If you had ZERO debt?

[Anonymous]

I would probably renovate our house (maybe $100k-$200k) to update kitchen and get more living space, and save more for retirement so I could retire earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No debt and have been that way for a number of years. There's a tremendous freedom that comes from this. DH has retired young, but works if something interests him. I'm still working bc I like what I do. We also do consider the price of things.

Wow, impressive. What kind of job can you do only when it interests you? Artist? Architect?[/quote

Consultant in an area he spent his work life doing. With no debt, he doesn't have to work was my point.

Yes, I understand. I'm in a career where I feel that taking even 6 months off could tank my prospects. The idea of having a little breathing room if I wanted it sounds like a huge plus. Thanks for following up.

[Anonymous]

We have zero debt. We have a one year old and another on the way. We had to move (due to growing out of the space we owned), so we chose to sell our condo and rent for a few years in order to get our feet back under us with the two kids. We own the car outright, paid off student loans before having kids, contribute about 20% to retirement, some to 529, and save for emergency expenses. Our HHI is about 155K. Having no debt means flexibility in case of an emergency, flexibility if there is a big purchase we want to make, and flexibility in job searching and choices.

[Anonymous]

PP - how do you save 20%+ on $155k? Is one of you a stay at home parent? Just curious how you swing that great figure. We're near to that HHI and can only get to 12% after all is said and done with our one kiddo.

[Anonymous]

No debt, and own two homes outright. One (duplex) is rented out. Still plenty of expenses (insurance, taxes, utilities, etc.) but the rental income more than covers that.

Being debt free is freedom to me. Means I don't have to worry about work.

[Anonymous]

No debt, brand new home, paid off cars. Our goal is and always will be to save for our retirement. I wasn't a spender and I married a saver.

We need nothing, want even less. Things are not important anymore.

[Anonymous]

12:00 here - we aren't really big spenders - we only have one car (which we paid for in cash), don't have student loans anymore, etc and make saving a priority. both of us work. stuff we need for the kid i get used or borrow, for the most part. we seek out free stuff to do, use miles for traveling (when we do it), etc. i think it is just a combo of making it a priority (fully funding the IRAs, fully funding up to company match of 401ks, investing X amount each month in after-tax account, etc). we also have a budget for everything - for example gifts - we decide how much we will spend for a year (50.00 a sibling for Xmas, for example) and we just save for it all year. i think it's just a bunch of small decisions that just add up.

[Anonymous]

I have zero debt and have never had any. My parents paid for my undergraduate degree (and I am eternally grateful). I make $35k before taxes annually. I have 5 credit cards and have never carried a balance/always paid all of them off in full. I never use cash or my debit card. But, I also have zero savings. I do have about $2,000 in stocks from when my grandparents used to give me a couple of stocks of Disney every year for Christmas. My monthly rent and utility bills leave me with about $5-600 a month for groceries, gas, and everything extra. It's awesome to have zero debt, but that doesn't mean I'm well off financially. I have to pay absorbitant rent because I have no money for a down payment. Even though my credit score is ~770, no bank would lend me more than $200k for a house because I have 0% to put down and I don't even know where in this area you could buy anything at that price.

[Anonymous]

We have had no debt for 5 years. Paid off student loans for my 30th birthday and paid for our wedding and bought our car cash.

We plan to buy a house soon and take on a $500-600k mortgage. It's about 1/2 to 2/3 of what we can afford, but we'd rather have a small house and some flexibility in our budget.

[Anonymous]

We have one mortgage right now and own 2 properties outright. Our yearly income is about 300k. We save about $100k including 401k, 529 etc. we live very frugally and pay everything without loans. Our loan interest is around 3 % so I am not pre paying the debt. I think it makes sense to use that money and buy stocks. Plus we are heavily in mortgage. Our networth is almost 2 million of which 900k is in real estate. We are 40 year old. I have been listening to Dave Ramsey and I know he thinks we should probably pay off our last loan but I am not sure that is the best option considering it is such low interest. The mortgage is 350k.