What you have to keep in mind in that debt is relative. I know people that have $1M worth of debt. They're absolutely fine. What matters is the bottom line on the balance sheet. Some may owe $850,000 on a house, have car loans totally $100k, and student loans totally $50k. But what you don't see is that the house is worth $1.6k or the amount in the 401k or other investments they may have. Net worth is not solely dependent on what the debt is.