I Don’t Trust Debt, and Here’s Why
People often ask me why I dislike debt so much.
The answer is simple.
I have spent enough years in the stock market to learn one uncomfortable truth:
Most people don’t go broke because they are stupid.
They go broke because they become too confident about the future.
They assume their income will keep rising.
They assume their job will always be there.
They assume asset prices will continue to go up.
And once those assumptions become beliefs, debt starts to feel safe.
That is when trouble begins.
Every Loan Is a Bet on Your Future
Most people think a loan is just a financial tool.
Technically, they’re right.
But that is not how I see it.
I see every loan as a bet.
A bet that your future income will be enough.
A bet that your health will hold up.
A bet that your career won’t be interrupted.
A bet that the economy won’t surprise you.
The problem is that life doesn’t care about our plans.
Markets crash.
People get laid off.
Businesses fail.
Families face unexpected expenses.
And when those things happen, debt doesn’t disappear.
The monthly payment keeps coming.
The Market Taught Me to Respect Risk
I am not a professor.
I am not an economist.
I am just a retail investor who has spent years watching people chase easy money.
I’ve seen people become convinced that real estate only goes up.
I’ve seen investors believe that stocks can never fall.
I’ve watched people borrow heavily because everyone around them seemed to be getting rich.
During a bull market, leverage looks brilliant.
During a downturn, it looks like a trap.
The funny thing is that the debt itself never changes.
Only people’s emotions do.
That is why I learned to focus on risk before return.
Return is what attracts people.
Risk is what destroys them.
Consumer Debt Is the Most Polite Trap Ever Created
Nobody forces us to spend.
Nobody puts a gun to our heads and demands that we buy a new phone, a new car, or a bigger television.
The trap is much more sophisticated than that.
The modern world simply whispers.
“You deserve it.”
“It’s only a small monthly payment.”
“Everyone else has one.”
The payment looks small.
The commitment isn’t.
People celebrate getting approved for credit.
I celebrate paying off debt.
Maybe that makes me old-fashioned.
I’m fine with that.
The Richest Feeling I’ve Ever Had
A lot of people think wealth feels like driving a luxury car.
Or living in a large house.
Or owning expensive things.
Maybe for some people it does.
For me, the richest feeling in the world is much simpler.
It’s having enough cash and investments that I don’t panic when something goes wrong.
It’s knowing I can survive a bad year.
It’s knowing that I don’t have to beg the bank for permission to keep living my life.
That feeling is worth more to me than any luxury purchase.
Why I Save More Than Most People
People sometimes assume that savers are pessimists.
I don’t think that’s true.
I save because I am realistic.
I know that the future is uncertain.
I know that markets can stay irrational.
I know that jobs are less secure than people think.
Saving money is not about fear.
It is about preparation.
Every dollar saved gives future-me more options.
Every unnecessary expense takes an option away.
As an investor, I love opportunities.
Saving creates opportunities.
Debt often removes them.
Investing Comes After Survival
One mistake I see all the time is people obsessing over investments while ignoring their financial foundation.
They spend hours searching for the next winning stock.
They debate interest rates, earnings reports, and economic forecasts.
But they never look at their own spending habits.
That’s backwards.
Before I think about making money, I think about surviving.
Because survival is what allows compounding to work.
You don’t need a 100% return.
You need to avoid financial disasters.
You need to stay in the game.
The investor who survives for thirty years will usually outperform the investor who gets wiped out chasing shortcuts.
Freedom Is the Real Dividend
The older I get, the less interested I become in looking rich.
I am far more interested in becoming difficult to control.
Debt gives other people claims on your future.
Savings and investments give you ownership of it.
That is why I save.
That is why I invest.
And that is why I remain skeptical whenever someone tells me that taking on more debt is the key to getting ahead.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe they’ll make more money than I ever will.
But I have learned something that matters more than maximizing returns.
Freedom has value too.
And unlike market returns, freedom lets you sleep at night.
For me, that’s a return worth keeping.
