What exactly is debt ? Basically speaking, someone incurs a debt when they borrow equity or capital from another party. The one doing the lending is the creditor and the one borrowing is of course, the debtor. There are several kinds of debt. We have loans, mortgages, promissory notes, and a whole assortment of other kinds of alternatives. It is important to understand the concepts behind each kind of indebtedness, as debt is pretty much part of our day to day lives. While we might not even be debtors or creditors now, we surely will be eventually.