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Three Strategies for Using Debt Responsibly
As a career and life coach, I often talk to people about why they work and for many people it is about paying their bills. Our career and life coaching conversations often migrate into financial coaching which is why I am in the process of becoming a certified coach with You Need A Budget (aka YNAB — pronounced why-nab). The YNAB software has been a real lifeline for me in getting my finances in order and keeping them there. But software is only one small piece of a much larger piece of learning about personal finance. One of the biggest pieces is how to use debt responsibly. In this article, I want to talk about how to use debt responsibly.
Not All Debt is Bad
The vast majority of us will find ourselves in debt to another person or organization at some point in our lives. From the simple — “I forgot my wallet today — can you spot me $20 for lunch and I’ll pay you back tomorrow?” to the complexity of credit cards, mortgage, student loan and medical debt — we all finding ourselves needing to put someone else’s money to use for us from time to time.
The challenge is learning what debt is “bad” and what debt is “good.”
I have long considered mortgage debt and student loan debt — both within appropriate limits — to be good debts to take on. Obviously, if you have the means and…
