this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Hear about how much debt everyone in the US has all the time, curious about some of your stories!

My bad debt is 10k left on a school loan from a for profit school that is now out of business.

Only other debt is house.

So how are you all doing with debt management?

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

Fuckin debt free 😎

Own my car 😎

College educated 😎

Gainfully employed 😎

Making more than the average household in my state, solo 😎

So is my gf 😎

Still cannot afford a house 😒

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Same, but without the SO to help.

New head canon, this is a government conspiracy to push polygamy. I will need at least two wives and three husbands to afford a house.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm in the exact same boat, to the letter. It's been great watching interest rates and inflation eliminate 60% of my home buying power in the last year.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

You know what's neat?

In 2008 the economy tanked because the banks had made a habit of cough approving mortgages that they knew people couldn't afford in the long run. Then they auctioned off those subprime mortgages to smaller banks, and played hot potato until oopsie, economic depression.

If we're in this boat, who the fuck is buying a home, who approved their loan, and how the fuck is 2008 not right around the corner again?

Good thing we bailed them out.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's no subprime market ready to collapse. This isn't a housing bubble. The increase in prices is partially demand and partially inflationary imo.

Interest rates will keep prices level but we aren't going to see a crash cuz all those companies are cash flush after the ppp fraud and rental Rates skyrocketing. The only houses on the market are ppl who have to sell or ppl who died.

No one wants to jump out of a 3.2% mtg and into an 8% one

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think the interest rate has a lot to do with the declining value of commercial real estate. I think the banks are trying to cover losses. Small businesses going fully remote makes it difficult to sling commercial real estate at the old rates.

I think this is also behind the odd fetish of returning to the office we read so much about.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I looked at a 400k home that literally had standing water in the basement at the time of the showing.

That would cost me and my gf a solid ~4k/month for 30 years with a 20% down payment.

Bank profits over $1M

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

If it's not murder house in middle of nowhere, it's out of budget.

Like tiny homes are becoming a thing... but like smallest legal home lots are 250k in most cities. Feels like middle of nowhere is only place to be.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

The American Dream is dead.

The American Caste System is based on land ownership.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

I live in the Midwest region of the United States.

$55k in student loan debt, down from $100k eight years ago. $10k auto loan. $210k on the mortgage, which I honestly can't believe I was ever approved for. No credit card debt.

There have been some very scary moments, but I've somehow managed to keep my head more-or-less above water so far.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Small promotion for [email protected], the community is usually quite helpful

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

The top post is "salary needed to buy a home" is just depressing. But great call out.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm almost 3k behind because my parents forced me into choosing college or the military at 18. I wasn't remotely ready for either (was dealing with extreme gender dysphoria at the time) and I'm deeply opposed to the army but sometimes I wish I had chosen otherwise -I don't know if I'm ever fixing this. All my cash goes to survival and everything I own is constantly breaking. Poverty is a vicious, vicious cycle...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Oh that is so hard to hear!

It's crazy that parents are still forcing kids to go to college when it's been documented a billion times how often people are getting no benefit but tons of debt.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Seattle Washington area

10k in credit cards

110k in loans

430k mortgage

20k car loan

Credit cards are a little high but that's just because I just took a vacation to Japan. I feel like I'm in a good place otherwise. I was lucky enough to buy my house before the pandemic when interest rates were super low and prices hadn't yet spiked so I'm hoping to sell it in a few years when the interest comes back down. My loans are 50k I took out of my 401k as a down payment on house, 35k for a heloc to fix the house, and 20k on a personal loan.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Oh that sounds stressful. Hopefully things work out as that feels like a lot.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Financially, none. Morally? So much.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

$27K in cc debt. Disgusting. Been dialing it in the last many months and paying off $2-3K a month.

OTOH, I may have my house paid off soon, so I got that going for me.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

None.

I have made it a point to live a debt free life as much as possible. My only debt is my mortgage. I've had a couple of car loans in the past, but nowadays not even that. I have quite enough wheels; If I buy another vehicle it'll be with cash. If I can't do that, I don't need it right now. (2 cars, 1 truck, 7 motorcycles. It's going to be a cold day in hell before my ass is out of transportation options.)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bad, as a % of annual gross pay is about 25% of one year's pay. Mostly the deficit accrued from when my ex was not working. It's smaller than it was, but not by much. But moving in the right direction at least.

Plus mortgage on the house and a separate loan for the roof we had put on when we bought it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Hey man as long as it's getting smaller, it'll be gone eventually!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (14 children)

A car loan for a completely unnecessary car.

Can we afford it? Yes, with reasonable budgeting, no sacrifices needed.

Will the car appreciate? Undeniably.

Do we need a toy like this? Fuck no.

Did it anyway. I’ve been poor for such a long time it’s really hard to justify any frivolous purchase at all, but we have good jobs now. I waffle between β€œThis is stupid” and β€œI’ll never get to do this again, so why not now?” Literally YOLO.

The rest of debt is β€œgood”, like the mortgage building equity, a CC to keep credit rating good (paid off monthly).

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Only a mortgage.

I had student loans, but I finished paying those ~5-6 years ago.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Debt free, own two paid off cars old enough to be cheap but new enough that the maintenance isn't too bad, and also they get good milage. We don't own a truck or an SUV. We rent, cook at home 90% of the time, and we're only just making it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (5 children)

ITT: few people having any clue what the difference is between good and bad debt, or that debt is basically essential to creating wealth.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I'm just enthralled at the idea of how normalized having negative money has become. Something something dystopian

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I mean most people saying they don't have any bad debt, but saying they have good debt isn't too bad! It is interesting to know how much mortgage people are carrying.

But these days even mortgages feel bad. 400k at 7% is 28k of just interest. So houses feel way out of reach with current prices/rates.

If rates go down prices go up. So doesn't feel like there is much winning for non home owners.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Like Β£25k for a photography degree from 15 years ago. I moved to the US and paid bits of it back (it's means tested so you just tell them what you earn and they base it on that). I've been ignoring their letters because idk, I don't really want to pay it back? I remember the mandatory classes where we applied for ucas, so I feel like it's on them for shoving 18 year olds through the loan system for profit.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I had pretty substantial CC debt about a year ago. Nearing $14k. After health issues, having to move, replace many belongings, car repairs, etc. Used a 401k loan to pay off 10k of it, and since that loan was paid off (it was over $800 a month) I've paid the rest down under $3k, and should hopefully have it paid off by either year end or spring at the latest. Currently it's sitting in 0% APR though, so it's at least not eating away with interest.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Art school degree was 80k. It's down to 40k now, still feels impossible.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have around 5k€ left to pay for my car, for the rest I just spend what I know I can. I have a credit card but I just keep it there for emergencies or to pay in installments when the seller doesn't allow it, everything else goes to the debit card.

Edit: for context since I just read "in the US", I'm italian. My school was 150€/year so I saved myself the school debt thing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Went into 30k debt thanks to school and being injured and getting 1/3 of what I use to make. Had to use CC and other means which in itself was digging a bigger hole. I am 3k away from being done with fuckin debt. No house since this all happen during 08-10 fall out. 13 years. FML

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I guess my mortgage could be considered bad debt on account of being adjustable interest rate - this is however the most common type of mortgage arrangement in Sweden where I live. This has led to my interest rate costs going up an eye watering 400% in about a year.

I've got ~130k in loans on it. I'm in the privileged position of being able to pay it off fully if the interest rate costs start exceeding the expected returns from the stock market, though, so feel no need to shed even a single tear for me.

The Swedish housing market is a classic zero interest trap story - low interest rates combined with tax incentives and housing availability rates leading to ownership being significantly more lucrative - has led to prices skyrocketing and debt to income ratios spiraling out of control. With adjustable rates being the most common arrangement - again, due to some truly psychotic public policy - now the population that lent money to buy homes are stuck with sickening monthly payments and no way to get out of the debt, since the prices have dropped below purchase price. Not too much though, because of how crazy scarce the housing is.

Everyone loses but the banks.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

80k€ for the house but other than that debt free and plenty of savings/investments

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I have $150k in mortgage debt on a house worth about twice that. Plus a couple more years car debt.

What really gets me is my health insurer severed relations with the county in May and I got hospitalized two weeks ago. So now I will owe the $8,000 out of network deductible. That pisses me off.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

$628.94 on my credit card.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

A bank overdraft I use to restrain my consumerism.

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