View Poll Results: What is your debt to total asset ratio?
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I have no debt whatsoever, not even a credit card bill
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149 |
51.03% |
<10%
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98 |
33.56% |
10-19.99%
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27 |
9.25% |
20-29.99%
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10 |
3.42% |
30-39.99%
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5 |
1.71% |
40% or greater
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3 |
1.03% |
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09-26-2016, 09:58 AM
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#101
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,884
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Had been 0% for the last 13 years or so, but couldn't pass up 0% financing on new car purchase last month, so now about 1%.
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09-26-2016, 10:27 AM
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#102
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Bonita (San Diego)
Posts: 1,795
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~24%...
Mortgage, small credit card debt that's entirely paid off monthly and shouldn't even count for this, small student loan, and a recent car loan. The mortgage makes up almost 95% of this.
vs.
Investments/retirement accounts, cash, and estimated value of home (no cars included).
__________________
"So we beat to our own drummer in the sun;
We ask for nobody's permission to run.
I just wanna live in a world like that;
Now I'm gonna live in a world like that!" - World Like That, O.A.R.
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09-26-2016, 11:37 AM
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#103
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,232
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4.6%
all at 2.75% interest
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09-26-2016, 12:31 PM
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#104
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Dryer sheet wannabe
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Austin
Posts: 10
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Just credit cards that are paid in full every month.
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09-26-2016, 12:33 PM
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#105
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SoCal, Lausanne
Posts: 4,408
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Zero debt. Paid mortgage off on primary home 9 years ago (8 years before retirement). Paid cash for our second home. We always pay cash for our cars and keep them as long as we can. We never buy anything unless we have the cash to pay for it when the bill is due. So far this strategy has worked out well for us.
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09-26-2016, 12:42 PM
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#106
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 178
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Helena
I'm still driving my old Honda I paid off right before I retired. I hope to drive it a few more years... then pay cash for a new one.
I've heard it is better not to tell the car dealership in advance that you are paying cash. Is that right ??
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I don't know if it's right or not, but I'm coy when car shopping and they ask if I'm financing. I usually just say I might finance with them if I can get a good deal, and then just write a check instead.
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09-26-2016, 12:49 PM
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#107
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Navarre
Posts: 141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunset
I do this so they never can hit me with a failed to make minimum payment in case I ever forget to pay.
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+1
I make two payoffs a month as well, another trick is to have an automatic payment scheduled to the credit card account every month for the minimum. They got me once about 15 years ago, but they won't get me a second time.
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09-26-2016, 01:10 PM
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#108
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,862
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4.76%, all mortgage. We'd been debt free for ~10 years, but needed to get into a smaller, maintenance free home due to some health issues.
I could pay it off today, but like having cash, just in case. We got a great rate and should have it paid off in 10 years, even though it's a 30 year note.
I pay our credit card balance twice a month. That's how I "budget". When it gets close to the magic number, I don't order from Amazon.
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09-26-2016, 01:43 PM
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#109
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 95
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0% since 1991
Yes I use credit cards that I pay off in full every month.
I do not understand the people who also pay off their credit cards in full monthly but claim any unpaid unbilled credit card balances are debt.
If you believe unbilled credit card charges that you will pay off in full when billed are debt , please explain why you are not including unbilled electric, gas, water, sewer, cable TV, cell phone, etc as debt also. I see no difference in having an unbilled electric/gas balance of $100 (partial month usage) or an unbilled credit card balance of $100.
What am I missing besides some deep fear/hatred of using credit cards?
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09-27-2016, 06:31 AM
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#110
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,655
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I thought it was because a credit card charge is actually a short-term loan. The credit rating agencies consider your unpaid CC balance to be debt, even if you pay it off every month. I noticed, when I pull our credit scores, that there is a statement to the effect that if you pull your score after placing a $10,000 charge on your card(s), it will be considered as $10K debt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom57
I do not understand the people who also pay off their credit cards in full monthly but claim any unpaid unbilled credit card balances are debt.
What am I missing besides some deep fear/hatred of using credit cards?
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__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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09-27-2016, 11:05 AM
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#111
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,495
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RenoJay
Zero
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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+1
I own everything. The bank owns nothing.
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09-27-2016, 11:22 AM
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#112
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Indialantic FL
Posts: 1,330
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Quote:
Originally Posted by niven
I don't know if it's right or not, but I'm coy when car shopping and they ask if I'm financing. I usually just say I might finance with them if I can get a good deal, and then just write a check instead.
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When we bought our last car (certified used not new) we told the dealer we were paying cash up front. We negotiated our deal and finalized it with the sales manager. When we sat down the the finance guy doing the contract he said something about financing it and I said unless he's gonna give me something in return I'd just write a check. He said he would give us the 250 bucks the credit union(lender) would give them and he'd settle for the incentive points from the lender. He said they get 1% from the lender and are eligible for additional money based on volume of loans written. Seemed upfront, but who knows.
__________________
JimnJana
"The four most dangerous words in investing are 'This time it's different.'" - Sir John Templeton
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09-27-2016, 12:04 PM
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#113
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,674
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Voted 0% and use CC all of the time. I consider CC as debt when the payment is due this month. We pay it off automatically. The balance of CC debit after cut off date will be included in next month's statement. And it goes on and on and on.
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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09-27-2016, 12:52 PM
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#114
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ormond Beach
Posts: 1,407
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
Having taken masters level courses in accounting and finance, I get so frustrated when everyone wants to impose their own definitions.
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We don't run households under GAAP. I use CCs every month but it's not debt to me, just like a water and electric bill is not debt. No one here that said zero answered the poll correctly under accounting definitions, but that's NOT common usage of the term for personal finance.
It's very simple - under commonly accepted everyday usage by consumers, CC debt is a balance after the due date that you're paying off over time. And I'd argue that's the common usage for most personal finance gurus out there. You are certainly welcome to claim that's a wrong definition in the strictest sense as long as you accept that you're in the minority here.
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09-27-2016, 12:56 PM
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#115
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ex-Cali
Posts: 1,245
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimnjana
When we bought our last car (certified used not new) we told the dealer we were paying cash up front. We negotiated our deal and finalized it with the sales manager. When we sat down the the finance guy doing the contract he said something about financing it and I said unless he's gonna give me something in return I'd just write a check. He said he would give us the 250 bucks the credit union(lender) would give them and he'd settle for the incentive points from the lender. He said they get 1% from the lender and are eligible for additional money based on volume of loans written. Seemed upfront, but who knows.
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That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I never knew what they get. That sounds reasonable.
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______________________
The plan was September 1, 2022 and I am 95% there. Still working a few hours a week at the real job.
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09-27-2016, 01:20 PM
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#116
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ormond Beach
Posts: 1,407
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom57
If you believe unbilled credit card charges that you will pay off in full when billed are debt , please explain why you are not including unbilled electric, gas, water, sewer, cable TV, cell phone, etc as debt also. I see no difference in having an unbilled electric/gas balance of $100 (partial month usage) or an unbilled credit card balance of $100.
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Exactly. That's why zero debt in this poll is always the wrong answer if you go by that argument, even if you pay cash for everything. The only way you wouldn't be lying is if you said you prepaid all your utilities AND taxes upfront before the liability is incurred. And I mean all taxes.
Which of course no one does, so we're all answering wrong if you buy that.
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09-27-2016, 05:51 PM
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#117
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 23,036
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This is why I voted less than 10%, even though my only bills are credit cards and other bills paid in full each month, and my real estate taxes. As Meadbh said, it is the most accurate answer.
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Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
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09-27-2016, 05:58 PM
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#118
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8,968
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Oh yeah, when I add up the estimated credit card balances, the property taxes, the utility bills and the health insurance I get about 5 grand.
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09-27-2016, 07:15 PM
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#119
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Diablo Valley (SF Bay Area)
Posts: 2,705
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No debt other than USAA MasterCard that's paid off in full each month.
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09-27-2016, 08:56 PM
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#120
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ormond Beach
Posts: 1,407
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
This is why I voted less than 10%, even though my only bills are credit cards and other bills paid in full each month, and my real estate taxes. As Meadbh said, it is the most accurate answer.
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Accurate yes but as most people understand and use the term, no. This isn't an exercise in accounting/legal/financial definitions, it's one of personal finances.
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