The Hidden Cost of Debt

When ‘More’ Steals Your Freedom

If you’ve been watching the financial headlines lately, you’ve probably noticed how quickly things have changed. Inflation has driven prices up, interest rates have climbed, and borrowing money - once almost painless - has suddenly become expensive again.

For years, cheap debt made it easy to justify ‘buy now, pay later’. Low interest rates softened the sting of financing cars, homes, or home improvements. But now that the era of easy money is over, it’s worth asking: what does debt really cost us?

I’m not just talking about the interest rate printed on a loan statement. The real cost of debt is much more personal. and often invisible.

Start Planning Now

The Cycle of ‘More’

Let’s be honest: most debt starts with something simple and human. We want something new like a bigger house, a newer car, a kitchen remodel, or the vacation we’ve always dreamed of. We tell ourselves, “I’ll work hard to pay for it later.”

And so we do it. We buy the thing. We feel good for a while.

But here’s what happens next: that new thing doesn’t just come with a price tag. It comes with a whole ecosystem of extras: insurance, maintenance, accessories, taxes, time, and attention. The bigger and fancier the purchase, the more resources it quietly demands.

Then the cycle begins: we work harder to pay for the lifestyle we’ve built, which makes us busier and often more stressed. We tell ourselves it’s temporary, that it’s worth it, but over time, the treadmill just speeds up.

Sound familiar?

The Real Cost Isn’t Just Interest

When we think about debt, we think about numbers. But the more insidious cost isn’t financial, it’s emotional. Debt consumes energy, focus, and freedom. It narrows your choices.

The irony is that most of us take on debt to improve our lives: to make them richer, fuller, more enjoyable. Yet often, it has the opposite effect.

Think about it:

Every payment you owe represents time you must spend earning instead of relaxing.
Every large purchase ties you more tightly to the responsibilities of ownership.
Every new obligation, financial or otherwise, can crowd out the flexibility you worked decades to achieve.

At a stage in life when freedom should be expanding, many retirees and near-retirees find themselves working harder than ever to maintain what they already have.

We end up busier, not freer. Our schedules fill up, our garages become fuller, and our satisfaction sometimes thinner.

The Simplicity Paradox

It’s easy to confuse having more with living better. But the happiest retirees I’ve met share one trait in common: they’ve intentionally simplified.

They’ve downsized their homes, trimmed unnecessary expenses, and freed themselves from the endless cycle of acquisition. They’ve discovered that the fewer things they own, the more life they have.

That doesn’t mean living without joy or denying yourself the good things. It simply means buying with intention.

Before making a big purchase, they ask themselves:

Will this add meaning or just maintenance?
Will it increase my freedom or reduce it?
Can I truly afford it - not just the payment, but the upkeep and the mental load?

Shrinking the Stuff, Expanding the Life

If you find yourself stressed about money, busyness, or ‘keeping up’, it may not be because you’ve saved too little. It might be because you’ve accumulated too much; too many things, too many obligations, too many payments.

When you simplify, you don’t shrink your life, you expand it. You reclaim the time, space, and calm that busyness once crowded out. You create room for what actually matters: connection, health, experiences, and rest.

In financial terms, that’s one of the best “returns on investment” you can find.