'm happy to do it. I own my own vehicle, which will need replacement soon, so it's time to buy a new vehicle (there's no point in leasing...I drive over 20K miles a year, ergo, leasing is prohibitive). Yes, I did make some payments on that vehicle, but that was to qualify for some rebates and such. It's long ago fully paid off.

So no: no debt at all. Money in the bank and in investments. Financially frugal. Sleeping well.

[Weak Boson]

Wow this thread was a difficult read.

I'm at university so I'll be paying off that for a good long while. In fact the system in the UK has changed since this thread was created. It's now £9000 fees + about £4500 maintenance loans (for me) a year which adds up to a pretty dizzying sum. Repayment basically works like a tax: you are required to pay 9% of your earnings over £21,000 (so £30 a month if you're on £25k a year). I think this means monthly payments are lower under this system; but the interest is more, up to a maximum of 3% + rate of inflation. It's wiped out after 30 years.

I'm not anticipating much grief from this. Having an additional bit of income siphoned off will probably be irritating but hopefully nothing worse: not much experience to go on but I feel like I should be able to manage living within my means. Money isn't everything. I've seen how my brother lives since he left home: seems like he and his girlfriend know how to live well on not much money. So no amount of money is going to help me be as happy as them!

[trap15]

I am in a bit of debt to my father who helped finance my recent move, but I've been paying that off very quickly. Aside from that, no debt. No credit card either, so nothing to worry about on that end. Own my (dump of a) car, and renting an apartment.

[quash]

I took college courses in high school, and then once I graduated, I binged and purged on financial aid. I ended up with roughly 3 years worth of credits towards a CS major before the aid ran out. Considering my circumstances at the time, any kind of loan was simply not a realistic option (broke, money grubbing parents really didn't help matters).

So, I gave up and joined the military. Say what you will of that, but I still got 3 years of school while incurring zero debt. Hell, my school actually owed me $3; they wrote out the check for it and everything.

I'm in no hurry to go back to school, but when I do eventually finish my degree, it's going to be cake compared to before.

In the meantime, I get paid stupid amounts of money to do probably the easiest job I'll ever have. With virtually zero expenses to my name (a cellphone bill being the only thing I have to pay monthly), I have nothing but disposable income/savings.

Honestly, I have no idea how so many service members fuck up their finances as badly as they do. I just finished my first year of service, so I'm not eligible for most allowances yet, nor do I get a within-grade raise for another year, and I'm still in better financial shape than a lot of people I know who make way more more than me.

[dcharlie]

Ok, personally I'm in a mortgage debt as of July this year, but I consider that the only completely necessary debt someone could have.

No debts at all except for mortgage - not sure how it is elsewhere but our previous rent on a Japanese house (that's well under half the size of the place we bought) is over twice as much as the mortgage we are paying. In effect, we're saving money by buying.

Other than that - no debts as such, though educating two kids through international schools here in japan sure looks like a nightmare :/

[Koa Zo]

I'm presently wresting with whether or not to attend graduate school.
I'm accepted and enrolled at Drexel in Philadelphia, PA, and classes start in 3 weeks.
Payment will be entirely through federal loans, and at some point I would be using credit cards for some living expenses and school materials.
After two years I would be approaching $50,000+ in debt.

Am I getting cold feet, or do I see the writing on the wall and realize that such a burden will not be worth the potential earnings increase the degree may offer?
I could just as well get a job with the state government as a file clerk or something menial.
All my life I've been led to follow the path of higher education, but it really seems like a big business scam.

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm a few thousand dollars in debt, due to some medical costs from earlier this year.

Sucks.

[brentsg]

I'm presently wresting with whether or not to attend graduate school.
I'm accepted and enrolled at Drexel in Philadelphia, PA, and classes start in 3 weeks.
Payment will be entirely through federal loans, and at some point I would be using credit cards for some living expenses and school materials.
After two years I would be approaching $50,000+ in debt.

Am I getting cold feet, or do I see the writing on the wall and realize that such a burden will not be worth the potential earnings increase the degree may offer?
I could just as well get a job with the state government as a file clerk or something menial.
All my life I've been led to follow the path of higher education, but it really seems like a big business scam.

Simple matter of considering whether your degree will significantly open doord or boost income. If it will make you a better low wage earner then you are good to have cold feet. If it increases income and creates opportunity then do it.

[DEL]

Skykid wrote;

But Jesus, speaking to some of the guys at work I found out loads of them have tons of debt on their shoulders and they have no mortgage!
A lot of it from bank loans they took out ""to have a good time" or for student loans etc. I actually feel for one guy, he's been in debt of about 10k for so long he's hoping that eventually it'll be written off - no wonder he's always asking people to buy him a beer.
After working with some of them for over five years it was a bit of a shock to find out how many of them were paying off loans and credit card interest into the thousands of £'s.

Yes I was surprised to be working in an office alongside technical sales guys who are indeed very poor. One guy opposite me has migraines and told me that a 500Euro Oxygen machine could help him, so I said "Buy it then." He surprised me with "I can't afford it."
The guy sitting next to him broke a part on his mini motorbike requiring a 500Euro fix, so I said "fix it then." To which he also replied "I can't afford it." It doesn't stop there, the guy sitting right next to me had no mortgage, just like these two guys but I watched him go into debt over the year and a half I worked next to him.
The kicker is that these guys were working a very stressful technical sales job and were still somehow poorer than some people on Benefit
The System keeps everyone down. It is by design. About eight years ago I met a Mason in Central London who stated to me: "Money?! The Public isn't supposed to have Money!"
So true.
This is why we call it: "Beating the System" when you actually make any appreciable amount of money.

[Marc]

In figures, to the tune of about 30k thanks to my previous relationship. In real terms, they accept what I can afford to pay or I go bankrupt, as I have no assets to be seized. Not something I'm proud of, but life doesn't always pan out the way you expect. Shit, ten years ago my game collection alone was worth 20k+.

[sven666]

haha cool threadbump (and a bit sad seeing the pics of old robo).

anyways, my plan to be debt free by 30 kinda went sour.. bought some stuff and im now in for about $400K still doing good tho.

[Marc]

Skykid wrote;

But Jesus, speaking to some of the guys at work I found out loads of them have tons of debt on their shoulders and they have no mortgage!
A lot of it from bank loans they took out ""to have a good time" or for student loans etc. I actually feel for one guy, he's been in debt of about 10k for so long he's hoping that eventually it'll be written off - no wonder he's always asking people to buy him a beer.
After working with some of them for over five years it was a bit of a shock to find out how many of them were paying off loans and credit card interest into the thousands of £'s.

Yes I was surprised to be working in an office alongside technical sales guys who are indeed very poor. One guy opposite me has migraines and told me that a 500Euro Oxygen machine could help him, so I said "Buy it then." He surprised me with "I can't afford it."
The guy sitting next to him broke a part on his mini motorbike requiring a 500Euro fix, so I said "fix it then." To which he also replied "I can't afford it." It doesn't stop there, the guy sitting right next to me had no mortgage, just like these two guys but I watched him go into debt over the year and a half I worked next to him.
The kicker is that these guys were working a very stressful technical sales job and were still somehow poorer than some people on Benefit
The System keeps everyone down. It is by design. About eight years ago I met a Mason in Central London who stated to me: "Money?! The Public isn't supposed to have Money!"
So true.
This is why we call it: "Beating the System" when you actually make any appreciable amount of money.

You sir, speak the truth.

[BulletMagnet]

As of now I have no debt and hope to keep it that way to the best of my ability, as I absolutely HATE owing money. I have a (worthless) college degree, but managed to offset pretty much all of the tuition (still had to pay for fees/supplies/books/etc. of course) by 1) Starting at a community college where my folks work, and 2) Earning a scholarship to the four-year school while I was there. I also live pretty quietly, all things considered (no GF, no real hobbies besides gaming), though not entirely by choice, since despite having been working full time for awhile now I still live at home, because I simply do not make enough (and no matter how long or hard I work at this place I never will) to afford my own place. I recently, after much hesitation, got a credit card, but pay it off completely every month; if I ever fail to do so I'm cancelling it straight away.

[dcharlie]

I should also say the possibly horrible thing to mention that liquidating almost my entire gaming collection, getting out of PCB collecting, getting out of retro, trashing the arcade machines, and putting myself on a tight leash in terms of what game i buy (especially at Japan prices) makes a huge difference to money in the bank each month.

As long as you can switch off and be 6-12 months behind or, christ, live for the Steam sales then #twothumbsfresh

There's just little justification in dropping 6-7k yen on a new game - especially when time is limited (portable gaming gets a pass though)