People just suck society dry. Ive always been afraid of debt.
House - paid off
4 Honda C-RV's - paid off ( 4 of us live here)
2 college tuition's - paid off w/ no loans
Credit card debt - ZERO
credit ranking - 833 (today)
401 K's - 800K
It just means Im old, always been resposible with money, and gee, no Libtarded w/ myhand out.
Debt, when properly maintained, is actually a wonderful financial tool. If you are in a low inflation period, interest rates are stable. You can lock in loans at very attractive rates, if you go fixed. When we enter a high inflation period, you are then paying back the loan with money that is worth less than when you borrowed it. That is a good thing.
The most important part of fiscal planning revolves around the time value of money and the inflation rate. Inflation strips your cash of value while you are just sitting there, unless you have an interest rate that corrects for it, plus the tax hit you take on savings. It is insane to keep large sums of money in cash these days unless you are getting well over 5%. Inflation will eat it alive.
When talking about cars, you have to consider that a car is always a wasting asset unless bought as a collectors item. A well built car has a low cost of ownership so that minimizes the loss rate on it. But it often times makes great sense to continuously lease if you can get a good rate. The cost of maintenance is practically zero for a short term (3-4 years) leased car. Not only is that a good thing, but you don't waste your time getting these things fixed. Time better spent doing something more productive.
I sold a company some years ago and wiped out all my debt instantly, including a house payment. That turned out to be the stupidest thing I could have done. Money is like air- you never own it and it is only good when it is moving.
