I don't argue "gold is no good." That would be as nonsensical as insisting that silver, platinum, pearls, diamonds, colored stones, and other valuable commodities are no good.
I don't argue "the exchange rate doesn't matter". Quite the contrary. I've preached the eternal verities of the Mundell-Fleming trilemma to uncomprehending ears for years.
I don't argue "debt is not a problem." If you can't service your debt, you have a big problem. Even if you can service your debt, if you aren't using it for leverage to increase your revenue or net worth, it's not worth it.
Example -- if you know you're going to need new tires in a few months, save your money, instead of spending interest receive interest, but if you have a flat tire, and you need the car to get to work and buy groceries, use the credit card. Otherwise you're unable to get to work and you have to order in pizza.
Extrapolate from that trivial example to more complex financial calculations, it's always the same. Don't borrow money unless you're likely to come out ahead doing so. Going broke and broker isn't survival behavior.
If there's a human activity that doesn't involve risk and tradeoffs, I never heard of it. |
