What's so Important About Being Debt Free

You might have read or heard of ways to get out of debt, with the assumption that everyone wants to be debt free and will work hard to get that way.

That's a false assumption. According to statistics and the general atmosphere of this consumer society, it's simply not so. Most people don't really care to become debt free - if they did, there wouldn't be so many so deeply mired in it.

I know that's a pretty strong statement and one that might upset people, because some people are deeply in debt - some through no fault of their own - and they find it very difficult to get out even though they desperately want to.

Not only is it a hard thing to do, it's discouraging to keep trying and find that life seems to be working against you. To become debt free, one needs to be able to hold tightly to that goal all of the time. One false step and you can find yourself right back where you started from. It isn't always easy.

Another reason we stay in debt is that when we look around at other people who are in debt and don't seem to care that they are, we see the things they have. New cars, big houses, vacations, clothes, electronic gadgets and appliances... why should we try so hard to get out of debt, when we know that we can have those things if we just put them on credit?

There are reasons, and good reasons why.

When you're already in debt, you'll find it hard to get the services and goods that you really need. When you're known as a poor credit risk to a bank or other loan institution, you may not get a loan at all, even if you're in real need of one.

Sure, you can sometimes get a "high risk" loan from some places - at twice the price of anyone else's. Those places are setups for financial disaster, though. A loan can wind up costing you twice as much as you get out of it and take a lot longer to pay off than whatever you purchase will last. Then you'll be looking for another loan.

Also, as long as you have debt, it's a toss up as to where any extra money goes... and it usually goes to something you haven't been able to afford because you were making payments on something else instead of paying down the debt that was the real reason you couldn't afford the item in the first place.

Actually, there may never be any extra money if you're living very much in debt. Debt becomes a way of life. It's like getting started on the left foot instead of the right and then you can't get in step. You buy something on credit, and your money goes to make payments. Then you need something else and you don't have the money for it because you're making payments on the first item. So... you buy the second one on credit. Now you feel a little more pinched, but you've got what you needed or wanted, so you feel okay about it.

And so the trap closes. Getting deeply into debt is easy to do... but who wants to stay there? What kind of pleasure can you take in sitting for an afternoon, paying bills and seeing your paycheck disappear?

Other reasons to get out of debt:

If you lose your job and can't make payments, you run the risk of losing your car, TV or whatever else you've financed.

Credit cards will raise your interest rate as well as charge you late fees if you can't make a payment on time. That will raise your minimum payment and ensure that you'll be paying them forever (it will seem like it, anyway).

You'll run out of credit cards and won't be able to get another one. Even credit card companies have their limits.

Savings for college? For a new house? Things that you can't realistically put on credit will be out of reach if you're not free of debt.

In this economy or culture, we're encouraged to go into debt. By whom? By those who want to lend us money, of course. They're the ones living the good life - with your money. Why not keep it and the good life, too, for yourself?