The Great Recession is officially over, but for a huge number of Americans, serious debt lives on.
U.S. households owe a combined $11.5 trillion on credit cards, car loans, mortgages and other consumer debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In households across the country, big debt is causing sleepless nights, troubled relationships and uncertain futures. The good news: There are ways out. And you don’t have to file for bankruptcy.
Year of Jubilee
My wife and I believe in living within one’s income level, and part of that means not buying more home than you really need. While some may think they need a home large enough to permit entertaining one’s friends and relatives (or business associates, etc), we don’t.
There are just the two of us, and so we bought a 1,650 sq foot home nine years ago, and we’re ‘floating’ instead of being ‘under water.’ We pay our bills the first of the month, and manage to live pretty well on the remainder by not going on expensive vacation trips or eating out (only rarely). Our Air Force squadron reunions every two years to various places around the country serve as our vacations instead, and we enjoy getting together with old friends and acquaintances from our Germany days.
We shop at discount chains, such as Costco, WalMart, Target, and when we’re at Target, we enjoy a cup or two of Starbuck’s specialty coffee…….often with friends.