Do you think you'll be in debt your whole life?

[Rachel]

I have some debt, but it's not that big of a burden. I pay monthly bills and it isn't too bad, but I will likely be paying these bills off the rest of my life. Do you have any debt that you will be forced to pay off until you die or until you strike it rich? 

[Ella]

I would like to say no but mortgage don't pay themselves off! I think that and car debt will be the ones that stick around the longest. If I can map things out right, I would like to be 100% debt free by the age of 50 but we will see how things go. 

[James]

When I was in my later 20s I made it a goal to be debt free by time I was 35. 

I prioritized paying off all interest bearing debt including the mortgage (against the advice of many professional finance people). 

I must say the sacrifices I had to make to get to the debt free point were worth it. I now know that rock bottom is not to bad and I could support my family and have a roof over my head regardless of whatever financial hardships may present themselves in the future. 

I think the path of onboarding debt has been normalized by large corporations to keep people working for a majority of their life. 

I managed a large team for quite a long time and always found it strange that when raises or bonuses went out people would buy new cars or houses. Its like if they made more the could just onboard more debt. Always seemed strange to me because all those monthly payments add up to needing to work. 

Live within your means, avoid debt, and be free from the hardships that average people face because they do not have patience or the will and desire to do what is hard first to buy the reward they seek. 

[Mila]

I think most people will have some level of debt until they have everything they need. So say you buy a house and a car, those are debts. Once those are paid off and all your credit cards are paid off, you can focus less on keeping your credit scores perfect and more on saving. I haven't bought a house yet but I am hoping I can manage to pay it off in 10 years or less.