Do you live within your means?

[UdoKier]

Do you live within your means?

Does Suze Orman scare the hell out of you as much as she does me?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Other: I've got a little credit card debt, a car loan, and a student loan

I'm getting by, but I'm only at the start of my career, so it's fine.

[w13rd0]

2. no debt, no savings

i live at zero

[UdoKier]

3. If there were such a thing as an honest republican...

I would imagine that about 50% of them or more would answer that they had a LOT off debt to keep up the illusion of "success". I know so many of these people who feel they have to bend over backwards paying a loan for a Benz or BMW. "I need it for my job as a real estate agent".


Personally, I'd prefer the agent with the Honda Accord. If you drive a Benz, your commissions are TOO HIGH!

[drdtroit]

4. Just the mortgage, zero credit debt ...

and able to contribute to my SEP/IRA yearly.

However I am a self-employed musician/composer of moderate success (you have heard me on the radio/CDs) and growing up as a first generation American of depression era parents, I have very limited materialistic demands.

Realizing early in life that my artistic leanings would never allow me to function in the 9-5 reality helped me to develop the financial discipline that has afforded me a somewhat "living the dream" existence for the past 30 years of my professional life.

[LSK]

5. a mortgage is not debt

[TX-RAT]

11. tell that to the bank

[IrateCitizen]

12. How is it not debt?

Is it not a LOAN that is taken out in order to purchase something you cannot afford at the present time? I don't know about you, but that's MY definition of debt.

Could you please explain how a mortgage is NOT debt, according to your thinking?

[LSK]

18. it is an investment

At least you get something back or can if you sell your house.

What do you get back from paying rent for 30 years? NOTHING.

[UdoKier]

14. It is a debt, but it can honestly be thought of as an "investment"

Which is why the distinction is in the poll.

Some homes (mobile homes and condos, in particular) have often proven not to be very good investments, although the present housing bubble has helped ameliorate that.

[deadmessengers]

23. Mortgages are debt, but...

They're not "bad" debt, according to the financial planners I've spoken to. "Bad" debt is unsecured debt incurred to finance the purchase of consumer goods or "lifestyle" items. Car payments are also bad debt, because of the extreme rate of depreciation associated with automobiles.

On the other hand, good debt is debt incurred in the likelihood of realizing a longer-term financial benefit. A reasonable mortgage is not bad, because of the likelihood (not certainty, of course) of appreciation. It's pretty tough to end up "upside down" on a mortgage. Student loans are also, generally, considered "good", because of the well-documented income benefit that goes hand-in-hand with a college degree. (This is a case where a credit card can be "good" debt, too - say if you did some short-term financing of your education through credit cards - for example, to purchase books.)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

6. 5 more years and mortgage is paid and i refuse to have credit cards....

even though i more than qualify for them...if i can't pay cash for it i don't get it...i hold just 1 card for emergency only when traveling...

option #2-Yes. Except the mortgage, I carry no long-term debt, and save for the future...my kids futures

[skygazer]

7. Other

I have no long term debt but no savings either. I live paycheck to paycheck for the most part. I guess you could say I live within my means but my means don't provide much of a living!

[billyskank]

8. Other

In addition to my mortgage I also have a loan for my car, but the repayments on both are well within my means and I have room to save some.

[camero]

9. If I lived within my means

I would not be eating or taking my insulin.

[IrateCitizen]

10. Yes, Suze Orman scares you as much as she scares me!

There's just something very, very WEIRD about her. To be honest, I can't much fault a good bit of the personal financial advice she gives people, because it's all about basic principles like paying down debt and saving for the future. However, there's just SOMETHING about her that rubs me the wrong way.

Personally, I don't have much in the way of short-term debt, and my wife and I pay extra on our mortgage while saving for the future (beyond her pension and my 401k). It doesn't hurt much that I fully tap into my Scottish heritage by being a cheap bastard about nearly EVERYTHING. Plus, my wife is a bargain hunter. So even though we get nice things from time to time, we take advantage of liquidation sales and the like in order to get them at vastly discounted prices.

[UdoKier]

15. Yes, it's a visceral thing. Her advice is good.

There's just something... creepy about her.

[gpandas]

13. no way, never could imagine...

what the reason for doing it would be. i have not cared about the joneses for all my life. my question, still unanswered in spite of 60 years of personal observation and research, is why do they care about me?

[Tracer]

16. I can't watch Suze for more than a few minutes.

That humungous grin, the constant "girlfriend!", the embarassing way she treats that Jeff guy, truly creeps me out. Which is too bad, because her advice is nothing short of excellent.

As for me Ñ I don't make much money, but it's enough and I don't do without ... except for vacations, which I hardly ever take. No debts (mortgage is paid, car is paid, no credit loans), money in the bank.

There was an article this week in the paper about a family with a $100,000 income who were whining (among other things) that they couldn't even afford a new kitchen table and chairs. This blew me away, since they make $75,000 more than I do, yet I think that I could go out tomorrow and shop around for a kitchen set with no problem.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. I Can't Watch Her At All

I don't think she helps people in any way, shape or form. Just found a career niche, and doesn't even have to be right about what she says. There's no metric to decide whether she's effective. About perfect for someone like her.
The Professor

Addendum: I have, here at DU, twice corrected Suze's advice regarding banking issues. I'm on the BoD of a small bank, and there is no banking question i can't get answered in about 30 minutes. There have been at least two times where it turns out she was completely in error. Hence, i know for a fact that she doesn't know what she's talking about.

[BamaGirl]

17. No debt but the mortgage.

We pay into a pension plan and tsp account, but no other savings. It takes everything else to live on.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Just A Mortgage

It's down to about 13% of the house's market value and that's it. Credit cards are used as charge cards. Convenience money, and then paid in full each month. Gas cards, too! No revolving debt of any kind. Haven't had a car payment since 1998. We buy used, now, and only if we can pay cash. Otherwise, we keep what we have running.
The Professor

[Rambis]

21. 1/3 goes to daycare and health care

My insurance payment used to be part of my bene package and it was 300 four years ago. It went up to 600 and we were ok. It went to 660 and we had to take 60 out of our salary to cover. It is 720 today and we have to take 120 out of the paycheck. It is scheduled to go up 25% next year. There is no health care crisis though.

[ibegurpard]

22. I have no debt whatsoever

And will never, ever take any on until I feel confident that this country is somewhat stable for the foreseeable long term.