See Oprah on Friday? How in debt are you?

[serryjw]

Poll question: See Oprah on Friday? How in debt are you?

How can a middle class family get into OVER $100K in debt from buying stuff? Don't count your mortgage on your home or medical bills. How in debt are you? I've made about $15K yearly in the last few years and have about $1000 in debt.

http://www2.oprah.com/money/debtdiet/family/debtdiet_family_main.jhtml

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. When I was applying for a refi a couple years ago

One of the bankers told me she talks to people almost daily who have $100K in credit card debt!

[serryjw]

4. Read the Oprah link

They can't stop buying bushit.

[MissB]

16. I have a hard time believing that.

I'm sure it is true, it is just that $100k is soooo far outside of what seems remotely normal to me. And we live on a six figure income. I just don't get it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. I don't get it either

We don't have any credit cards. I definitely cannot relate.

[InsultComicDog]

32. I was up to about 35K

when I started digging out in the early 90's

My credit lines now would easily allow me to get a lot more than 100K in debt.

[Dem Agog]

36. No debt... for myself or my husband.

Both cars paid for. Student loans paid for. Credit cards paid down to zero every month. And we each manage to sock away $200 per paycheck in the joint savings. I also sock away an additional $1,000 into a brokerage account every month and I feel guilty if I can't manage to save another $500-$1000 on top of that.

I just don't understand people who live in debt. I'm far too fearful of ending up on the streets poor to do that. When I make money, I save it rather than just blindly spend it. We live a nice life, but I just don't feel the need to screw around and waste lots of moolah on frivolous things. Today we bought a breadmaker and a sewing machine (because I'd rather make custom curtains than spend thousands hiring someone else to do it) and I can't imagine what else we would want right now.

People are crazy.

[liberalhistorian]

53. I paid off and cut up my

credit cards three years ago and will NEVER have them again! I still have other debts and bills, of course, but to not have any cc debt is a real, true, relief. And I'm able to save more every month, too.

[Cats Against Frist]

2. Should I count student loans?

If so, I'm about $32k in the hole. If not, not counting medical debt, I'm about $1200 in the hole, and it's all old utility and cell phone bills. I have no credit card debt.

[pitohui]

21. you MUST count student loans

they are the worst form of debt since they can almost never be discharged in bankruptcy

there are stories now of senior citizens getting their tax refunds and social security payments clipped by the student loan nazi's

other debt, even medical debt, can be discharged by bankruptcy which gives a person a chance to start over

student loan debt is what is going to eat the heart out of the next generation since incomes today just aren't large enough in many cases to make up for starting life in debt

[Nutmegger]

44. I know the feeling...

I'm currently a student and I've seen little grants and more (and more) LOANS!!!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. I owe about 7K on my vehicle still.

My home is paid for, however so I'm not worried.

I have zero credit card debt at the moment and plan to keep it that way. I went down that road and refuse to ever go there again.

[tanyev]

5. Home mortgage and one car loan.

That's it.

I did see that episode and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Previews for the next show look like some of the families won't be adapting too well to changing their practices. You gotta give them credit for being willing to go public with their problem, though, and hopefully get themselves in better shape.

[SoCalDem]

46. Mortgage only..

Have not had a car payment in over 10 years..

Students "could" use credit cards to sock away some cash to pay off their student loans, and then file BK..but now that the law's changed, I don't know if they could even do taht..

Until we cut up our CCs a while back, every card we had, had at least a 15K limit.. It was ridiculous.. If we had gone on a binge, we could have run up some spectacular amounts.. we had one that we got back in the late 70's that had a $25K limit
.. In fact when our son was trying to qualify for his home loan a few years back, we let him transfer his cc debts to that one until his loan went through..

The only "credit" we use is for my husband's gasoline , and we pay that every month ..$300-400 a month for gas :grr:

Other than that, we just use cash.or the atm card :)

[Pharaoh]

6. I am debt free!!

course I live in small trailer and quite frugaly.

Been in debt most of my life though and it really sucks!!

[MADem]

9. Me too. I live adequately, comfortably, and within my means

If I want something, I wait until I have the dough for it and buy it. Sometimes, I decide while saving for an item that I don't want it after all!

[unblock]

7. over $100,000, but my finances are sound, believe it or not

i have over $100,000 of non-mortgage debt.

HOWEVER, my combined debt, including mortage, home equity, and credit cards, is less that the value of my house. we also own our two cars free and clear, plus about $90,000 in retirement money.

our credit card debt is ALL between ZERO and 3.99%, which is cheaper than the home equity rate. i could pay off ALL of my credit card debt today, if i wanted to, with the unused portion of the home equity line.

i could lose my job tomorrow and still pay the bills for about two years without dipping into the retirement money.

nearly all of the credit card debt accumulated not from random purchases, but rather as cheaper financing of the cars and the house.

our spending is not outlandish, and we pay down the debt by about $30,000 per year. nevertheless, we saw that show and talked about how we can save even more money, especially now that mrs. unblock has quit her job in preparation to start her new job as a mommy.

[IrishBloodEngHeart]

8. I would be careful

in evaluating the value of your house, I would look at its average value over the past 7 years.

The real estate market is so hot right now, values will most likely go down, and if your house value goes down, your debts stay exactly the same.

I would just make sure your overall amount of debt, outside your house, is going down each year, not up.

[flobee1]

10. I really dont count my student loan as debt

Its pretty much a one time deal and you cant add to it after you've started paying on it

My debt has never been above 4 grand and I intend to keep it that way.
Even with my vacations to FLA and France this summer:woohoo:

[unblock]

12. debt is debt.

don't fall into the "one-time" trap.

life is full of "one-time" expenses and debts. they add up and you still have to pay.

[flobee1]

15. In that case its

21 grand and dropping on the 28th of every month:thumbsup:

[dysfunctional press]

19. you should, because it is.

"...Its pretty much a one time deal and you cant add to it after you've started paying on it...".

if you stop paying, will it go away?
does interest still accrue on the principle, or is it like a mortgage, where all the interest is figured in upfront?

it's debt- and i know people with upwards of 200k in student loans(dr.s mostly).

[unblock]

11. as i said, we pay it down about $30,000/yr.

i agree that housing prices are volatile, although i am predicting basically sideways movement for several years, rather than a meaningful decline. i live in central nj, where houses are "overvalued", but overpriced houses usually just stagnate until time catches up, rather than actually declining.

not that that matters much; with prevailing interest rates much higher than our mortage, we're not going to refinance, nor are we planning to move anytime soon, so the value of the house is more just a matter of perspective on the debt than a practical asset.

[upi402]

23. Which credit card? I want to switch!

[unblock]

25. actually, i have several at low rates

i often get teasers rates on new cards that expire in 6-9 months, so some of these deals are temporary. the day before the deal expires, i pay it off completely.

every so often i get a "2.99% for life" deal and i go for it. you just have to be careful of a few things.
first, make all payments on time, or else they jack you up to something insane like 25%, plus slap you silly with fees.
second, NO purchases (unless they also qualify for the low low interest rate). balance transfer only, usually. no point in paying 2.9% on a balance transfer from a higher interest rate debt if you also have new purchases that you're paying 25% on -- note that any paydowns always get applied to the lowest rate debt first, so you're stuck paying 25% on the new purchase until your 2.9% debt is completely paid off.
third, keep an eye on your credit score. if it dips too low, or worse, if you pay 30 days late on ANY debt, ALL your cards can use that as an excuse to jack up your rates.

all my "for life" deals are with citibank, although some are indirect (via affinity cards).
ON EDIT: i just checked, i have a chase and a capital one also, both at low rates for life.

[Staph]

13. I cut up my credit cards . . .

A couple of years ago, and only use a debit card. I have too many friends who use their credit cards to finance their lives, and they don't have the simple math skills to understand how bloody expensive that is.

[anitar1]

30. I have been debt free for 3 years. I also cut up my cards.

It was a bit difficult at first, then I became used to it. It is a great feeling not to have debt hovering over me. But, just as well as it costs more and more to just get by these days. My expenes rise but my pension doesn't.

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. My house and car and apparently worthless college education

are paid for - but my credit card balances have been increasing (my credit cards were paid off when I was laid-off) and my cash reserves have been dwindling since I became a jobless schmuck over 3 years ago. I'm pretty frugal and can control my spending. It is the income side of the equation that has proven to be a real problem. And I'm not being picky. Promise.

[dysfunctional press]

17. the only debt we have is our mortgage.

and we have 3 times as much equity than what we owe.
no credit card balances, and we own our car outright- 2001 vw beetle w/50K miles.
we're definitely not wealthy,
but we're content...almost.

[hunter]

18. All our debt is the result of medical costs.

And if we'd not had what medical insurance we did, we would be bankrupt.

It can happen to anyone. This nation needs a single payer health care system like civilized nations such as Canada have. It would be good for U.S. businesses too.

[maveric]

20. Debt Free! If I cant afford it, I dont buy it.

After learning my lesson the hard way during my marraige I've chose to be debt free.
As far as my credit rating goes that is a bad thing, as Ive discovered while trying to rent an apartment.
If you have debt, your credit rating goes up. Without making a car or credit card payment, it is frowned upon when trying to rent.
They want us owned by creditors here in SoCal, so it seems.

[unblock]

27. if you have the discipline, just charge it up and pay it off

you never pay interest if you pay everything in full each month. get a no annual fee card or two.

a small balance will show up on your credit report along with a good payment history. unused credit lines, plus long ownership history with lines, plus no late payments all help your score.

from the credit score perspective, it's rarely a good idea to actually CLOSE a card, unless you have TOO MUCH available credit. just don't use it.

on the other hand, if you don't have the discipline and a credit card is just an invitation to disaster, then by all means cut them up.

[upi402]

22. zero, paid off monthly

[cynatnite]

24. If I don't include hubby's big rig, we're about 4K...

not too bad, I think. I'm hoping in a year the only thing we have to pay off is the truck and house.

[Heddi]

26. Zero Debt

Both hubby and I are in school. We rent, though, and save like you wouldn't believe. However, even though both of us are in school, neither of us are working, we have over $11k in the bank (I graduate in June and will begin replenishing that ASAP) and we're taking a week vacation to Holland in mid-March, paid in cash.

However, we don't have children and I think that has alot to do with being able to live the way that we do.

[Triana]

29. i h8 credit cards...

...i have ONE and I try to pay it off every month.

[InsultComicDog]

31. Zero

We have a HELOC for 12K but no mortgage on the house. The HELOC was a great deal when I got it (prime minus .4) but the interest rates keep creeping up now. Fortunately I have the principal down so low it's hardly a problem, and the rate was so low for so long that I was able to accomplish that.

And no credit card or installment debt.

[Straight Shooter]

33. I owe $150 to the auto repair shop.

I have 5 years left on my mortgage, but you indicated that doesn't count.

Maybe I should say thanks to my father. He was insistent that a person should never buy on credit, always pay cash. Well, he made a fairly decent living, so it was easier for him. Big-time debt gives me the heebie-jeebies, and probably his rants about debt are the reason. Both my parents lived through the depression and so they have a real "thing" about not going into debt.

My brother, OTOH, Lord help him. He had to declare bankruptcy because even with a $120,000 year income he had a psychological addiction to the "the good life," and when he lost his job, he lost everything. He had not saved one single dime. Unbelievable.

Money is a strange, strange thing. It's the siren calling from the rocks of financial disaster sometimes.

[Dem Agog]

34. I can't see how you can *buy* all that stuff!

Today for the first time in a long time we went on a spending spree. A breadmaker, a sewing machine. We haven't bought anything besides groceries in well over six weeks. And the two of us (my husband and I) spent about $300. In a month in a half!

How do you SPEND and BUY all that stuff? Where do you put it? Our house is as big as these peoples' homes but we don't have the room for all that crap.

Love that Lisa chick, showing up in pearls and a sweater set while she and her husband are $170k in debt. If the man's smart, he will drop her like a hot potato!

[serryjw]

39. Weren't they the ones that had 5 cars

including a Mercedes? Actually it is not tough to rack up $170K. You keep on buying and pay only the minimum. When I moved from LA to NYC in '83 I had my hair dyed and cut and spent $300! That was a lot of money back then. I never did it again.

I have a girlfriend that I have known since I was 13. She was married to a man that was making over $300K/yearly back 20 years ago. When they got a divorce, the bank allowed her to sell their house with a $50K short fall. The market was soft and the bank didn't want to leave it empty. She walked out of a 15 year marriage with 2 kids ....and ZERO money!

[AlCzervik]

35. 100k in debt in one year from buying things? Do you know what it is

they bought? We owe about 18k on our cars total and about a year ago we paid off our last credit card after many years of being in a big ugly hole.

[serryjw]

40. Watch the Oprah link

Honestly they bought STUFF! They probably don't even know. They also fell into the trap of going out to eat many times a week. That gets very expensive.

[alfredo]

37. zero debt.

I pay off my credit card each month, the house is paid for, so is the car.

Of course I am one broken appliance, one illness away from debt.

[Obamarama]

38. I'm sorry...these Oprah case study familys are fucking morons....

It's not like they are scraping buy on low incomes and using credit cards to simply survive. The people are charging it because they are consumerist PIGS. Period.

"Eating out is another big expense for the Bradleys. Lisa says she doesn't cook—instead, they spend about $100 a day on takeout. And because Lisa doesn't like to do dishes, the family uses only plastic dishes and utensils—another expense that can really add up." The stupid bitch needs to go to Barnes & Noble and charge a few good cookbooks. And she doesn't like to do dishes so she buys plastic untensils and dishes???? You can't tell me that $300,000 house doesn't have a freakin' DISHWASHER!?

Then we have Marnie... "Marnie's obsession with crafts is also digging them deeper into debt. Marnie admits she buys on impulse, a habit that resulted in her owning $1,000 worth of beads and $1,500 worth of scrap-booking supplies." Hope she has nice scrapbooks of the house they are going to lose if they don't get their shit in one pile.

These people are clearly not the brightest bulbs on the string.

[serryjw]

41. I agree

But the one thing that was not addressed is the WHY? When you spent like that, mortgage your families future there has to be a reason.

[MissB]

42. Don't be sorry.

They are morons. I simply can't imagine living that way.

[susanna]

48. LOL...great assessment. n/t

[progressivebydesign]

52. What morans. Guess the planet is there for their own personal use.

I hate uber-consumers like that. Sounds like Marnie has some emotional issues that need to be addressed. This is not normal behavior.. this is compulsive shopping. $100. a day on takeout?? umm... she can't make a fucking sandwich or pour cereal? Cuz.. how could you spend a hundred bux a day on just dinner? She needs to get an account on EBAY and start selling all that shit..

[Justitia]

43. When I was a single mom, going to night school, I had manageable debt

but was always one paycheck away from disaster (car breaks down, medical bill, etc).
Thank God I never lost my job!

Once I worked my way out of that situation (over yrs and yrs) I vowed never to be back there again.

I think the stupid idiots on her show have no real concept of what it is like to actually be flat broke, or they wouldn't spend like morons.

Those of us that have been down to the wire on necessities, tend to make sure not to revisit poverty when we have the chance to get out of it.

Scrapbooks???? Crapbooks!! How stupid is that?

[leftofthedial]

45. during the past five years, my net worth has all but been destroyed

but the one good thing is that all my debt is gone, except for a modest mortgage.

[MaraJade]

47. Easy--

All you have to do is send your child to college to learn a profession that either pays a living wage
or cannot be exported to China/India. Guaranteed 100K debt.

[johnaries]

49. Over $25k. Recently divorced. 'nuff said. n/t

[LaPera]

50. No debts except 80K left on a 600K house! That's it.

[Lorien]

51. About 20k here

Most of it from medical bills that my insurance backed out of paying, plus I've had about eight months of unemployment since Bushco stole the office (my salary has been slashed 75% too).

I miss the Clinton days; no debt and 80k in the bank!