What is debt free to you??

The_fog_has_lifted

No debt at all not even mortgage debt?
No debt except the mortgage?
No debt except mortgage and student loan?
No commercial debt??
No credit card debt??

And to be classes as debt free on MSE are you allowed to have student loans and / or a mortgage??

Historybuff

To me, debt free is having no debts at all...whatsoever...including mortgage.

tattybye

To me, debt free is nothing owing but your mortgage.
This based on the fact that i feel a mortgage is a necessity to be able to buy a house, it is to me anyway.
However, paying this off early is still and i feel should be a priority.

Pepperoni

To me debt free is no debt apart from mortgage.

[Deleted User]

Unless in negative equity I would class a mortgage as an investment in property. You are buying an asset.

SeduLOUs

To me personally debt free would be no credit cards/loans hanging over me.

I suspect some people would consider debt free to simply mean positive net worth. People stoozing on 0% interest cards and holding the cash in their bank account for example probably wouldn't consider themselves to be 'in debt'.

Using credit cards properly is often for reasons other than credit - i.e. cheaper foreign currency and getting card protection on larger purchases. I guess as long as you have the physical cash in hand to clear all of your cards today (and that money isn't required for bills etc), then you could qualify as 'debt free'.

Time_to_face_the_music

There has been a recent thread which is almost an identical subject:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5137601

Wolfie1974

Hi,


Good question! For me its having no mortgage, no student loans, absolutely nothing that I pay interest on

kathrynha

For me it's owing nothing at all.

However there are different categories of debt.

A mortgage that is affordable without much difficulty each month isn't a bad debt, especially in our case where we have 75-80% equity in it and the rent for the property would be twice our mortgage payments.

Also I have a student loan which is deferred. As it is debt that I currently don't have to pay off and without a major promotion never will pay off, I don't count it as debt in the same way as a bank loan or car finance would be debt.

Other than our mortgage and my student loan we are debt free. By 45 hoping to be mortgage free, but to be totally debt free I'll have to wait till I'm 50 when my student loan gets cancelled.

greensalad

I would love to say it's when I owe nothing at all, but considering I have a student loan to pay and (hopefully) a mortgage maybe in the next 5 years, I don't think I would be debt free for at least another 25 years.

I consider debt free when my unsecured debts and non-essential debts (like car or bicycle finance, or catalogues etc) are paid off. I consider a mortgage and a student loan as essential debts to life. I don't think there is another way round it.

I will be "debt free" when my debts don't eat up my paycheque just to pay off mistakes of the past. A student loan isn't a mistake of the past. A credit card filled to the max where I can't remember what I bought with it is a mistake of the past.

jaydeeuk1

Simple. Its where your assets, cash house and car, are worth less than what you owe.

If you have a £100k mortgage on a house worth £110k, you are not in debt.