How far in the hole are you?
 

Per Shuie's request I thought this would be a good chance for me to try a poll. So how upside-down are you financially?

House loan 14 years left which I can manage, car loan, ditto. Daughter going to college in September, will be borrowing on a second for that. Otherwise a few thou on credit cards, which is due to wife's recent mastectomy. Otherwise doing OK. House is worth several hundred thou more than I bought it for today, who knows about tomorrow(southern california you know).

$148k mortgage. I own everything else free and clear, 'cept ~$500 I spent @ Home Depot el al last weekend. I'm guessing my house is worth mid-high $200k's

Well if you count mortgage, especially in the Bay Area, this'll be a very lopsided poll.

This is not just "total debt". This is for those with a negative net worth. So you guys with big mortgages are fine unless you owe more than your home is saleable for.

Assets MINUS debt = Net Worth

600K house MINUS 500K mortgage = 100K Net Worth

Upside down looks like this

600K house Minus 700K mortgage = Sweet Mother just put me down....


This is a scenerio that Wayne is betting on.....

hmmm,..... i owe my co-worker $5.00 for my share of yesterday's lotto ticket.

I consider myself lucky. I own everything outright (of course I'm still driving my '89 Ford Club Wagon - great shape w/about 220K miles, so I'm looking at getting a new one this coming year). I don't have any obligations other than monthly bills & credit cards, which I pay off each month. If there is a So Cal housing bubble burst, I might consider taking some advantage of it on a cash basis.

Ok, if that's the case, the picture is indeed brighter. 17 years left on the mortgage, lots of equity, pay cash for everything except for Costco stuff in which I use their AMEX card and pay it off every month in full plus get a rebate at year's end. I'm not rolling in dough but that wouldn't matter anyway since I'm a cheap ba$tard. So take me off the "Sweet mother" category and put me in the "I'm a miser and owe nothing" group.

I just have my VW to pay off. I can't afford to even think about a mortgage.

I don't owe anything - I even use AMEX rather than credit cards and it's clear. Which makes me wonder why a debt consolidation company keeps leaving me voice mails, almost daily. I'll be swimming in debt next year though, when I take the plunge and buy a condo. Ahh, utilities, property taxes, mortgage, furniture, assessments - the American Dream.

Emanuel (or is that winning the lottery now?)

I owe approximately $1.5 million on real estate loans.

My parents made too much for me to get financial aid....so I owe a small fortune in college loans

Hey, sell me that '83 and you'll make a dent! :) Just kidding, but I do plan to buy a nicer one next month - I've been running the numbers on fixing my '44 up and I think I'll do better tracking down a low-mileage "garage queen" for 5 grand or so.

Emanuel

3.7 MILLION IN PROPERTY, 92K IN LOANS 2,200. CREDIT CARDS PAID OFF EACH MONTH NO OTHER DEBTS