What is Debt: Definition and 67 Discussions

Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The debt may be owed by sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commercial debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt. In financial accounting, debt is a type of financial transaction, as distinct from equity.
The term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on a monetary value. For example, in Western cultures, a person who has been helped by a second person is sometimes said to owe a "debt of gratitude" to the second person.

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  1. L

    Farmers in India commit suicide over debts.

    http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25346529-23109,00.html Imagine the desperation that brings so many to such an end. Heartbreaking.
  2. S

    Is it worth going into $25k debt per year to go to Michigan Engineering?

    My parents are willing to pay $25,000 of my tuition and I will have to take out loans on the rest of my expenses. Should I do this to go to the superior school or go to a state school like UVA or VT which my parents would pay everything for?
  3. U

    News When we talk about national debt

    Who, exactly, does this country owe the $10 trillion or so to? Other countries, and if so, why? If not, then who? I've never really thought about it, but I realized "national debt" doesn't actually mean anything to me.
  4. E

    Exploring the Source of Electrons in Generators

    scenario: If any generator ultimately 'pushes' current (free surface electrons) down a wire, moving trillions of trillions of electrons through power wires towards our homes and other uses . . . what is the source of electrons at the generator site to replenish electrons? There can not...
  5. P

    Schools Is it possible for me to graduate college with 0 debt?

    ok, so here's the deal. I got some financial aid, but not much cause there's a priority deadline at my university to be considered for financial aid, and i applied way later than that date. My parents have been saving money for my college. My family isn't very wealthy, but I am sure that...
  6. A

    News To answer your question, Is the national debt a cause for concern?

    National Debt. To get a general idea of the importance of the national debt to a small sample of citizens - from PF as well as veiws of some foreign members. Recently, the US gov't went bankrupt...for about a day I think. It was just before congress raised the ceiling on the national debt...
  7. Pengwuino

    News Tired of skyrocketing public debts?

    I got just the solution! Who needs to wait for higher taxes? 1. Make check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. 2. In the memo section of the check, notate Gift to reduce Debt Held by the Public. 3. Mail check to - ATTN: Dept G Bureau of the Public Debt P.O. BOX 2188 Parkersburg, WV...
  8. G

    News Is the US GDP an accurate representation of the country's economic health?

    The US has a national debt proportionally similar to that of France or Germany and about 50% of Japan’s. Some of the US debt is owed to its corporations and citizens while some of it is owed to foreign entities. China has a large trade surplus with the US and increasingly owns a goodly share...
  9. S

    Numerical Problems: The U.S. National Debt

    Like any loan, the government accrues interest that compounds over time on the amount it owes. If the annual interest rate is r, then the number of years it takes for the amount of money owed to increase by a factor of x is Y=1/r ln(x) where ln is the natural logarithm. The average...
  10. A

    News What is the correlation between IQ and poverty in African countries?

    Well, it seems that the bombings in London during the G8 summit refocues our minds on Terrorism, and away from the Political agendas that many many people in the lead up to the summit were focusing on: Enviromental issues, and African Poverty. So to try and refocus some of your minds back...
  11. C

    MHB Pay Off Debt: Calculate Interest & Time Needed for Snowball Method

    I'm starting a "debt snowball" approach to paying off my debts and am wondering how long it will take to pay them off and how much interest I will end up paying annually. I'm ok with math, but this is too complex for me. I have: 3 credit cards car loan personal loan 401(k) loan If someone is...
  12. J

    MHB Calculate pay off debt with minimum payment only?

    How can i calculate how many months it would take me to pay off a debt if I only make the minimum payment? let say I ow 5000 my interest rate is 6.4% my payment rate is 2% so If i calculate my minimum payment I know it be 100 more or less but I i just pay that minimum how many month it would...
  13. P

    Debt or No Debt? Transferring for a Physics Degree

    I am currently in my second semester at a university with a small physics department (4-6 professors, 40 undergraduates and 0 graduates). It’s cheap enough that if I stay here till I graduate I probably will have no debt or maybe 1-2,000, but I’m considering transferring. Right now I have about...
  14. F

    Balancing School, Work and Debt: A Community College Student's Struggle

    I'm currently a sophmore at a community college, I work 30 hours a week and take 14-17 hours worth of courses year round. So far I've had little trouble managing my coursework and my job, but my classes have been relatively light. I'm wrapping up calculus I with a B in the next few weeks...
  15. D

    Debt Repayment Strategies for Graduate Physics Students

    First of all, I would like to thank all of you who post on these forums. I've been reading it thoroughly ever since my first post here, and have found a wealth of information. It has helped me a lot. Especially ZapperZ's wonderful "So you want to be a physicist" guide. My question is...
  16. S

    Calculating Time for US Debt to Double: Y=1/r ln(x)

    Like any loan, the government accrues interest that compounds over time on the amount it owes. If the annual interest rate is r, then the number of years it takes for the amount of money owed to increase by a factor of x is Y=1/r ln(x) where ln is the natural logarithm. The average...
  17. S

    How much debt do you have? Let's talk credit cards and student loans.

    How much are you in debt ? I'm talking about credit card,students loans etc. I have 0 debt, from every paycheck I try to save at least 2/3.Whenever I buy plane ticket using credit card I pay at once full amount back. How about you people ?
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