What makes you WANT to be debt free?

immoral_angeluk · 21 September 2007 at 12:06PM

Maybe I'm bored.. who knows.. but I'm sat here pondering why we want to be debt free...
Sounds an obvious question but when you think about it (Really hard.. til your brain hurts..

) it's really not so...

I mean the world REVOLVES around debt.. you need debt to have a house.... left right and centre everyone is offering you credit cards... car loans.. home improvement loans.... over drafts....

What makes you want to escape all of that and say 'Well no I don't want to be sucked into it and I'll do just fine without thanks!'

I think for us it boils down to the following..

Sick of having no money
Sick of scrimping and saving for basic things
Want to enjoy what money we don't have and not worry
Want financial security for our children

How about everyone else?

Kevicho · 21 September 2007 at 12:11PM

What i want in life requires funding.

Such as:
Education
Travel
Home
eventually business

basically all the means of improving your life, unobtainable with monthly repayments going towards debt.

The debt trap at its best

chipbeck · 21 September 2007 at 12:11PM

In order to get a good nights sleep!

Fortheloveofmoney · 21 September 2007 at 12:14PM

Well I sat down and worked out how much interest I'd paid over the last 10 years with my 'buy it now and worry about the cost later' attitude. It was enough to buy a very nice brand new car!!:eek: Oh and that doesn't include the interest on the mortgage coz I wasn't brave enough to work that out.

I'm lucky enough to earn a decent salary but still have no money. Now I know why :rotfl:

Kevicho · 21 September 2007 at 12:17PM

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

I think for us it boils down to the following..
Sick of having no money

Sick of scrimping and saving for basic things

Want to enjoy what money we don't have and not worry

Want financial security for our children

How about everyone else?

Im prob bored too lol

Anyways with your list, on of the things NLP taught me (which I should use more) is to word things in ways of saying what i want, as opposed to what i dont want.

So your list could change too

I have the money to do what i want when i want (counts for 1st 2)
have financial freedom and knowledge i am secure
Our children have a good future because of the financial footing i have given them

Just posting out of time killing, but interesting that the images in my head now are positive ones and give me a sense of goal as opposed to operating on fear.

Completely off topic in a way, but in Donnie Darko, theres a scene which I agreed with Donnie at the time, the whole love/fear scene in the school, and while donnie has a point, people do operate within those 2 modes, the successful seem to love what they do, the others seem to fear failure.

I love that film lol

OberonSH · 21 September 2007 at 12:19PM

We want to move to the States, and I I want to get everything sorted. Partly also becasue it's debt - it needs to be paid off - we spent it (on a business, but spent nonetheless) so we have to pay it back. I want my kids to realise that you can't just keep getting more and more stuff - there's a point eventually when someone says politely 'Now, how are you planning on settling this then'. Plus I enjoy cackling like an old hen about how little my groceries cost and still getting compliments about how mice my cooking is.

mrsspendalot · 21 September 2007 at 12:20PM

The thought of no one else having a hold over my money every month other than me!

JET34 · 21 September 2007 at 12:21PM

So I can enjoy life!! The weight that lifted off my shoulder's when I became DF was huge!! even though my debt wasn't as high as other's it still kept me wake and caused me grief just thinking about it.......... To be honest I have become DF a couple of time's but soon built it up this time however this time it has stuck and i've even got saving's whoooooo

mrsspendalot · 21 September 2007 at 12:23PM

Seriously though, I want to be able to afford to save for things. I want to be able to afford to buy clothes and shoes without worrying how to pay for them. I want to not have to worry about paying bills every month - particularly when the unexpected happens. I want to be able to afford to save for my children so they can go to Uni and have the chance that I never had at 18. I want to own my own house.

suzialwaysbroke · 21 September 2007 at 12:24PM

Ummmm, very good question, I think that if you take out "essential" debt out of the equation (by that I mean mortgage!), you have to look at the amount you owe & what exactly you have to show for it. For most of us I would guess that the answer to that is not very much!! or, they are things that have not provided lasting pleasure.When I worked out how much debt I had cleared last year (about 25K's worth) my daughter cheerfully commented that it was enough to have a swimming pool put into the garden!! That is something I have said would be on top of my list if I won the lottery & it really brought me up sharpish!!
we have another £45K to pay - all CC's, so maybe in 3/4 years, I will be able to afford my pool after all!!!!!! (heres hoping)

(By the way, the CC's were to keep our ailing business going, not just on pleasure, we have now turned the corner & are repaying debt rather than still accumulating it, thank goodness)