On October 24 the American Psychology Association released it's latest  "Stress in America" report:

http://xrl.us/stress07

Among it's findings...

"One-third of Americans are living with extreme stress and
nearly half of Americans (48 percent) believe that their stress
has increased over the past five years. Stress is taking a toll
on people — contributing to health problems, poor relationships
and lost productivity at work."

This report lists sources of stress, citing...

"Money and work continue as the leading causes of stress for
three quarters -- 75% -- of Americans, a dramatic increase
over the 59 percent reporting the same sources of stress in 2006.
The survey also found that the housing crisis is having an
effect on many, with half of Americans (51 percent) citing
rent or mortgage costs as sources of stress this year."

Money,  work, rent, mortgage payments... stress!

You might be tempted to assume Money is the root cause of each of these stressors. If your work paid you enough money you could make the rent or mortgage payments with ease... and wouldn't mind too much whatever you had to put up with at work.

In my experience, it's more likely debt is the root cause. And not only the mortgage payment, but total debt --

Credit cards +
Student loans +
Car loans +
Home equity loans +
Medical debt +
Mortgages.

Want proof?

Total all of your monthly debt payments. It's 50% or more of your takehome pay, isn't it?  50% or more of your takehome pay is already committed to your creditors. This is THEIR money.

You're trying to eke out a living on whatever's left.

And that's ultra stressful.

What's your experience with debt and stress?

Do you know debt-free people? What's your opinion -- no one knows what goes on behind closed doors -- of their stress levels?

When was the last time you were debt-free and can you recall what your stress levels were?

-------------------
Greg Moore is the Creator of the Wealth Building System
'DebtIntoWealth -- Lessons from My Journey to Debt Freedom'

  'I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and this
    time it's not the train coming at me! My Debt-Free
   date for my $54000 is January 2010.  That's only 3
    years away!  Not bad for a single mom with no income
    but my own.' -- Dianne D., Texas.

Get LESSON 1 FREE now:
http://www.debtintowealth.com/stretcher.html

 We are almost debt free. Owe $2,000 medical for operation I had couple of years ago. Dr is patient and we are paying it off my the month with no interest. At the time had no insurance. Thankfully we do now. We owe $2,699 on an American express card for replacement windows. It is low interest and should have it paid off by March. The stress is a lot less that in the past when we owed for house and cars. I dont feel pressured to work, work work. We are free to help our kids financially or others in need. WE do have cash on hand that we could pay off this debt but have chosen to pay this off monthly to keep an emergency reserve . Babs

Our debt is about 7% of our income. But with the high expense of working and trying to get into a home, we worry that the expenses will lead to more debt which will ultimately mean more expense.

Great post, Greg.  Very interesting.  

Our rent and a vehicle payment = about 5% of our monthly NET.  Paying off the vehicle ($550) in December WOO HOO--have paid over $1400 on it since Sept. 07!

Then we have to tackle the $21k in student loan debt, combo of his n hers.   AND save big time for possible job loss in July 2010, when dh's contract is up.  Our goal is to amass $12,000 in savings ($400 monthly starting Jan. 08) by July 2010 which will amply cover 6 months of living for us, as we won't have any payments--student loans will go into deferment upon a possible job loss.  BUT we know that isn't going to happen.  From this post to God's ears...

Stress over debt and making it all go around is the killer for most Americans.  And yet they can't understand how to live any differently.  Sad.  

Yes, debt does stress me out. And writing checks to credit card companies makes me crazy, now that I have stopped using the cards but still pay the bill that is hanging out there. And Greg is right, it's not just credit card debt but our total debt load. Our total debt load:credit card debt, home equity loan and mortgage (no car payments or medical or student loan debt, thank goodness) do equal just under 50% of our take home pay. That's why I am here in this forum: I am trying to learn to save money in other areas to pay down our debt faster.

While debt can contribute to  personal stress, and in some cases may be the main cause of stress, in our society, it is more complex than that. Stress knows no age boundaries, and while debt may contribute to family and personal problems, there are other factors as well.

Before my husband was laid off, we were snowballing our debt payments to be debt free this March, mortgage aside. Our TOTAL debt mortgage included was 39% exactly.

Now it is 88% of our unemployment income. Now THAT is stressful.

 Michelle,

Stating it that way does make it much harder. I hope things improve for you very soon.

I believe that debt and a fast paced life can stress you out alot. Until we had job troubles etc, we were ok. Life is just more expensive now, it doesn't take much to get behind.

One battle I have waged with my husband has been with his way of relieving his stress....by shopping.  We've made baby steps together in the last two years and finally are understanding that we do, indeed, need to focus on paying off debt and tracking expenses. Spending or overspending can be a way to numb life's difficulties, temporarily of course, like alcohol or over-eating does. It takes some inner work and coming up with ways to comfort ourselves internally instead of using those external means, if that is how we learned to take care of ourselves. I've always seen money as a means to freedom so I really don't like shopping. He, on the other hand, felt deprived as a child and wanted to be able to immediately get whatever he wanted. It's a tough fight for anyone who spends to comfort themselves to learn such dramatically new habits as frugal living. And scary to watch friends and family who are stressed out over debt they incurred while trying to make themselves happy.

Be proud that you all are setting a wonderful example for those who are looking for a way out of the debt/stress/more debt cycle. I really look to you all for inspiration when I just want to cry over the credit card debt we still have (but are paying off).

pam