Dave Ramsey Flags 3 Retirement Mistakes as Debt for Ages 65 to 74 Hits $45,000
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 19
Dave Ramsey Flags 3 Retirement Mistakes as Debt for Ages 65 to 74 Hits $45,000
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 19
Summary
Three late-career mistakes can derail retirement after 55, Dave Ramsey said, with carrying too much debt topping his warning list in comments to Kiplinger.
$45,000 in average debt now burdens households led by people ages 65 to 74, up fourfold from 1992 to 2022, according to an AARP report citing the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.
$36,000 in average debt is now carried by households 75 and older, a sevenfold jump from under $5,000 over the same period, underscoring Ramsey's warning that mortgages and car payments can strain retirees.
Ramsey urged people nearing retirement to eliminate debt before leaving work, pointing to payoff strategies such as the avalanche method, which targets the highest-interest balance first to cut interest costs.
If tapping retirement accounts triggers massive penalties, what hidden strategies can older Americans use to escape crushing debt before their paychecks stop?
Could keeping your low-interest mortgage into retirement actually be safer than draining your liquid savings to pay it off?