Are you debt free ?

[J32952]

Debt free, with minor exception the new to us RV.  Simple calculation: I could tie up my cash in a deprecating asset (which sounds like an oxymoron) or have cash available for opportunities.  Use credit cards, pay off each month. 
  Retired, no pension, not collecting SS..  have to try & be smart.

 

[petcar]

Yes, debt free.
In the late 60s, at 21 years old,bought first house (before married). $169 PITI monthly. Scared to death, how will I meet that.

Early in the 70s gas CC came in mail daily. Racked up $2600 in CC debt. (Around $30,000 now)

Tore up CCs. That was the end my/our debt.  Paid house off early.
RV in pix, (the first of 8 RVs), is a ‘62, 22’ bought in 74 for $6000

Savings is a habit that grows and gets stronger.

At 74 still save something from every $ from investments income . Peter

 

[Ernie n Tara]

The ACA provides a VERY generous subsidity based on your reported gross income. Since we are retired (Tara is not yet 65 and must buy insurance) and still supplementing  SS income with tax paid cash we report just under $50,000 gross income even though we spend well over that. The subsidy is applied as a reduction to your payment each month. In our case it amounts to about $1,180 of the approximately $1,660 payment.

I didn't inflate the payment, but we pay (with the subsidy)  about 2-1/2 times what we were paying before ACA for Tara's health insurance.

Ernie

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Another reason that before & after comparisons are difficult:  ACA-level policies are "Cadillac" insurance compared to most prior policies. Covers more ills, including pre-existing conditions, and provides full coverage for people who may have been on limited policies before.

 

[Oldgator73]

Another reason that before & after comparisons are difficult:  ACA-level policies are "Cadillac" insurance compared to most prior policies. Covers more ills, including pre-existing conditions, and provides full coverage for people who may have been on limited policies before.

My wife and I are on Medicare and our supplement is Tricare for Life. We pay $260 per month, $160 each. This is deducted from our SS. We do not pay for Tricare. When we go to the doctor we do not pay a copay. My wife had extensive neck surgery (neurological) and I have had a knee replacement. Nothing out of pocket. We would like every American to have this same type of insurance. And before anybody says anything about the level of care we receive, my wife?s surgery was at John?s Hopkins in Baltimore which included 24 hours in intensive care and another 48 on the nueological ward. My knee surgery was at the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia. We both could also go to the Mayo Clinic.

 

[Joezeppy]

In the late 60s, at 21 years old,bought first house (before married). $169 PITI monthly. Scared to death, how will I meet that.

Reminds me of when my parents made their last mortgage payment (30 year note). I asked dad if he was going to celebrate. He said "For what, it's only $65 per month!". But when he bought the house, $65 was a whole lot more money to them!

 

[garyb1st]

Since we are retired (Tara is not yet 65 and must buy insurance) and still supplementing  SS income with tax paid cash we report just under $50,000 gross income even though we spend well over that. The subsidy is applied as a reduction to your payment each month. In our case it amounts to about $1,180 of the approximately $1,660 payment.


Ernie

Wow, Tara's premium is almost $20,000 a year.  Does she have health issues? 

We're fortunate to have retiree health coverage.  I'm on Medicare but Maria is only 54 so still under the pre-medicare coverage.  IIRC, her monthly premium is maybe $1,000.  Her monthly portion varies and is currently under $200.  If we lost that retiree coverage, which is not guaranteed, our fun money would take a big hit.  I've never looked at it but would be surprised if, based on income, we'd be eligible for any supplements. 

 

[UTTransplant]

It was only the access to retiree medical benefits that allowed both of us to retire at 60. Even with a quite good retirement package, the cost of medical insurance wasn?t something we were willing to handle for 5 years each. I think many people underestimate the true cost of employer provided health insurance because the generally only pay 1/3 - 1/3 of the total. In my case, 5 years ago I was paying almost $300 and my employer paid ~$700, just about the same total cost as a ACA plan where I lived. That was with a $6000 deductible. Kevin has been on Medicare for a year and a half now, and I will be on it come fall. At that point the retiree medical goes to pay for a very nice supplemental plan. Of course the company we had this through got merged a few months ago, and our division is scheduled to be spun off in a few more months, so who know what the future holds. Luckily we have resources to weather an awfully big storm, but most are not so lucky.

 

[J32952]

the late 60s, at 21 years old,bought first house (before married). $169 PITI monthly. Scared to death, how will I meet that.?
    In late 70?s, age 22, bought first house.. $160 PITI.  Had 3 roommates and that?s how I made the payments!  Best ?investment? I ever made, got me in the game. 

 

[Oldgator73]

the late 60s, at 21 years old,bought first house (before married). $169 PITI monthly. Scared to death, how will I meet that.?
    In late 70?s, age 22, bought first house.. $160 PITI.  Had 3 roommates and that?s how I made the payments!  Best ?investment? I ever made, got me in the game.

Wait a minute. In the late 60?s you were 21. In the late 70?s you were 22. Is this reverse dog years?

 

[J32952]

2 different posters.  Ha ha.  He/she was 21 in 60?s, me in 70?s.  It was the $160 PITI first house payment that reminded me of my first home. 

 

[petcar]

I stand corrected.

Let’s see... memory & math.  DOB Sep ‘45, first house Jan ‘68, duh age 22 & 4 months. 

1974 bought ‘62 Voyager 22’ on Dodge chassis. (In pix). Was 29. (The RV was 22’). $6000 memory only, no records.

Of coarse I only listed the positive stuff. Doing well, very blessed, but did a lot of stupid stuff too.

Keeping that to my self. Also Still a couple months till ‘74.  Peter

 

[House Husband]

Been debt free since 1981. No house payments. no MH payments, no car payments, no life insurance payments, no home remolding payments, I am making yearly payments to the IRS. But what the heck, if i'm paying the IRS, then I must have made some money that year.  I don't under why old gray headed people are still making payments. OH! wait. maybe it's the old people with no gray hair that are making payments.

 

[sightseers]

I became debt free in 2012. 

The economy was still tanked, I was going broke and our President was saying... "This is the way things are gonna be, and there ain't no jobs coming back to America"........ so I closed my business, gave the house back to the bank and I started drawing my social security. 

Now days.... I maintain a credit score of 440...  I own everything I have,  I buy only what I can afford to pay cash for,  and I have almost $10k cash in reserve.

by virtue of my credit score...I will never be in debt again. 

 

[sightseers]

Yes I am, I became debt free in 2012. 

The economy was still tanked, I was going broke and our President was saying... "This is the way things are gonna be, and there ain't no jobs coming back to America"........ so I closed my business, gave the house back to the bank and I started drawing my social security. 

Now days.... I maintain a credit score of 440...  I own everything I have,  I buy only what I can afford to pay cash for,  and I have almost $10k cash in reserve.

by virtue of my credit score...I will never be in debt again. 

.

 

[Oldgator73]

I became debt free in 2012. 

The economy was still tanked, I was going broke and our President was saying... "This is the way things are gonna be, and there ain't no jobs coming back to America"........ so I closed my business, gave the house back to the bank and I started drawing my social security. 

Now days.... I maintain a credit score of 440...  I own everything I have,  I buy only what I can afford to pay cash for,  and I have almost $10k cash in reserve.

by virtue of my credit score...I will never be in debt again. 

Some ?experts? tell us credit scores mean nothing while others tell us to run up some debt and pay everything on time so we can raise our credit scores. The majority of Americans have little to no savings. Folks are retiring on SS alone. Many retirees depend on SS and Medicare. My parents lived on SS for years. They probably had $35-$45 thousand in a CD. For 36 years we moved on average every two to three years. It was impossible for us to have a paid for house when we retired.
The economy looks good at the moment. At least on the surface it looks good. People are working. A lot of people are working two or three jobs to make ends meet. Wages are stagnant. Have been for many years. So being debt free for most folks is a pipe dream.

 

[Senator]

Debt free.  No house payments.  No car or truck payments.  No Fifth wheel payments.  8 of 10 properties paid for.  Credit score was 849 of 850 last time I looked at Well Fargo.

 

[scottydl]

Debt free except for the primary mortgage, and we only about 5-6 years left on that. Maybe less if I start paying extra. I'm 41 years old currently. We pay cash (or debit card) for everything possible in our budget, save up and pay cash for cars and RV's, and have several months of living expenses saved up in the event of one of life's unplanned circumstances. Thank you Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace plan. My wife and I are grateful for the freedom that owing nothing brings / will bring.

Some ?experts? tell us credit scores mean nothing while others tell us to run up some debt and pay everything on time so we can raise our credit scores.

The only purpose of a credit score is to qualify for more debt. No thanks!

We're so debt-free that we can't borrow money because the Credit agencies don't know who we are.

Congrats... this is my eventual goal! ;D

 

[sightseers]

just remember......There are no guarantees in life. 

That reward for working hard and smart your whole life thing,  is often nullified by one single health issue.

 

[Senator]

Some ?experts? tell us credit scores mean nothing while others tell us to run up some debt and pay everything on time so we can raise our credit scores.

Credit score is everything.  Your insurance is cheaper.  You can rent a house.  You can be debt free and have a very high credit score.  Charge stuff, then pay it off.

I got over $5K cash in CC rewards last year.