Good Debt? Not Bloody Likely

by bigcajunman last updated on March 25, 2017 originally published on July 26, 2012

After watching our friend Preet Banerjee have to listen to the “Experts” on a CBC National round table talk about Good Debt, I feel I must rant once again (Preet was his normal, Windsor Knotted sensible self, the rest of the panel drove me spare).

Let me be very clear saying that there is Good Debt is like saying there are Good Car Accidents, read my lips:

All Debt is Bad
Good Debt is a Fallacy

I don’t give a crap what these so-called experts have to say, as soon as you start thinking that Debt can be Good, you assume it is OK to build it up, and it won’t hurt you.

Sugar coat this as much as you want:

Necessary Debt or Necessary Evil
Debt is good for the Economy
Leveraged Buying
Consumer Debt
Mad Money

It’s all bad! One day I will write an NSFW post with my actual wording on this stuff (maybe Preet will let me back on his Podcast and I can do the real rant for this). Good debt? No and anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something.

Shame on all of those alleged experts on that panel, except for Preet of course.

DEBT SUCKS

Debt Sucks the life out of you, and you are stealing money from your future self. Learn to hate debt, want to get rid of it, and then you have the right idea, but if you rationalize that there is Good Debt, you can start sliding down a very slippery slope.

If you get a Mortgage, don’t get comfortable with it, treat it like you would a Cockroach or an Uninvited Guest (fill in your most unfavorite person here). You want to get rid of it, as soon as possible.

{ 15 comments }

{ 15 comments… add one }

TB at BlueCollarWorkman September 17, 2012, 9:18 AM
It seems like people get into splitting hairs with words and saying “debt is good if…” Blah. I agree. It’s all bad. Sure, sometimes you have little choice, but that doesnt’ mean it’s okay. LIke the guy who got his arm stuck under a boulder when he was hiking alone. Eventually he had to cut it off. It’s like saying “cutting your arm off is good if…” No, it’s never good. It’s never something you want to do. And if you must, well, then do it, but try to get that sucker back on as soon as possible. Just like debt. It’s never good, you never want it, but if you absoutely must, well, ditch that debt as soon as possible.

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- bigcajunman September 17, 2012, 11:41 AM
  Yup, couldn’t agree with you more.
  
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Nadine July 28, 2012, 6:47 AM
Your rant should be required viewing for my co-workers. All they understand about debt is how to accumulate more of it. What I hate is how the banks try to disguise debt by calling it something else when it’s just plan debt – the worst being those products that let you combine your mortgage on a line of credit. One of my co-workers bought this product three years ago saying it would save her so much in interest on the mortgage over time. Then she admitted last week that she hasn’t made a single prinicple paymenht in the LAST THREE YEARS! She just pays the monthly interest charges. But she is determined that this is not really a debt and will not accept that she’s falling further behind and right into the hands of the bank. Until people understand the simple concept that if you don’t want to have debt, you have to save and saving means not buying every little thing that catches your eye right at that moment, this will continue.

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- bigcajunman July 28, 2012, 5:27 PM
  To quote the new En Vogue novel: 50 Shades of Gray… OH MY!!!!!
  
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Denis July 27, 2012, 5:13 AM
All debt is bad. Just ask the USA if their present government debt is good… Think they might have some choice words about that.

My present debt is to the CRA, and I have about another $380.00 and I am clear till next April. I have to collect $1700 by then to pay them on time. My Mastercard is a “pay as you go” card, so if I don’t have the funds to put on the card in advance, I don’t get to go!

I know I have that $1700 to pay in April 2013, so I am working to get it built up in an account in time for April, which is hard while trying to build up an emergency fund at the same time. Since Feb, my emergency fund got punched in the face, kicked in the nads, elbowed in the kidneys and also got thrown to the ground for good measure. Several emergencies came up including a trip to Ontario for a family funeral and car breakdown, and, and, and….

Yesterday, I put off paying a bill when I had the time to go deal with it till today when I really don’t, as my income gets put in today. OTOH, I was also waiting for that income to go into my account to ensure that there is sufficient funds to pay my rent in a few days. I had $360 in my bank account, and $1000 in my TFSA to pay for my rent in a dire emergency, but the two amounts together were not enough to pay both the rent and the due bill. Only in October will things begin to hopefully calm down so that I can start saving money again. Oh yay… Xmas is coming!!! Sigh.. Does it ALWAYS have to be on Dec 25th??? Saving for Xmas now… At least I won’t have any debt at that point… Hopefully… Debt is bad. ALL debt is bad.

What bigcajunman said… is on the money!
Nuff said!

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- bigcajunman July 27, 2012, 6:41 AM
  Well spoken, and from the heart, thanks for your candor in this situation.
  
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Traciatim July 26, 2012, 1:59 PM
So all debt is bad for people, but government and corporate debt is A-OK, is that what you meant?

“Do Bond funds count?”

Yes, you own someones debt . . . the bond fund probably owns bonds from corporations who issue mortgages . . . which you are profiting from. So by owning them you are the problem.

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- bigcajunman July 26, 2012, 2:27 PM
  I don’t believe I said Government Debt was OK, I did however say that currently it is out of control.
  
  So the only problem with debt is that people are using it incorrectly? Is that your point?
  
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krantcents July 26, 2012, 1:14 PM
Debt is not evil! I may only buy a house once in my life with cash and it will be at the end of a long career. Debt at a low or zero interest, if used responsibly is okay. I bought a refrigerator using zero interest although I have the cash, I would rather use their money.

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- bigcajunman July 26, 2012, 1:21 PM
  Maybe, but if something catastrophic happens, and the money that you already had to pay off the refrigerator disappears, what happens then? You aren’t buying something you can’t afford, are you?
  
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george kaadi July 26, 2012, 8:03 AM
I must admit you made courageous comments, few will make about the experts point of views. Yes; being in debt stink. Any form of debt is a bad debt. By taking on any debt, we commit our future income to paying on a never-end amortization schedule.

Many people commit themselves unconsciously to financial slavery that has a begging but no end.

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- bigcajunman July 26, 2012, 8:17 AM
  Courageous? Not really, I have lived under the shadow of debt for so long, I am kind of sick and tired of people saying being in debt is fine, it is NOT!
  
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Traciatim July 26, 2012, 7:29 AM
I take it you own no bonds at all, since all debt is bad . . .

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- bigcajunman July 26, 2012, 7:58 AM
  Do Bond funds count? I think I should be a little more precise then PERSONAL DEBT for PEOPLE is BAD, although I do think Government Debt is now completely out of control as well. Bonds are kind of like Mortgages for Governments, aren’t they?
  
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Beth July 26, 2012, 7:20 AM
I think I would like to see that rant 😉 I love the unwanted guest analogy.

I don’t think in terms of “good” or” bad” debt — I don’t like to have any of it. However, there are forms of debt I conclude are necessary evils such as reasonable student loan debt and a mortgage on less home than the bank says I can afford. A mortgage isn’t “good” per se — but it may be a more doable option than paying cash for a home.

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