Which debt-to-income ratio is considered problematic?

• A. Anything less than 10%.
• B. Anything more than 15%.
• C. Exactly 10%.
• D. Between 20% and 25%.

Answer: (B)

Debt-to-income ratio shows how much of your gross monthly income is committed to debt payments. When this share is higher, there’s less cash left for essentials, emergencies, and saving, which makes it harder to stay on top of obligations and increases the risk of financial strain.

A DTI that is more than 15% signals a meaningful portion of income going toward debt, leaving less room to absorb surprises like a job gap or medical costs. That reduced cushion is why it’s considered problematic: it indicates tighter financial margins and greater vulnerability to repayment difficulties. In many lending contexts, keeping DTI well below upper limits (often around the 36–43% range for total debt) is preferred, so crossing the 15% mark is a notable warning sign in personal-finance discussions.

The other options describe lighter or different levels: less than 10% or exactly 10% would be comfortably low, and while 20–25% is certainly higher, the idea conveyed by the threshold in question is that any amount over 15% is a red flag.