Boomers working to live golden years debt-free

NEW YORK — A new car would be so nice — it's $29,000 and the interest rate is practically zero. Or a swimming pool — that would be fun, and the bank is offering a home equity line to help finance it.

And a weekend in Jamaica costs only $700 for two, hotel included. Just put it on a credit card.

Baby boomers have enjoyed an unparalleled standard of living, but financial planners say their boomer clients almost uniformly vow to retire their debts before they retire themselves, recognizing it as an obstacle to an enjoyable, active lifestyle when they finish working.

"As they get older I do see a very focused effort on wanting to be debt-free," said Adam Van Dyke, a certified financial planner in Irvine, Calif., whose 275 clients are mostly boomers between 40 and 60.

"They realize they're behind on their nest egg accumulation goal. And they take a look at their credit card debt or car loans and see that getting in the way," he said.

Boomer Jeff Cartwright said he refuses to battle debt when he's old and borrows only reluctantly. Cartwright, 45, and his wife sent their three children to private school and are paying down more than $40,000 for tuition, plus $120,000 left on their home mortgage.

Both debts will be gone before either retires, said Cartwright, a management consultant in Franklin, Tenn.

"I want to give my kids some advantages, some things I never had, and then I want them to get the (heck) out of my house," he said. "When you retire, your income is essentially fixed. And you want that income to be able to go to things you want to do, not paying off some debt."

Debt has lost many of the moralistic qualities Americans have historically ascribed it. Boomers' Depression-era parents found debt a rare and necessary evil, employed only to buy a house or perhaps a car. Not so their children, who are deeply enmeshed in an era of paying with plastic for lunch at Burger King.

Easy terms and an expansion of credit to virtually all income levels have left Americans awash in revolving debt — credit card and other monthly balances now top $1.7 trillion. And boomers have racked up a sizable chunk of that amount, spurred by an optimism financial planners have found surprising, especially given the huge losses in jobs and stock values the past few years.

But as they age, many boomers grow fearful about the size of their debt and the prospect that it will muddle their retirements, planners say.