Today a friend of mine talked to me about his debt situation and in the same breath stated he wanted to lease a new car. I won’t mention his name but he is a smart individual, well established family man who makes a good salary, close to six figures.As we continued our conversation, he stated that he wanted to become more aggressive in getting out of debt, that he needed to get a job where he made more money so he could pay more on his debt and eventually become debt free like me.
I made mentioned that he could become debt free now, after all he is making a very good salary, but that he just needed a little bit if spending discipline and sacrifice a little bit now, such as not leasing a new car but keeping the perfectly good car he currently has which will be paid off in three months.
“Why should I make sacrifices, I work hard and deserve nice things for me and my family” he said, then he went on to say “who am I kidding, debt is a normal part of life, you are the one that isn’t normal by not being in debt.” I replied and said, “yep, you’re right, I am not normal when it comes to money, normal is broke!”
My dear friend then said “So your are debt free, you made sacrifices what if you die tomorrow, you wouldn’t be alive to enjoy your efforts” I said ” But I am not died and I am enjoying it now and when I do die, debt free, I will be able to leave something positive behind for my family, instead of something negative like debt, I will die with dignity and be known as and individual of character and responsibility who took care of their business while alive and did not leave a mess behind for my family to handle”
From there the conversation went down hill, he was getting upset at my thought process and I was confused as to why since he was the one that brought up his debt in the first place.
One minute he is telling me he “wants to be debt free” but in the next breath he is all but stating he will never be debt free because it isn’t normal, and what is the point in attempting to be debt-free you may die and not enjoy the efforts. Maybe he needs to read a little bit about having a positive mental attitude because that thought process will keep him in debt for sure.
Sadly, it is this thought process that is causing millions of people to continue to live with debt. They believe that having car payments, credit card payment, second mortgages, etc, is a normal part of life.
Like Dave Ramsey says “Normal is broke.”
Many people are short sited and only thinking of themselves with regard to the debt the carry rather than their family after they die. I would much rather change my family tree for the better now while I am alive, still having the things that I want by paying cash, giving wisely and also leaving something behind that will benefit my family as well as charitable programs rather then being selfish and spending what I don’t have and racking up debt. What does that tell loved ones in a non-verbal way? “When I’m dead I don’t care what you have to deal with or that I didn’t leave you anything to live on.”
I think it is a shame that people view debt as a normal way of life, that stress and working all the time to pay someone else is the way it is suppose to be. Debt is not “normal” it is not even biblical, Romans 13:8 says “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything” and Proverbs 22:7 “The borrower is slave to the lender” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Debt is not a badge of honor or a sign of success, it is a symbol of failure and a lack of discipline. It is time to change your view about debt if you are ever going achieve financial freedom and peace for you and your family.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I agree 100% as long as you are talking about consumer debt. If you are saying ALL debt is bad, then we disagree. I will borrow money any day of the week if i can turn 1 dollar into 2, while paying someone 10 cents.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Chris, thank you for reading and for your comment. Yes, my focus is consumer debt which is not an investment that will produce income or have future growth toward a personal financial portfolio. I do believe it is best to be 100% debt free and have your investments work for you.