Comments on: Which Is Harder: Paying off Debt or Saving Money?

By: Joseph

Joseph — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 12:52:56 +0000

I’m with you in regards to the difficulty factor being higher on the saving side versus the paying down debt. Immediate satisfaction in paying debt off versus future enjoyment of a pile of cash to swim in like Scrooge McDuck.
I do challenge your view on the 250k cash with 250k debt though…
Think about it this way.
If we were to take a 250k 30yr mortgage and set it at a 4% interest rate, we would be paying more than $800 per month in interest alone for the first 3-4 years, more than $700 per month for the following 6-7 years, and so on. If we paid (averages) $750 per month in (once again) interest alone for 10 years, we would already have wasted $90,000!
What could you have done with that 90k had you earned it and invested it had it not been used to pay off that 250k in debt that you thought you could work into your system because you had the extra cash?

My two pennies.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:52:27 +0000

In reply to Jacob Erickson.

“I don’t really care which one I’m working on as long as it’s getting me closer to my goals” – yup! And there are always a few ways to get there too, which is nice. We get to work on the ones that make the most sense and can then change it up when another one starts to more – it’s great.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:51:15 +0000

In reply to Ms. S.

if you’re anything like me it’ll upset you even MORE, haha… I hate my mortgage debt and home ownership altogether at this point – stresses me out. But I’ve also never lived in one place more than a handful of years so I should have known better before trying to be “responsible” and buy a house. Lesson learned :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:49:17 +0000

In reply to UpstateTeacherLady. Ouch! I bet... Very responsible of you to tackle though! :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:48:16 +0000

In reply to Yana.

“I’m my own bank and creditor” – haha, that is awesome.

By: Ms. S

Ms. S — Wed, 29 May 2013 18:05:33 +0000

Boy am I late to this party, but I’ll comment anyway. :-)
Saving is easier for me. I get pissed at myself with every payment I make to my student loans. I get furious. LOL. I guess that anger is fueling me to me to pay it off very quickly. Saving’s easy for me because I get to see my account grow and I feel a sense of stability.

I guess it depends on the kind of debt also because I don’t think I’d feel angry at debt if I had a mortgage.? Don’t know. I’ll update my comment when I buy a house. :-)

By: Well Heeled Blog

Well Heeled Blog — Wed, 29 May 2013 17:32:03 +0000

In reply to E.M..

NOT an oddball at all. I think paying off debt is definitely harder – saving money is moving forward on a “positive” action while paying off debt is only minimizing a “negative” action. It’s much easier for me to work up the motivation to save because I like seeing my goal number get bigger, instead of it getting back to zero.

By: David Hunter

David Hunter — Wed, 29 May 2013 03:28:30 +0000

In reply to J. Money. Hmmm... That's not a bad idea! Haha

By: Jacob Erickson

Jacob Erickson — Wed, 29 May 2013 02:48:26 +0000

I have to agree with you, I’d be much more motivated to pay off an $800 car bill instead of saving for a rainy day. That being said, I don’t really care which one I’m working on as long as it’s getting me closer to my goals. I’m a huge goal person, so these are what normally motivate me.

By: thepotatohead

thepotatohead — Wed, 29 May 2013 02:01:29 +0000

I’d say paying off debt is easier. With debt once you hit enter on the pc or throw the check in the mail, you can’t go spend that money anymore. It’s going straight towards the debt. At least for me if I see my bank account sitting flush with cash, there will always be that temptation to spend it. Best to be out of sight out of mind for me.