Comments on: An Ode to Debt

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 18:15:42 +0000

In reply to kJam. Hellll yeah!! no shame in that AT ALL. You know yourself damn well, and looks like you're harnessing your energy and interests in the right way to get to the end game. People should be so lucky! A thousand ways to hit financial freedom and i'm all about going the routes that excite you along the way. So J. Money approved :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 18:12:34 +0000

In reply to LadyFIRE. Oh jeez, haha... def. one way of looking at it!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 18:09:50 +0000

In reply to Lance. Damn - good point on the last 9 years for sure.

By: kJam

kJam — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 19:17:53 +0000

Over nearly a decade of paying off student loans, buying a very small first home with my wife, and recently buying a fixer-upper investment property, I have learned enough about my financial tendencies and desires to see that debt can be used constructively to build wealth in ways that excite me. I honestly have a hard time getting motivated to stash cash away in stocks and retirement plans, even though it makes fantastic sense on paper. I do it because I know I should, but it’s not exciting for me at this point in my life. What I’ve learned is that debt is a massive motivator for me. I simply want to slay it, so I’ll throw money at my primary and investment properties’ mortgages in ways that I would never otherwise consistently save or invest. That’s an issue with how I frame wealth-building in my mind, but it’s true. Combine this with the actual joy I get from renovating an old house on gorgeous land, and the sense of security I get knowing that these are real pieces of property I can live in and rent out, and somehow the equity I’m building with low-interest-rate mortgages start to seem like a pretty good deal. Even better, for someone like me who would otherwise drop cash on a fleet of Craigslist motorcycle projects, this type of investment makes it difficult to quickly convert the equity into some other form of (depreciating) asset. I think I’m building net worth more quickly this way because I’m highly motivated (wanting to slay the debt!) and enjoying the process (an excuse to get out of the cubicle and do some real work!), compared to having lots of liquidity that I would be easily tempted to spend in less constructive ways.

By: Wall Street Playboys

Wall Street Playboys — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:06:12 +0000

In reply to J. Money. Laughed out loud! Absolutely doesn't make a lot of people happy but we'll say the same thing "If someone thinks they are average they already lost"

By: LadyFIRE

LadyFIRE — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 05:13:54 +0000

Them is some strong opinions!

I’d love to hate debt, but it has bought my two (almost three!) houses, and I have money invested in peer-to-peer lending so… other peoples poor debt choices are funding my FIRE!

By: Lance

Lance — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 11:44:50 +0000

In reply to Go Finance Yourself!.

Some debt can help accumulate wealth, but let me give you two scenarios with a couple of my former neighbors as well. Neighbor one just moved out because of student loans totaling over $200k that despite his job as a doctor he hasn’t been able to catch up on because of the proliferation of docs in his field. They had to sell their house because they weren’t making enough of a dent on their debt to ever catch up.

Neighbor two had a rental home and put some money in to a start up company. The start up came back asking for some more help and then the guys wife went in to the hospital for half a month then the rental needed some major repair work. Everything they had saved went into wealth building ventures and left them stuck when the bills came due; they are now looking to move.

Some folks get it and can use debt to build wealth but the vast majority of folks are some comfortable with debt and think it is no big deal. And that every deal will work out. The last 9 years should have been the biggest wealth opportunity of our life times yet on the other side debt accumulation grew just as fast.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 19:12:28 +0000

In reply to James. I suppose... as long as you only get taught the lesson once, and hopefully sooner than later :)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 19:11:57 +0000

In reply to Wall Street Playboys.

Well look at that – the playas come to my side of town! Welcome, sir(s). Been enjoying y’alls blog over the past handful of months – I appreciate those who keep it real despite it possibly/probably pissing people off ;) Thanks for jumping into the convo here.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 19:06:25 +0000

In reply to Mike B.. Haha... I'll take your word for it :)