Debt is a scary word. No one wants to feel a sense that they owe something—especially when it’s to a faceless lending agency. Still, debt is a very real part of most people’s lives. This isn’t going to change anytime soon. Despite being so common, debt can ruin your long-term plans if you don’t find ways to reduce it.
Do You Want to Buy a House?
Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions that someone can make in their life—both from a financial and emotional perspective. A mortgage is often considered one of the “good” forms of debt, as it comes with a lower interest rate, and is backed up by an asset that in theory should appreciate over time. But you might not be able to get to a position where you can afford to take out a mortgage if you have too much debt in other areas.
Your credit score and credit utilization are going to affect how easy it is for you to get a home loan. Plus, if you have too much debt, you’re simply not going to be able to afford to make a down payment or monthly installments.
Do You Want to Travel?
Travelling is largely considered to be one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences for people. Learning new things about other cultures—and yourself—can make your life better in unexpected ways. But you’re not going to be able to travel if you have too much debt from other areas of your life. And while you might be able to put the expenses of your trip on a credit card, doing this will probably only put you into a much worse financial situation once you return.
While the costs of travel are coming down due to greater efficiency in transportation and more competition in lodging due to services like Airbnb, it’s still not cheap. Having too much debt will almost certainly keep you from travelling.
Do You Want to Start a Family?
Starting a family isn’t an easy undertaking. It requires you dedicate your life to the betterment of your children so that they might be able to lead successful lives once they’re off on their own. But starting a family isn’t just about time; it’s largely about money. On average, it costs over $230,000 to raise a child! That’s a lot of money—even for people who have a pretty substantial income. Multiply that number by a few children, and you might be looking at almost a million dollars in expenses to have a family. Are you going to be able to afford that if you have a lot of outstanding debt going into the process?
Individuals who want to have a family, but don’t think they can due to debt constraints, might want to look for alternative options. Debt relief is a potential avenue to go down if you want to solve this issue. Freedom Debt Relief is one of the most respected companies for helping people get out of debt—often in 24-48 months. Look at Freedom Debt Relief reviews to see how they’ve helped other people get their lives back on track.
Do You Want to Retire?
Retirement is the goal for most working people. Unless your profession is truly your life’s passion, you’ll probably want to stop working at some point. This is going to be a lot more difficult if you’re carrying substantial amounts of debt late into your life. It also doesn’t help if debt is keeping you from putting money aside into a retirement savings account.
Still, about half of U.S. citizens have nothing at all saved for their retirement. There are many factors that play into this; but debt is certainly one of the biggest issues. If you want to have a retirement in your future, it’s time to start figuring out how to cut down your debt.
There are a lot of reasons why people find themselves in debt. In fact, medical bills are by far the top reason why people have to file for bankruptcy. But if you want to pursue your long-term plans, you need to find ways to overcome your debt.
Don’t let debt ruin your long-term plans. Start paying down your debt to escape potentially frustrating – or devastating – financial situations later in life.
