How Do You Compare Financially to The Average American?

We’ve done some research on the average debt in America, and guys, the results are wild! In this video, find out if you fall above or below the average American when it comes to money. Plus, learn how to start tackling debt today!

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[bluesmoke]

Paid off my house and was completely out of debt 2 years ago at the age of 35. It’s such a great feeling when you make that last payment.

[carleywainwright]

I just paid off my car in July after getting a large year end bonus. All my coworkers spent their bonus on fun stuff and looked at me crazy. Jokes on them, paying off my car gave me a $1000 raise each month!!! My payment was $462 and I was making extra payments each month to pay it off. I initially took out an 8 year term (never again) but paid it off in 3 years. What a WEIGHT off my shoulders!

[bmwuzwm]

I own an average house, drive an old car, but I’m debt free.

[PatSax]

My wife and I are are 43 and 42 and have just become completely debt free. It feels amazing. We are still driving a couple beaters so the next goal is to upgrade our vehicles with cash. I started listening to Dave when I was 25. He gave me a completely different mindset on money. Thanks.

[Aisha_babii]

Paid off my credit card today! 12k gone! 🎉

[gillm]

Car payment- none $1000 honda cvic
Credit card debt-none
Student loans-none
Mortgage-94k, $840mo
401k- 15%
Investment-15k, 1800mo contribution
Emergency fund-funded.

[NewGuy]

Being raised poor, I always thought we were a solid two income middle class.

I was actually shocked last year when we added everything up and realized we were upper class. Top 5% in terms of net worth according to a few websites. The snowball really grows fast once it gets going.

[theresaherman]

Old guy here. I learned a lot from my father-in-law. His rule was “never carry a balance on a credit card, it only enriches the CC people. Only charge what you can pay off every month.”
Also his advice was to pay cash for that 1st car, so if you needed to upgrade you always have equity in that vehicle. We took it one step further. We always paid cash for our 2nd hand cars, usually 4 to 8 years old with 50-80k miles.
He also advocated to pay extra on your principal on the mortgage. That would save much $$$ in interest, builds equity faster in your home, and of course accelerates the plan to pay off your house earlier. He was very adamant about owning your home DEBT free, especially before retiring.
Thanks Vern, RIP buddy.

[itshimhim]

How can people have $30, 000 car loans and pay them off BUT cannot pay a nickel of a $30, 000 student loan?…quit wasting OUR money on your worthless degrees ladies and guy

[tatianastarcic]

Wealth/Success is dependent on the action or steps you take to achieve it. Show me a man who doesn't have an investment and I will tell you how soon he'll go broke. Investment is building a safe haven for the future: with the right choices of investment that has minimum risk and with an Expert guidance, profit and interest should be guaranteed.

[mrs.bdaycare]

This is crazy. I’m only $3, 800 in debt. I hope to pay off by Jan 2025

[JhonJhon-pp]

Hello, I am due for retirement in two years, I'm a senior citizen but I'm curious to know best how people split their pay, how much of it goes into savings, spendings or investments, I earn around $50K per year but nothing to show for it yet.

[jasonrodgers]

I've NEVER had a car in my 50+ year driving LIFE that I didn't pay full cash for. Making car payments to impress some stranger next to you at a stoplight is INSANE!

[bradhankins-xj]

The avg. American is having a tough time, I know I am not alone. There are others in same position as me. By certain statistics: 22% of americans have no retirement savings. 64% are worried that they will not have money in latter years while 47% of adults who are not yet retired think they have to work part-time in retirement. How can I best grow the 100k I have saved seperately outside retirement access which of course had depleted over the years?

[AlEx-hkpf]

We drove 2004 Civic and saved to buy 2025 Civic sport at the end of July 2024. It feels so refreshing to drive a brand new car without monthly payments. The 2004 Civic is still running, so our high schooler is using it. The 04 Civic was bought 2010 cash for about 5.5k.
Don't let anyone tell you that it's impossible to buy a brand new car cash in America (lesson we gave our children). Yes, it took us years (500 a month for 5 years), but we did it. You can do it, too. Drive a reliable used car and save for as long as it'll take.

[joycewright]

I’m retired and debt free but starting to get nervous. Medicare supplement going up, electricity almost doubling, groceries becoming unaffordable, homeowners insurance rising. My budget used to work but there is not much wiggle room left.

[geckster]

49 years old
300k house paid off
2017 wrangler, 2024 CRV both paid off
no credit card debt or any debt of any type
148k in cash in money market account (high yield savings)
412k in retirement accounts

This balance sheet looked VERY, VERY different in 2020! Thats when I got sick of all the loans and the mortgage I had open. I did the snowball deal and just began tackling each loan until everything including the mortgage was paid off. That opened the flood gates to saving a nice pile of cash! You guys can do it too, just takes sacrifice. You should never buy another cup of coffee again until you are completely debt free. Eat all your meals in, brew your own coffee, limit vacations (I didnt take one for over 3 years). If you put in the work and sacrifice, it CAN be done!

[Dohair]

I’m on step 6. While I don’t feel like I’m on top of the world, I am way beyond average. I will just keep trucking.

[austinbar]

It’s always advisable to Invest judiciously, keep a stop loss figure. Shuffle between debt and equity wherever the ratio goes too off your target. As for the target, I recommend a Ratio like this Debt % should be equal to your age in years. If you are 20, debt is 20%, reset in equity. If the market falls or rises drastically, your debt % will change, which you should rebalance to 20% and bring back equity to 80%. Thus you would have bought low or booked profit depending on if it was a crash or a bull run.

[Jawrathful]

Yes I pay off my CC every month. Just because I use my CC doesn't mean I'm not budgeting. I am! I'm not using my CC to get rich, I'm using it for the discount! I'll always use it and never pay interest. I earn it!! Debt free here. It feels great!