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Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

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Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#51

Post by appleiigs »

piker wrote: post #50
appleiigs wrote: post #45

Debt conversations always have these weird grandpa rules of thumb and words of wisdom, as you can see in the other comments. The proper use of debt is to match the debt with the asset. If you are buying a house, a 25-year mortgage matches the value of the house. If you are buying a car, a 5-year loan matches the value of the car. If you are buying a sandwich with a credit card, well... you should pay off your credit…

Were you deliberately using the "match the debt with the asset" rule of thumb as an example of your first sentence?

No, matching debt to assets is proper finance theory and practice.

I was referring to "don't use any debt" and "debt is manifestation of risk" and "With great power comes great responsibility" and "use debt for investments, not expenses".

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#52

Post by sbov »

soperj wrote: post #26
refurb wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you're living in the US, but I do and I have the exact opposite viewpoint. The amount of waste, corruption and poor planning by the gov't makes me feel like I'm throwing money away. I'd rather give it a charity since then I'd know a majority of it had an impact. I think if the gov't was a bit more efficient and could be shown to be good stewards of money I'd probably hate paying taxes a lot less.

Tons of Charities pay their CEOs a shit ton of money. Boy Scouts CEO made 1.6 million as of 2010. I think it was Operation Smile that paid theirs over a million as well.

He made 1.6 million because he deferred his compensation the previous two years. And he also retired and got some money for that. So you're basically looking at what he made for working for 3 years, not what he made in 1 year.

It's still a lot of money but nowhere near what you're implying.

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#53

Post by tonyedgecombe »

appleiigs wrote: post #45

Debt conversations always have these weird grandpa rules of thumb and words of wisdom, as you can see in the other comments. The proper use of debt is to match the debt with the asset. If you are buying a house, a 25-year mortgage matches the value of the house. If you are buying a car, a 5-year loan matches the value of the car. If you are buying a sandwich with a credit card, well... you should pay off your credit…

It seems to me the people struggling with their finances don't have a problem matching debt to assets, it's they have a problem with too much house or too much car.

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#54

Post by sulam »

refurb wrote: post #21
vinhboy wrote: post #17

> Nobody likes paying high taxes, but I don’t mind. How refreshing. I agree with him. Paying my taxes is a point of pride for me. It's a repayment for all those years I was poor and the government paid for me to live and go to school.

Not sure if you're living in the US, but I do and I have the exact opposite viewpoint. The amount of waste, corruption and poor planning by the gov't makes me feel like I'm throwing money away. I'd rather give it a charity since then I'd know a majority of it had an impact. I think if the gov't was a bit more efficient and could be shown to be good stewards of money I'd probably hate paying taxes a lot less.

Great idea. Let's donate to a charity to pay for the fire department. And the police. And schools. And transportation infrastructure.

Wait, what? No charities exist that create these organizations? Oh darn, hoist on the reality petard, whatever will we do? Pay taxes you say?! But no, let's just have smaller government! Nevermind that we will have children with lead poisoning, plant workers with cancers, or zero safety net for the elderly, working poor, or disabled. At least I won't be paying taxes!

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#55

Post by [deleted] »

yequalsx wrote: post #32
refurb wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you're living in the US, but I do and I have the exact opposite viewpoint. The amount of waste, corruption and poor planning by the gov't makes me feel like I'm throwing money away. I'd rather give it a charity since then I'd know a majority of it had an impact. I think if the gov't was a bit more efficient and could be shown to be good stewards of money I'd probably hate paying taxes a lot less.

I believe there are no examples of charity ever being able to provide the basic needs of all but a small percent of the poor of a nation. It was not charities that provided clean water. It was not charities that largely ended hunger or gave healthcare to the poor. It was not charities that educated the masses. Government is necessary. It can be done badly but it doesn't have to be.

[deleted]

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#56

Post by L_226 »

d_t_w wrote: post #13
kevinmannix wrote: post #3

I wish more people thought this way. Debt can be be used effectively, but as Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility." It seems that too much of America is wooed into a false sense of security by their ability to obtain debt without judging their ability to pay that debt off.

I agree with your sentiment, but it strikes me that there is safety and opportunity in behaving badly when the bulk of your peers are swept away in an orgy of debt fuelled spending. Ten years ago I bought a small flat in London to live in. I paid a respectable deposit and didn't over-leverage. We were at the end of decade long property boom, there were huge concerns about the level of borrowing and ability to repay,…

Here in AU the Federal Government is considering allowing access to superannuation (compulsory retirement fund paid out of your wage) to first home buyers to help with a deposit. An interesting opinion piece[0] discusses how this might be construed as a ponzi scheme.

[0] - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-16/super-for-housing-depo...

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#57

Post by grecy »

I have always viewed debt as a promise of future labor.

i.e. if I have debt now, I must go to work in the future to pay it back.

Because I have no debt, I don't have to go to work, and can spend the next two years driving around Africa.

I'm so passionate about saving money I even wrote an e-book on how to do it: http://theroadchoseme.com/work-less-to-live-your-dreams

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#58

Post by appleiigs »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #53
appleiigs wrote: post #45

Debt conversations always have these weird grandpa rules of thumb and words of wisdom, as you can see in the other comments. The proper use of debt is to match the debt with the asset. If you are buying a house, a 25-year mortgage matches the value of the house. If you are buying a car, a 5-year loan matches the value of the car. If you are buying a sandwich with a credit card, well... you should pay off your credit…

It seems to me the people struggling with their finances don't have a problem matching debt to assets, it's they have a problem with too much house or too much car.

Using the example of the car, you should be able to pay off the car after the 5-years. If you can't, then it's too much car.

Oddly, debt is supposed to help with seeing that. It breaks down the lump sum payment into monthly payments where you can compare to your monthly income.

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#59

Post by charlieflowers »

kevinmannix wrote: post #3

I wish more people thought this way. Debt can be be used effectively, but as Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility." It seems that too much of America is wooed into a false sense of security by their ability to obtain debt without judging their ability to pay that debt off.

Most Americans are using debt to buy consumer goods. So the question most should ask themselves is, "As a citizen of a first world country, with a good job and a super high standard of living, why is it that I need to consume some of tomorrow's dollars to get myself even more stuff right now?"

Re: Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

#60

Post by megablast »

refurb wrote: post #21
vinhboy wrote: post #17

> Nobody likes paying high taxes, but I don’t mind. How refreshing. I agree with him. Paying my taxes is a point of pride for me. It's a repayment for all those years I was poor and the government paid for me to live and go to school.

Not sure if you're living in the US, but I do and I have the exact opposite viewpoint. The amount of waste, corruption and poor planning by the gov't makes me feel like I'm throwing money away. I'd rather give it a charity since then I'd know a majority of it had an impact. I think if the gov't was a bit more efficient and could be shown to be good stewards of money I'd probably hate paying taxes a lot less.

The road out front of your house costs $100,000 to build. You just using that, gets you back all the taxes you spend. Now multiple that by 10 million things, and you are still better off.
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