What do you consider debt free to be??

LilacPixie · 19 June 2008 at 4:53PM

I've been having a little think over the last few days. According to our snowball our DFD is just over two years away :j. Which is a massive improvment to the 60+ months quoted in feb 08 based on minimum payments.

This has gotten me thinking. Our snowball does not include either our mortgage or OH's student loan and the statement arrived today.

Would you still consider yourself to be debtfree with a mortgage?? With a student loan??

Am i fooling myself thinking we will be debt free when infact that will probably never happen?

:rolleyes:

Runnybabbit · 19 June 2008 at 4:57PM

Ummmmm - good question - I personally consider the mortgage not to be a debt, although many would probably disagree. I would like to think of it as collateral rather than a debt, and anyway I don't pay the mortgage hubby does, so that's my reasoning for it - lol.

Pollycat · 19 June 2008 at 5:20PM

I'm not sure about the student loan, but I'd definitely not class the mortgage as 'debt'.

If you didn't have a mortgage, you'd probably be paying rent either weekly or monthly and you wouldn't class that as a debt, would you.
And, once your mortgage is paid off, you'll be better off than if you'd been paying rent.

Gemmzie · 19 June 2008 at 5:21PM

Mortgages and student loans are investments not debts, in my eyes

Broken_hearted · 19 June 2008 at 5:24PM

We will be debt free when the mortgage is gone, never paying SL back as will never earn enough to have to. So 2014 we3 will be debt free.

notanothergreyhair · 19 June 2008 at 5:32PM

Gemmzie wrote: »

Mortgages and student loans are investments not debts, in my eyes

I agree.

I got my student loan statement today. Thankfully I am no longer phased by the million digits the loan has risen to

Nichelette · 19 June 2008 at 5:32PM

One day when I can (hopefully) get a mortgage I won't class that as debt, but I do class my student loan as debt.

arthurdick · 19 June 2008 at 5:45PM

totally agree with all those saying that a mortgage is an investment..great incentive for keeping up payments is the house at the end of it...the only time i'd ever think of it as a debt, would be, if i lost my job and could no longer work..but, hopefully, not for a few yrs yet..and by then, hopefully we will be through this rough house price patch and be able to downsize...better be careful though, i may end up in a wendy house if house prices keep falling..