The Truth About Debt

Facts about you and your money

• The average American will SPEND $1,860,000 on goods and services in his or her lifetime. - American Demographics
• A baby-boomer who makes $50,000 a year today will need ONE MILLION DOLLARS in savings to replace that income by the time he or she retires. - USA Today
• The average cost of owning and operating a car over the course of a person's working life is estimated to be more than $200,000 - American Institute for Economic Research
• If the above costs of owning a car were cut in half (in other words each car was kept twice as long before replacement), the savings invested at 10% over the same person's working life would build up to an additional $1,317,495 in retirement income!
• An extra payment per month of $100 applied to a 9%, 30-year fixed $100,000 mortgage will save $75,394 in interest.
• Adding just 15% to your monthly mortgage payment can cut 10 to 15 years off the average mortgage.
• More than HALF of all the money you make in your lifetime will go towards taxes, debt payments, and fees.
• Average homeowners stay in their homes for 7.1 years [National Association of Realtors®]. With an average 8% mortgage, they will sell their homes still owing over 90% of the principal. If they continue this trend, they will NEVER pay off a home in their lifetimes!
• The average 45 to 54 year old has just $2,600 in the bank - Capital Research Associates
• The average savings of a retired couple is only $7,000.
• "On average, Americans can expect to receive just 37% of the annual retirement income they will need to live comfortably" - Oppenheimer Funds Dist., Inc.
• 85% of Americans have a true net worth of less than $250. - Social Security Administration
• Every day, over 2,200 Americans lose their jobs.
• Parents can expect to pay over $150,000 to raise a child to age 18; and if the child goes to college, add another $70,000 to $160,000