I just thought of something that ag2 said and made me think
Any time we go into debt we really should consider what it is going to take to pay it back.
I used to listen to Dave Ramsey a lot, and he would talk about how someone making 100,000 could live on 50,000 and pay back 50,000 of debt in a year.
I am all for getting out of debt, but lets say you are a real person who pays taxes, makes 100,000 a year and wants to live on 50,000. You pay social security taxes of approximately 7500 on your 100,000 and federal income taxes of approximately 5 - 20 thousand, lets say 10,000 just to be conservative, lets assume you live in TX or other state with no income tax.
100,000 - 7500 - 10000 = 82,500
payroll dedeuctions for insurance, etc, probably no less than 300 a month for family coverage, or about 4000 a year. 82,500 - 4000 = 78,500
If you live on 50,000 you have 28,500 to pay off debt, a far cry from 50,000 and I am being conservative, my insurance and other payroll deductions are about 1000 per month (really good insurance but expensive) for my new job, and still almost 800 at my current job.
So even if you think you are making good money, its going to take a long time to pay off debt when you consider taxes. When my salary was approximatly 72000 a year 6000 a month, I took home a little less than 4000 when you consider payroll deductions and taxes. as your income goes up your tax rate goes up.
DON'T GO INTO DEBT. it costs you more than you think.