In 2016, when I was 56 years old, I was completely debt-free.
I didn’t have a mortgage. I didn’t have credit card debt. I even had a car that was completely paid for.
Today, I still owe approximately $27,000 on a home equity line of credit, commonly called a HELOC. That doesn’t include the payment on my current car.
How did I go from owing nothing at 56 to carrying debt in retirement again?
I wish I could point to one terrible financial decision. The truth is less dramatic and probably more relatable: it happened gradually.
Some of the expenses were unavoidable. Some came from ideas I honestly believed might work. Others were decisions that seemed reasonable at the time but look very different in hindsight.
One thing led to another, and the debt-free life I had worked so hard to achieve slowly disappeared.
Watch the Video
In the video, I tell the complete story of how the debt returned, what the HELOC costs me each month and the choice I’m now facing between paying it off faster and keeping the car that makes daily life easier.
What Being Debt-Free Felt Like
When I sold my house and moved back into my condo in 2016, everything was paid off.
There is a particular kind of peace that comes from knowing you don’t owe anybody anything. The money coming in each month belongs to you instead of already being promised to a lender.
At the time, I also owned a 2008 Nissan Maxima that I had bought new. The car was paid for and wasn’t giving me any serious trouble.
I had installed new tires, replaced the brakes and handled the normal maintenance. It wasn’t sitting in the driveway with a bad engine or transmission.
But it was getting older, and I began worrying about what might happen.
I imagined the expensive repairs that could be waiting around the corner. Rather than waiting for something to actually break, I traded the Maxima for a Nissan Pathfinder.
Just like that, I had a car payment again.
I Replaced a Possible Repair With a Guaranteed Payment
Looking back, trading that Maxima was probably the first crack in my debt-free life.
I traded a paid-off car that wasn’t causing problems because I was afraid of a repair bill I might face someday. I replaced the possibility of an expense with the certainty of a monthly payment.
That doesn’t automatically mean keeping every old car is the right choice. An unreliable car can create real problems, especially in retirement. But in my case, the problem I feared hadn’t happened yet.
Eventually, I sold the Pathfinder to CarMax and went without a car for several months. Kevin O’Leary’s advice about the true cost of owning a car helped inspire that decision.
Financially, he was right.
Once I removed the payment, insurance, gas and other car expenses, I had close to $800 more in my pocket each month. That felt wonderful.
The problem was that living without a car where I live was difficult. Basic errands became more complicated, and I eventually bought a low-mileage used Acura.
I thought buying used was the smart move. Unfortunately, that Acura developed several major mechanical problems.
I had gotten rid of a reliable, paid-off car because I feared future repairs—and eventually bought another car that actually needed them.
My current approach to transportation is different. I explained the numbers and the reasoning in my honest 18-month update on leasing a car in retirement.
The least expensive answer on paper is not always the answer that works best in real life.
Some of the Debt Came From an Expense I Couldn’t Avoid
The cars were only part of the story.
At one point, the air-conditioning system in my condo had to be replaced. Where I live, summers get hot and humid. Air conditioning isn’t exactly optional.
The replacement cost somewhere around $10,000.
That wasn’t an impulse purchase or a business gamble. It was something that had to be done, and the money had to come from somewhere.
Retirement doesn’t stop roofs from leaking, cars from breaking or air conditioners from failing. What changes is our ability to recover from those expenses.
During your working years, you expect more paychecks. In retirement, a five-figure repair can affect your finances for years.
That is one reason I believe retirement mistakes and unexpected expenses are harder to recover from. Time becomes part of the cost.
Then There Was Retinol Magic
Over the years, I have tried several ways to make additional money.
Some worked better than others. Some didn’t work at all.
One of those ideas was a private-label skincare product called Retinol Magic. I purchased the product from China, put my own label on it and thought I could build a business selling it.
I invested approximately $2,500.
I sold very little of it. Eventually, the remaining jars ended up in a dumpster.
It is easy to look backward and ask, “Why did I do that?”
But I didn’t spend $2,500 expecting the business to fail. I thought it might work.
That is the uncomfortable thing about many financial decisions. We make them while looking forward with hope. Later, we judge them while looking backward with information we didn’t have at the time.
I haven’t stopped trying to earn extra income. I have become much more aware of the difference between an idea and a reliable income stream. My original goal was to build an extra $1,000 a month in retirement, but the attempts along the way have included both wins and expensive lessons.
Why I Took Out the HELOC
Between the cars, the air conditioner, business ideas and other expenses, I accumulated credit card debt.
Eventually, I took out a home equity line of credit against my condo to pay things off.
At the time, it felt like I was cleaning everything up. Instead of carrying balances across several credit cards, I could consolidate them into the HELOC, pay a lower interest rate and make one payment.
The HELOC did clear the credit cards.
It did not eliminate the debt.
It moved the debt from one place to another.
More importantly, consolidating the balances didn’t solve the habits or prevent the unexpected expenses that had created them.
Since taking out the HELOC, I have paid my credit cards down to zero several times. Then balances gradually returned, and I had to pay them off again.
It has been a constant battle.
Today, I am happy to say that I have no credit card debt. My only remaining financial obligations are the HELOC and my car payment.
What My $27,000 HELOC Costs Each Month
The HELOC balance is currently around $27,000, and it ends at the end of 2030.
Right now, the interest alone is approximately $180 per month. In addition to the interest, I generally try to pay another $400 or $500 toward the principal.
Depending on the month, somewhere around $600 to $800 can go toward this one debt.
That is where the HELOC affects my retirement in a way that the balance alone doesn’t show.
It isn’t simply $27,000 printed on a statement. It is money leaving my checking account every month before I can use it for anything else.
If the HELOC were gone, those monthly payments could go toward:
- Travel
- Emergency savings
- Future home or car repairs
- Everyday breathing room
- Simply enjoying more of my retirement
Fixed monthly expenses determine how much freedom we really have.
You can own a home and have money coming in every month, but if most of that income is already committed before the month begins, you don’t feel very free.
That is also why I’m cautious when people casually recommend selling a home and renting. As I explained in my article about retirement housing options when money is tight, I couldn’t replace my condo for anything close to what it currently costs me.
My goal is to keep the condo and eliminate the HELOC attached to it.
My Goal Is to Pay $1,000 a Month
I would love to start paying $1,000 a month toward the HELOC consistently.
That would allow me to make meaningful progress without giving up everything else in my life.
The growth of my YouTube channel and occasional sponsorship opportunities could make that goal more realistic. I recently broke down how much money YouTube actually added to my retirement. It hasn’t made me rich, but it has created breathing room that didn’t exist before.
Any additional income I send to the HELOC has a clear purpose: buying back my monthly freedom.
Of course, YouTube income and sponsorships are not guaranteed. I can’t build my essential monthly budget around money that may or may not arrive.
I have experienced a $1,000 month in retirement, but one good month does not automatically become predictable income.
When extra money does arrive, however, I can use at least part of it to attack the balance rather than allowing it to disappear into ordinary spending.
Should I Sell My Car to Pay Off the HELOC Faster?
The more aggressive option would be to get rid of my car again.
If I showed my numbers to Kevin O’Leary or Dave Ramsey, I’m fairly certain they would tell me to sell it, eliminate the payment, reduce my insurance and gas expenses, and put all that money toward the HELOC.
Strictly from a financial standpoint, they would probably be right.
I already know how much I can save without a car. I also know what it is like to live here without one.
The money isn’t the entire equation.
I am retired. I want to leave the house, buy groceries, get to appointments and see my family. I don’t want to make myself isolated and miserable simply to reach the finish line faster.
Could selling the car help me pay the HELOC off much sooner? Yes.
Would saving that time be worth struggling without reliable transportation again? I’m not convinced it would.
The goal isn’t only to become debt-free. It is to have a retirement I can enjoy after the HELOC is gone and while I am paying it off.
What I Would Do Differently
When I look back, several lessons stand out.
I would have kept the paid-off car longer
The Maxima hadn’t given me a reason to replace it. I acted on the fear of a possible repair instead of the reality in front of me.
I would have been more cautious with business ideas
Trying something new isn’t automatically a mistake, but hope is not the same thing as demand. I would test ideas on a much smaller scale before putting thousands of dollars into inventory.
I would not confuse consolidation with payoff
Moving credit card balances into a HELOC can reduce interest and simplify payments. It doesn’t erase what is owed.
I would pay more attention to monthly obligations
A purchase can look affordable when viewed as one monthly payment. Several “affordable” payments together can take away much of your financial flexibility.
Debt in Retirement Isn’t Always One Big Mistake
I’m not going to pretend every dollar came from reckless spending.
The air conditioner had to be replaced. Things break. Life happens.
But not every decision was unavoidable either. Some were hopeful ideas, and some were attempts to prevent problems that hadn’t happened.
That mixture is exactly why debt can return so quietly.
It isn’t always one enormous financial disaster.
Sometimes it is one necessary expense, one hopeful idea and one seemingly reasonable decision at a time.
Then one day, you look around and realize that the financial freedom you once had is gone.
I’m Trying to Become Debt-Free Again
I was completely debt-free at 56.
Ten years later, I’m trying to get there again.
The good news is that I’m not starting from the beginning. The credit card balances are gone. I know what I owe, and this debt now has my full attention.
I can’t go back and change the decisions I made. I can decide what happens to the next dollar that comes in.
My current plan is to keep paying down the HELOC every month, put additional YouTube and sponsorship income toward it when possible, and work toward consistently paying $1,000 a month.
It may not be the fastest possible solution.
It may be the solution I can actually live with.
Hopefully, sometime before 2030, I’ll be able to write a follow-up article with a much shorter title:
I Finally Paid Off My HELOC.
Have you ever become debt-free only to find yourself owing money again? If you were in my position, would you keep the car and pay the HELOC down gradually—or give up the car and eliminate the debt as quickly as possible?
Share your experience in the comments. Your story may help someone else who is fighting the same battle.
