Just curious as to who has debt (credit cards, student loans, car loans, etc.) and still owns or leases a horse (or multiple horses).
Yes- mortgage and car loans. Have 5 horses.
I think very few people have no debt. Good or bad. For me it has always boiled down to the debt/income ratio. I have about 30k in debt, the bulk of which is a new car. My income covers my living expenses (I rent), my bills and my horse.
I do try to live frugally. The amount of spending money I have is not as much as I would like but I am happy with what I have.
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Well, car loans are standard for many people. I buy good used vehicles privately but that requires saving more cash than many people can manage.
Ditto student loans. I got through without any, but thatās not possible for many.
Lease is a very broad term. You could be half leasing a low level horse at my barn for $200 a month which would be an extremely smart financial move plus many ammies donāt really want to ride more than 3 times a week. Or you could be in hunter world leasing a $50,000 horse for $15,000 a year and full board costs.
Anyhow I think many even most people in general and in horses finance cars especially with the current zero percent interest etc. And lots of people with professional careers have student loans.
Itās not having those kinds of loans thatās a problem if you can service them easily within your income.
Significant credit card debt for consumer items, vacations, dining out, is a bit of a red flag to me.
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I donāt know of anyone in real life who doesnāt have debt. I have a mortgage, car payment, and a home equity LOC. Iām probably 30k in debt not including the mortgage which isnāt much compared to those my age with about three times that amount in student loans. Not saying to live beyond your means, but lifeās too short not to enjoy the things you love because of a little bit of debt, especially in this day and age when a bachelor degree means digging yourself out of debt for a decade or more upon graduating.
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Debt is OK as long as you can service it. When you canāt you must take some action to ensure that you can.
There are different qualities of debt, some better than others. Going into debt to buy a house or get an education or acquire any other productive asset is different than going into debt to take a round the world cruise. Still as long as you can pay the freight the choice is yours.
G.
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:raiseshand:
Car note (almost paid off though! yay!) and one student loan left. Some CC debt ($2600) due to some unexpected vet bills plus Christmas shopping (so my DH canāt see the charges and figure out what Iām getting him)
Up until Tuesday, I had two horses. Paid board on both of them plus supplements. My old man was PTS on Tuesday, so paying for only one horse will allow me to get the CC debt paid off quickly.
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Thankfully I inherited my house, as well as the cash to buy my current car, but I still carry a little CC debt. Normally pay the bill in full every month, but thereās been a string of dog and horse vet emergencies in the past two months. It may take another two months to pay it off.
I have three horses on full board, but no training (theyāre seniors).
Undergrad loans hereā¦ and adding to that with grad school now. I own one horse. I try to be smart and practical about how I care for him. Heās at a backyard barn with less expensive board, and he doesnāt get a lot of the āextrasā (extensive supplements, joint injections etc) that he did when I was riding and competing. That said, if he ever needs anything, he always gets it immediately. If I hadnāt gotten him under the circumstances I did, I wouldnāt own a horse right now. But I think the majority of average horse owners in the world are juggling their passion with real life demands and commitments. Doesnāt make you irresponsible for owning an animal while you also have debt.
Mortgage and 2 truck loans. Student loan is down to last few thousand and will be paid off within next 8 months!
We have a LOC thatās never been used (just keep it for absolute emergencies). Right now, thereās a bit on credit cards due to Christmas. I really try not to use my credit cards when shopping but like poster above, need to keep SO from figuring out what Iāve been buying him! I am really enjoying that more and more sites are using Paypal as an option. Then I can look at my bank account and decide whether I can really afford that piece of tack (letās be honest - thatās what I spend most of my money on) vs. just putting it on credit card.
I will say, my SO and I dug ourselves out of a bit of credit card debt this year and it was truly truly horrible. Not a huge amount but when I added up what we paid over the year, I almost cried. A major reason for that in the last year has been we are at the age a lot of friends are getting married and planning big bachelor/bachelorette parties. They can be hard to say ānoā to. Plus we had some major home expenses that required using our ātemporary savingsā cash. If weād had that cash available, we wouldāve been able to pay off credit cards much faster.
ETA: I own 1 riding horse and 2 semi-retirees for company. They all live at home with me. If I boarded, Iād only have one.
Three horses + mortgage (for farm on which I keep said horses) + CC debt. My and DHās student loans are finally paid off and we currently have no car payments or other debts. Though there WILL be a vet bill coming in a couple of weeks ā¦
Student loans and car loan. I have 1.5 horses (I share expenses for my retired QH with my mother because heās ours together, not just one person.) I live frugally and donāt get to show as much as I would like.
I have paid off my student loans. I have quite a high mortgage payment for a single individual, but also have a roommate to help cover those bills (I couldnāt do it without a room mate) and a car payment. Thought about moving to an apartment to save $ but heck even those for a way smaller space are the same cost as my mortgage currently! Car will be paid off in mid 2019. One credit card (Care Credit) that has under $400 remaining to be paid off from my dogās surgery last year. I am still only comfortable with leasing my horse. I would love to own, but I just feel like it would be irresponsible for me and Iād be SOL if anything major happened.
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We have a mortgage but are only three years away from it being paid off (woohoo!). No car loans at present as we drive ours til they die, but we may have to replace one soon and that will probably involve a loan. Credit cards get paid off each month. I feel pretty comfortable with my current number of horses (3) and where we are financially.
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Own one horse who is boarded in a retirement type situation and lease one who is at one of the higher end facilities for the area - for the lease, I pay board, normal expenses, and lessons, but not full training.
Mortgage will be paid off within about five years.
We have a current car loan because I decided at time of purchase that it was smarter to finance at minimal interest rather than part with a chunk of cash that could be earning money elsewhere.
Have multiple credit cards which are usually paid in full every month, but due to some largish home projects coinciding with Christmas, I am looking at charging most of Christmas this year and paying off over first 3-4 months of 2019.
School loans were paid off early 90s for degrees earned in 80s - and were miniscule by todayās standards.
Have one adult child who is well launched and not likely to rebound on us; the other adult child is a work in progress and may still require some investment.
Mortgage, CC, car, and the dump trailer loan, which will be gone in two months. Truck and horse trailer paid off. One horse and two donkeys at home, so rolled into the mortgage. shrug The American Way I guess.
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Own 2 lease 2.
Mortgage.
Student loan will be paid off in 2019 (a decade after graduating), car is paid off, renting apartment in expensive area, and boarding one horse.
I was able to save a little by putting horse in a no-frills place and taking lessons once a week and not showing, but he is pretty high maintenance and is a hard keeper, so food costs are always high. I would consider a partial lease on him, but it would have to be the right person and he can be a difficult ride.
The biggest weight is CC debt that just keeps growing. Husband was very under-employed for 2 years so I pulled more than my fair share on household expenses, and got a new job so I had to update my professional wardrobe ( I used to work from home). Its nothing I canāt dig myself out of with more discipline but I am admittedly a sucker for any online sale. Its a big thing for me to work on in 2019!
When I got my horse we lived well below our means in a less expensive area, but we had to move to a more expensive region for husbandās former job. When that job dried up it hit us pretty hard. Had we always lived in this more expensive region, I donāt know if I would have ever bought a horse - the cost of upkeep + our rental costs are just too much.
Small cc debt, not so small student loans. Will be having to take out a loan for a new car in the next 3 years or so (too bad my current vehicle will have almost less than no value at that point).
Own 1. I definitely do no get to show or really save up all that much.
I have student debt for my masters thatās in progress.
No cc, one 0% loan for a crap load of money for a new F250. No mortgage, paid that off a year ago.
two horses on full board, both in half training.
