Even if not having any debt is extremely important to you then you are still out of 2500 on your camera transaction, which is pure loss here. However some peopl

Even if not having any debt is extremely important to you then you are still out of 2500 on your camera transaction, which is pure loss here. However some people consider not just an amount of debt but its other qualities too and for them having debt of $5000 with 0% APR might be preferable to having $1500 debt with, say, 20%+ APR. At the end you need to count a monetary balance and compare a ($2500) loss on camera together with the interest paid on your $1500 loan against paying $5000 for the camera. If math is hard consider your end state: 1. Without the camera, without $5000 + interest on the $1500 you borrowed. 2. With a $5000 camera, without $5000 you paid for the camera. The state of the $4000 bill is the same in both cases, which state you prefer?