The Trying Times

Alan Cairns threw a few comments around to this effect about plastic cards lately :-) I like the plain blunt way he stated it.

Buying stuff you don't need with money you don't have, is sin.
Debt is sin.

reporter -  Anonymous, at 10:39 am, February 17, 2006 

Hmm... I don't think i'd take it quite to the point that all debt is sin.

reporter -  Jonathan, at 1:02 pm, February 17, 2006 

Allan - what about a mortgage?

reporter -  Dan, at 11:22 pm, February 17, 2006 

Nato,

If you are in debt to someone then you are obligated to them, you owe them... Sure the chance that you will become an actual slave is very low... but there is still an element of slavery as you now depend on this person.

I we do agree tho... because what you were refering to about using your credit card sencibly and Dan's question about a mortgage are refering to is not overall debt.

In your credit card example... you said this person had money in savings. If things went nasty they could pay back their Credit card with their savings. While they had 'a debt' when you look at their overall bank balance they were not in debt.

The mortgage example is similar. while this does carry more risk than the credit card example. The concept is that overall your assets overshadow your debt. If you need to pay back the mortgage you can sell the house to do this.

So I guess when I'm talking about debt what i really mean is overall debt.

BUT,

There's also the element of stewardship. Buying something on HP for $700 over 12mths is poor stewardship if you could wait a few months pay $450 cash.

reporter -  Jonathan, at 9:38 am, February 21, 2006 

I dunno what's up with my comments... the last 2 times i've replied to someone it's deleted their comment!!!

reporter -  Jonathan, at 9:40 am, February 21, 2006