The temptation to borrow is ever-present in our society. But you can choose to be free of obligations to banks and lenders by being debt-free.

Some retirees are completely debt-free as they enter their golden years. There’s a unique comfort in paying off all your debts before you retire. Debt can cause anxiety that detracts from happiness, and you must make consistent payments to the lender. In retirement, you want to optimize your limited income, and being debt-free can help you get there.

[See: 10 Tax Breaks for People Over 50.]

Here are six steps you can take to ensure a debt-free retirement:

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Craig Stephens is a blogger at Retire Before Dad.

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6 Steps to a Debt-Free Retirement originally appeared on usnews.com