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.