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Everything you say is 100% factual. (Except the part about how debt is "how you get rich") And yet, I'd wager than 90% of people who attempt to replicate your

Everything you say is 100% factual. (Except the part about how debt is "how you get rich") And yet, I'd wager than 90% of people who attempt to replicate your success story would wind up worse off for having tried it. The problem is that it comes with a huge risk of screwing with your head. And it's very difficult to detect and correct when this is happening. I've had my success stories playing games with debt too. Gaming low rates, churning credit cards, and so on. I see people around me do the same things all the time. The only trouble is, the next day these same people are: * Allowing debt to influence their purchasing decisions (e.g. buying a larger car, a larger house, and so on) * Trying more sophisticated "experiments", only to get burned In other words, they scored a minor victory in an inconsequential battle only to lose big later on.

hota_mazi 9y ago
Agreed. "Carefully managing debt" can be summed up as one single principle: be aware of deadlines. It's ok to use a credit card as long as you know the deadline to pay it in full and you do so diligently in order to avoid insane interest rates. If you can pull this off, you can actually earn money with credit and debt (e.g. rolling credit card over new credit card with 0% interest, over and over). Just make sure you don't miss any of the deadlines. Same goes for my little anecdote above: it works great if you're aware of simple deadlines (how long I needed these $30k to be in the account) and elementary level math to compare 1.5% and 3%. I used to think everyone should be able to handle this simple math approach but if the US population is any indication, I am dead wrong. Debt is good. Don't be afraid of it: tame it and you'll start earning easy money.
- mcgoo 9y ago
  You have to pay income tax on the 3% though right? Do you get a tax credit for the interest on the loan?
- leifaffles 9y ago
  I still don't think you're appreciating or demonstrating an understanding of how debt affects people's thinking and behavior. I have dozens of friends and family who are in the top 5% of the US population in terms of math skills who have all tried to play "smart" games with debt and come out as big losers as they continued to play. I'm talking software engineers, dentists, doctors, pharmacists, tenured math professors, and so on. The problem is not math skills. The problem is not managing deadlines. The problem is that these people are human and are not immune to the pernicious effects of debt. Even you. Even me. Here are some things you haven't considered or acknowledged: * How debt influences the choices we make. Would you have bought such an expensive car if you had to pay cash? Statistically, the answer is no. If forced to use cash, might you have opted to buy a less expensive used car? Are you sure you didn't buy thousands of dollars more car in order to "save" a few hundred bucks? * How managing debt takes over space in our minds. What could you be if you could free up mental capacity for other things? * How debt warps our perspective and plays to our human weaknesses and short-term desires. Are you sure you're coming out ahead? How do you know? You can't run an A/B test on yourself, but you can open your eyes and take a look around. It's not pretty out there.

hota_mazi 9y ago

Agreed. "Carefully managing debt" can be summed up as one single principle: be aware of deadlines. It's ok to use a credit card as long as you know the deadline to pay it in full and you do so diligently in order to avoid insane interest rates. If you can pull this off, you can actually earn money with credit and debt (e.g. rolling credit card over new credit card with 0% interest, over and over). Just make sure you don't miss any of the deadlines. Same goes for my little anecdote above: it works great if you're aware of simple deadlines (how long I needed these $30k to be in the account) and elementary level math to compare 1.5% and 3%. I used to think everyone should be able to handle this simple math approach but if the US population is any indication, I am dead wrong. Debt is good. Don't be afraid of it: tame it and you'll start earning easy money.

mcgoo 9y ago
You have to pay income tax on the 3% though right? Do you get a tax credit for the interest on the loan?
leifaffles 9y ago
I still don't think you're appreciating or demonstrating an understanding of how debt affects people's thinking and behavior. I have dozens of friends and family who are in the top 5% of the US population in terms of math skills who have all tried to play "smart" games with debt and come out as big losers as they continued to play. I'm talking software engineers, dentists, doctors, pharmacists, tenured math professors, and so on. The problem is not math skills. The problem is not managing deadlines. The problem is that these people are human and are not immune to the pernicious effects of debt. Even you. Even me. Here are some things you haven't considered or acknowledged: * How debt influences the choices we make. Would you have bought such an expensive car if you had to pay cash? Statistically, the answer is no. If forced to use cash, might you have opted to buy a less expensive used car? Are you sure you didn't buy thousands of dollars more car in order to "save" a few hundred bucks? * How managing debt takes over space in our minds. What could you be if you could free up mental capacity for other things? * How debt warps our perspective and plays to our human weaknesses and short-term desires. Are you sure you're coming out ahead? How do you know? You can't run an A/B test on yourself, but you can open your eyes and take a look around. It's not pretty out there.