Definitely agree - it would have been tough for me to quit my stable job on the east coast and come out to SF (to earn much, much more) had I not eliminated my

Definitely agree - it would have been tough for me to quit my stable job on the east coast and come out to SF (to earn much, much more) had I not eliminated my debt. The freedom can help you earn more as it allows you to take opportunities that might otherwise not be available to you. I wrote a blog post on this, actually: http://colinschimmelfing.com/blog/why-im-irrational-about-repaying-debt-and-why-its-actually-rational/ http://colinschimmelfing.com/blog/why-im-irrational-about-re...