Comments on: linklings, new money writer edition

By: deepali

deepali — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:01:58 +0000

hooray for kooky monks!

By: Curmudgeon

Curmudgeon — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:58:13 +0000

I hear ya, Steve, but the post you link to seems to repeat the mantra of the housing bubble all over again. And I am a good counterexample – no debt at all for over 10 years, a decent but not extravagent income, and a net worth (excluding residence – paid for) well over $1M. It's not that hard, folks!

(oh, and the tax obligation in New Hampshire is much more reasonable)

By: deepali

deepali — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:01:58 +0000

hooray for kooky monks!

By: deepali

deepali — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:01:58 +0000

hooray for kooky monks!

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Curmudgeon, I’m generally in agreement. We don’t have any debt other than mortgage (and the tax burden and obligations of living in New Jersey which are practically debt). I know a lot of people will argue that debt is one (or the only) way to build wealth – just look at my 38 thoughts on building prosperity post – but I am mentally not there yet, either.

By: Curmudgeon

Curmudgeon — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:01:00 +0000

Re: bad debt, good debt – it was that kind of thinking that helped get us into the housing crisis. The author assumes that all real estate is an appreciating asset, and that there are always enough assets to pay off a HELOC. The more I read things like that, the more I believe we are destined to live this crisis all over again.

My own philosophy is that the only good debt is . . . no debt at all. Recall the line from the Jimmy Buffett song in Don’t Stop the Carnival: “We come from a long line of lenders, who got rich exploiting all of you spenders.” If you can’t pay for it without a loan, defer it until another day. You may be surprised at what you can live without.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:03:00 +0000

“My biggest problem isn’t that I just gloss over my financial fears – it is that my goals ARE my fears.” What a great way to put it.
It’s one thing to educate ourselves well, and quite another to let the fear govern ourselves.
When we open up to more possibilities, backed with happy enthusiasm, new doors open, which make the old fear-based goals totally nonsense . . .

By: Ted

Ted — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:25:00 +0000

Note that the main reason he categorizes a home as bad debt is that its not tax deductible (he’s Canadian). The fact that it is in the states is one of the reasons its usually considered “good debt” here.

By: bripblap

bripblap — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:13:53 +0000

Yeah – nobody wants to admit living in New Jersey. I still tell people I live in NYC out of habit, more than anything.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:51:18 +0000

But even Favre and Manning claim they live “in the NYC area”