If you take 12 payments you, by definition, are in debt! It seems you are conflating debt with net worth - a person can have positive net worth and still have d

If you take 12 payments you, by definition, are in debt! It seems you are conflating debt with net worth - a person can have positive net worth and still have debt(s). Even if it is 0% interest you owe money to someone. Every debt is a risk. It may be smaller or larger, but it's a risk. It also normalises the behaviour of going into debt for buying depreciating objects which is bad by itself.