Ways to avoid debt?

$500 fix on your car isn't exactly a signifcant debt. You can put that on a credit card and pay it off fairly quickly. Medical bills, that's another story.

 

My tip -- not that I've paid off all my debt but, finally, I'm close -- is to take 'em one at a time. I went smallest to largest. Got rid of a credit card and one small student loan in about two years, almost done with the main credit card now and the bigger student loan. Car will be paid off in May, so that'll be a big help.

Pay as much as you can toward that one debt and get rid of it ASAP -- and don't feel bad if it takes a while, because the big ones will. I started small, with a $300 limit credit card, to feel like I was making progress overall. If you knock 'em out, one by one, and budget yourself so you don't rack up any unneccesary additional debt (medical bills and auto maintenance, you can't always help), you'll eventually get out of the red and then you can really start doing good things with your money.

 

Aside from our mortgage, we have zero debt. It's not that difficult.

 

One word: Budget.

Write down every single monthly expense, including haircuts, groceries, auto insurance (even if you pay yearly), everything!

As someone said, don't buy what you don't need.

I have no cell phone, no video games, no HD anything, no stereo, one credit card.

Okay, so I splurge a little on cable and high speed internet.

Don't buy cars brand new. Go used. Cars depreciate immediately after driving off the lot.

Don't just pay the monthly minimum on your credit card(s).

If there's extra money sitting in your checking account, move it to a high interest savings account or into a retirement fund. (example: My bank charges me ZERO service charges if I keep my balance above X amount of dollars. So on the last day of every month, I move everything above X dollars-plus-a-hundred to my savings).

 

Yeah, I have to foot the repairs and upkeep myself instead of calling a landlord or super.

 

Don't buy things you can't afford?

 

What I mean is ... if you can afford to buy a house, you're probably not in the same situation as the person who started this thread, or anybody making close to the typical $25K, or those of us making more but who live in high-priced areas where they can't afford to buy yet.

Not to mention, if you're married or otherwise in a two-income household ... you're in a better financial situation, too.

So saying "it's not that difficult" doesn't really help anybody. That's all.

 

solid. damned solid.

 

Rent and a monthly mortgage many times are a lot closer than many people might think. Not in every area, but in some.

 

Sound like a Vegas tout.

That is funny.

 

That's not my point.

If you can afford to buy a house, you're probably already in a decent financial situation. In most cases, you've got some money saved up to make a down payment and you're not trying to dig yourself out of a hill or mountain of debt. It's not usually comparable.

 

It did not take a shitload of money to do a down payment. I'm thinking less than $1,500, and you will get that back a few times over on your taxes.