50+ Debt Free Quotes for Motivation to Pay Off Debt

Are you looking for debt free quotes to help motivate you to pay off your debt? With an ambitious, but respectable goal of becoming debt-free, it can’t hurt to have as much motivation as you can find.

When you first start paying off your debt, you may get a burst of energy and excitement for what it will mean for your financial future. However, becoming debt-free doesn’t happen right away and will take some time and effort.

Because of this, so many people lose motivation somewhere along the way and give up on their goal to pay off their debt. That’s where these quotes come into play.

An inspirational and thought-provoking quote can help give you the needed motivation to continue on your journey of paying off your debt. It can also completely change the way you think about money.

So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Debt Free Quotes

Here is a list of 50+ famous quotes about debt. Some are meant to motivate people to become debt-free, while others mention the joys and freedom that being debt-free provides.

1. “Debt is the slavery of the free.”
—Publilius Syrus

2. “Bad debt is sacrificing your future day needs for your present day desires.”
—Suze Orman

3. “He who is quick to borrow, is slow to pay.”
—German Proverbs

4. “The day I’m able to be debt-free is the day I’m going to be the happiest guy around.”
—Steve Garvey

5. “Debt is the worst poverty.”
—Thomas Fuller

6. “Credit buying is much like being drunk. The buzz happens immediately and gives you a lift. The hangover comes the day after.”
—Joyce Brothers

7. “What can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?”
—Adam Smith

8. “You can’t be in debt and win. It doesn’t work.”
—Dave Ramsey

9. “A creditor is worse than a slave-owner; for the master owns only your person, but a creditor owns your dignity, and can command it.”
—Victor Hugo

10. “Debt is great source of inner unhappiness.”
—Debasish Mridha

11. “You can’t get out of debt while keeping the same lifestyle that got you there.”
—Dave Ramsey

12. “Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt.”
—Henrik Ibsen

13. “If you have debt, I’m willing to bet that general clutter is a problem for you too.”
—Suze Orman

14. “Interest on debts grow without rain.”
—Yiddish Proverb

“15. There are no shortcuts when it comes to getting out of debt.”
—Dave Ramsey

16. “Pay off your debt first. Freedom from debt is worth more than any amount you can earn.”
—Mark Cuban

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

18. “Where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice.”
—Dave Ramsey

19. “There are but two ways of paying debt: Increase of industry in raising income, increase of thrift in laying out.”
—Thomas Carlyle

20. “Every time you borrow money, you’re robbing your future self.”
—Nathan Morris

21. “A debt problem is, at its core, a budgeting problem.”
—Natalie Pace

22. “The second vice is lying. The first is running in debt.”
—Benjamin Franklin

23. “Borrower is slave to the lender.”
—Proverbs 22:7

24. “Nowadays people can be divided into three classes – the haves the have-nots and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-haves.”
—Earl Wilson

25. “Many delight more in giving of presents than in paying their debts.”
—Sir Philip Sidney

26. “Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, nineteen pounds; result, happiness. Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, twenty-one pounds; result, misery.”
—Charles Dickens

27. “Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most.”
—American Proverb

28. “Interest works night and day; in fair weather and in foul. It gnaws at a man’s substance with invisible teeth.”
—Henry Ward Beecher

29. “The man who never has money enough to pay his debts, has too much of something else.”
—James Lendall Basford

30. “Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.”
—Unknown

31. “A healthy and debt free living person is the richest and the happiest.”
—Sushmitha Maddula

32. “I say to you never involve yourself in debt, and become no man’s surety.”
—Andrew Jackson

33. “Out of debt, out of danger.”
—Jerry Voorhis

34. “His brow is wet with honest sweat; he earns whate’er he can, And looks the whole world in the face, For he owes not any man.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

35. “Speak not of my debts unless you mean to pay them.”
—George Herbert

36. “Some people use one half their ingenuity to get into debt, and the other half to avoid paying it.”
—George D Prentice

37. “The decision to go into debt alters the course condition of your life. You no longer own it. You are owned.”
—Dave Ramsey

38. “Debt is a prolific mother of folly and of crime.”
—Benjamin Disraeli

39. “Words pay no debts.”
—William Shakespeare

40. “Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them.”
—Ogden Nash

41. “Creditors have better memories than debtors.”
—Benjamin Franklin

42. “One of the greatest disservices you can do a man is to lend him money that he can’t pay back.“
—Jesse Jones

43. “To grasp why people bury themselves in debt, you don’t need to study interest rate: you need to study the history of greed, insecurity, and optimism.”
—Morgan Housel

44. “Debt basically enables people to live a lie.”
—Rachel Cruze

45. “A mortgage casts a shadow on the sunniest field.”
—Robert Green Ingersoll

46. “No man’s credit is as good as his money.”
—E.W. Howe

47. “Wars in old times were made to get slaves. The modern implement of imposing slavery is debt.”
—Ezra Pound

48. “Debt can turn a free, happy person into a bitter human being.”
—Michael Mihalik

49. “It is the debtor that is ruined by hard times.”
—Rutherford B. Hayes

50. “Do not accustom yourself to consider debt only as an inconvenience; you will find it a calamity.”
—Samuel Johnson

51. “Debt on anything that depreciates is disastrous.”
—Orrin Woodward

52. “Debt is one person’s liability, but another person’s asset.”
—Paul Krugman

Is It Possible to Live Debt Free?

Although it may seem impossible to live debt-free in today’s society, there are countless people who have succeeded living their lives without carrying any debt at all.

While it isn’t easy, if you follow a budget and have good financial discipline it is possible.

With that said, here are a few tips to live debt-free:

• Follow a budget
• Set financial goals
• Build a large emergency fund
• Spend less than you earn
• Have a savings routine
• Save for large purchases

Is Becoming Debt Free Worth It?

Yes, becoming debt-free is absolutely worth it. In fact, paying off your debt is one the best things you can do to improve your financial health and create a better future.

By becoming debt-free, you will:

• Have less stress about money
• Be able to build wealth faster
• Have more control of your finances
• Always have a positive net worth
• Have an easy time budgeting
• Be financially secure
• Set a great example for those around you
• And so much more!

How Many Americans Are Debt Free?

According to American Express, a survey by the Federal Reserve found that 23% of respondents claimed to be completely debt-free.

The other respondents either had credit card debt, student loans, an auto loan, a mortgage, or all of the above.

A different survey by the Federal Reserve also found that 11% of millennials have never had debt. This was compared to 5% of baby boomers and 8% of GenX respondents.

What Is Dave Ramsey’s Famous Quote?

One of Dave Ramsey’s most famous quotes is, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” This quote is from his book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.

The quote perfectly captures exactly why so many of us end up in debt in the first place. However, when we decide to no longer keep up with the Joneses and impress people with things we own, it becomes far easier to live debt-free.

With said, Dave Ramsey has many other famous quotes, many of which were mentioned above.

Final Thoughts on Debt Free Quotes

Regardless of how much debt you have, becoming debt-free is by no means an easy goal to achieve. There will most likely be times you feel like giving up.

Because of this, anything that can keep you motivated is super beneficial, even if it’s simply some inspirational quotes about paying off debt.

However, if you’re serious about becoming debt-free, you will need to take it a step further. To be successful, it’s important that you create a budget, build an emergency fund, and begin living well within your means.

With that said, I hope you found at least a few quotes that resonated with you and inspired you to pay off your debt. If you did, you may even want to write them down and put the quotes somewhere visible like your refrigerator.

This way, you will always be reminded why you decided to become debt-free in the first place.

Best wishes paying off your debt!