A new car loses a whopping 60% of its value during the first five years of its life, including a steep 20% drop during year one. Here’s the deal with car payments: They’re a money pit, especially when you’re talking about a new car. Truth: You can stay away from car payments by paying cash for reliable used cars. Worried about renting a car or booking a hotel room without a credit card? Don’t be! You can do both of those things with a debit card (which has the same fraud protection as a credit card, by the way). If you do have a credit score, get rid of it-cut up your credit cards, pay off all your existing debt, and stay debt-free. So if you don’t have a credit score because you’ve never taken on debt, keep it that way. Here’s the thing about a credit score: It’s really just an “I love debt score.” Your credit score is entirely based on how much debt you’ve taken on-it’s got nothing to do with how wealthy you are, or how well you handle your money.Īnd unlike what the toxic money culture wants you to believe, you don’t need a credit score to rent an apartment or buy a house. Truth: You don’t need a credit score to win with money or build wealth. Myth: You should get a credit card to build your credit score and take advantage of cash-back bonuses and airline miles. So, let’s take a look at the most common myths out there about debt-you’ve probably heard these your entire life! And we’ve been sold on a whole bunch of lies created by a financial system that’s designed to take our money from us. Let’s face it: We live in a culture that’s obsessed with debt. All that money is going to credit card companies and the bank! Not exactly a recipe for wealth building. It’s no wonder 48% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 45% have less than $1,000 saved for emergencies, according to research done by Ramsey Solutions. 4 Basically, if you’re making the average debt payments in the U.S., you’re throwing an entire week of your income out the window. To be specific, it’s $117 more than the average American working full time makes in a week. Average Credit Card Payment (based on a 2% minimum payment): $116.10 2.Here’s a look at what those payments add up to: Want some proof? Let’s pretend you’re making payments every month on student loans, credit cards and the new car you bought just a few months ago. And when you have to send huge chunks of your income out the door every month to make debt payments, you’ve completely lost control of that tool. Your biggest wealth-building tool is actually your income. There are tons of so-called financial “experts” who want you to believe debt is a tool you can use to build wealth. Why Debt Is Not a Tool for Building Wealth It’s a wrecking ball, both to your money and your mental health. That’s precisely what debt does to your life. You’ll also have nothing left to save for that beach vacation you’re dead set on taking next summer, which means that trip will wind up going on your credit card and sinking you even further into debt.Īvoid the traps and manage your money the right way with Financial Peace University.Īnd that’s how you end your month: full of anxiety because you’re drowning in payments with no money saved and nothing in retirement, knowing full well next month will be no different. But you’ll have zero money left over to put aside for emergencies or invest for retirement. Your stress turns to fear as you ask yourself, How in the world am I going to afford all of this? The truth is, you can afford all of it. And by the way, you still owe the furniture store hundreds for that couch you bought with a buy now, pay later (BNPL) program. That’s $1,200 worth of payments-and you haven’t even gotten to paying for rent, groceries, utilities, insurance or gas for your car! Plus, your whole family needs a haircut. As you open each one and look at what you owe-$700 on your new car, $400 on your student loan, $100 on your credit card balance-you feel a little more stressed. Imagine this: It’s the end of the month, and your bills start to come in.
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