How Much Debt is too Much?

By Jill, on November 23, 2009

While there are many different opinions as to how much debt is too much, the two ratios below are the most widely used measures of how much debt is manageable. These ratios are also known as debt to income ratios (DTI). Many of you are reading this and other personal finance blogs in an attempt to dig out of debt. Others are reading to improve their financial stability so as to avoid taking on future debt.

Photo by Andres Rueda via Flickr

But sometimes, debt is inevitable. For instance, most people are not in a position to purchase a house with cash. If you find yourself needing to carry housing, auto, student loan, credit card or other debt, it is important to make sure that you do not get in over your head with debt payments. After all, you need to use the majority of your income for current living expenses as well as saving for the future.

Housing Ratio 1: Front End DTI Ratio

Housing Ratio 1, or the “front end” DTI ratio, measures the ratio of your housing costs to your gross income. To calculate it, add up your total housing costs (mortgage principal, interest, insurance, and taxes) and divide that total by your gross income. If you rent, your housing costs are simply your rent payments plus any insurance premiums. Condo or co-op owners should include any fees. You can consider housing costs and income on a monthly or annual basis – just make sure you use the same time period in both the numerator and the denominator!

Here’s the formula written out:

(Mortgage Principal + Interest + Insurance + Taxes + Fees)/(Gross Income)

The standard target for this ratio is less than or equal to 28, meaning that your total housing costs are no more than 28% of your gross income.

Housing Ratio 2: Back End DTI Ratio

Housing Ratio 2, also known as the “back end” DTI ratio, measures the total ratio of your housing plus all other debt payments, including those for credit card debt, student loan debt, auto loans, etc. To calculate it, take the numerator from Housing Ratio 1 and add all other payment amounts. Again, you can do this on a monthly or annual basis, then divide the total by either your monthly or annual gross income.

The formula for housing ratio 2 is:

(Principal + Interest + Insurance + Taxes + Fees + CC payments + Student Loan payments + Other payments)/(Gross Income)

The standard target for this ratio is less than or equal to 36, meaning that your total housing costs and other debt payments are no more than 36% of your gross income. Note that the combination of the two ratios means that your non-mortgage debt payments should be no more than 8% (36% – 28%) of your gross income. For a person with an annual income of $40,000, this amounts to $3,200 per year, or less than $300 per month.

How Debt Ratios Are Used

Mortgage lenders will use these ratios when qualifying you for a new mortgage or a refinance. In the past, they might have increased your interest rate if your ratios were higher than the targets. These days, with credit being as tight as it is, lenders are sticking to the traditional ratios

Banks and other private or institutional lenders may also check these ratios before extending credit, or use them to limit the amount of credit they are willing to qualify you for. You can use them to check whether you have too much debt, as seen by the housing and finance industries. You can also solve backwards to see how much debt you can reasonably “afford” to take on – and how big of a mortgage you can truly handle. This will help you avoid buying “too much house.”

Improving your ratios

If you run the numbers and your personal ratios fall outside the above targets, you can take steps to improve them. Start by making a commitment to stop taking on new debt. Then formulate a planto pay off your consumer debt. Next, consider refinancing your mortgageor downsizing your house to lower your total housing costs. Finally, look for excess cashto maximize your debt payments.

How do your ratios match up to the targets? Let us know in the comments!

Jill grew up in Texas, graduated from college in 2007 and is currently working in the DC metro area. Jill recently completed a 9-month certificate program in financial planning and will take the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam in November. After that she hopes to become a full-time financial planner. You can also find her as a staff writer at My Dollar Plan.

Add Your Question or Comment (9 Comments)

1. Ken:

   November 23, 2009 at 11:28 pm

   My ratios at this point are within the ranges in your post. I still desire to pay off debt as soon as possible. Thanks for the percentages…everyone needs something to compare to…see where they stand.
2. Financial Samurai:

   November 24, 2009 at 10:21 am

   Howdy Jill – Thnx for your article and GOOD LUCK on your CFP exam! Actually, I think that would make a fascinating article (the pros/cons/difficulties of getting the exam).

   From my perspective, too much debt is when you simply start feeling stressed about your expenses on a monthly cash flow basis. We’re all rational, and will natural strive to pair that stress down through debt reduction.

   Ratios help, but listen to your instincts.

   Best,

   Sam
3. Mrs. Money:

   November 24, 2009 at 3:43 pm

   Wow- very thorough post! Thanks for the explanations. I think ANY debt is bad, but that’s a personal opinion and I’m a little weird too.
4. Johanne:

   November 26, 2009 at 5:13 am

   Although the ratios are a good basis for monitoring debt, I always feel unesy each time I have debt. i think it’s OCD but I always want my debt to be zero.
5. Rick Vaughn:

   November 27, 2009 at 10:11 pm

   Interesting post, I know the other commentors here believe that you should have $0 debt. Well that’s great in a perfect world these ratios are definitely more of a good short term goal to shoot for. Thanks for the information.
6. LeanLifeCoach:

   November 27, 2009 at 11:04 pm

   I’m with the rest here wanting zero debt. It seems somewhat strange though that the best fico scores come when you have some debt on the books.
7. James:

   December 1, 2009 at 1:08 pm

   Jill,

   Great posting. What I think this illustrates is that there really isn’t any to improve your ratios except by improving your fundamentals – increasing your income and eliminating your debts.
8. Jake :

   December 2, 2009 at 6:05 pm

   I kind of view this as a game, trying to lower the ratios as much as possible.

   There’s only two ways to do this, eliminate the debt, or increase the income.

   I’ve set goals before to get to certain percentages, and when I had done everything I could to increase my income, it almost became a game to discover new ways to shave a dollar or two off my budget and put that towards paying off my debt.
9. Dollars Not Debt:

   January 31, 2010 at 12:12 am

   Young people need to realize that a house is they only OK debt. Everything else should be reasonably saved up for before you can afford it. Your great grandmother paid cash, why can’t you?