You're Always in My Thoughts. Signed, Your Banker

People are living longer than ever before, a phenomenon undoubtedly made necessary by the 30-year mortgage.
— Doug Larson

Debt has a way of shaping our lives, sometimes for decades. Americans owe $13 trillion on their mortgages in 2025. For many households, the mortgage is both the largest single debt and the longest-running financial commitment.

A 30-year term can feel like forever. It’s a financial horizon that shapes decisions about jobs, savings, and even where children go to school. And yet, for most people, it’s considered normal, even unavoidable.

If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
— Earl Wilson

Today, nearly 5% of households are delinquent on their debt payments, and a record share of Americans can only afford to make the minimum payments on their credit cards.

Debt can open doors to homes, education, or opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. But the more of it we carry, the more our financial life revolves around serving it.

That’s why the best debt is the kind we plan for, understand, and can pay comfortably.

Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.
— Benjamin Franklin

To read Franklin's Poor Richard quotes about thrift, see his enduring essay, "The Way to Wealth." It's a free Kindle eBook.

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