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good debt, bad debt

The Difference Between Good Debt and Bad Debt

Feature Article
by Lois Center-Shabazz
 
 

 

After writing and posting the article "Until Credit Do Us Part," we received a few emails from women who felt they understood why all debt is bad; the reason being, is because it interfered with their personal life. One woman in particular wrote " I finished medical school and a medical residency, but was told by a close relative, I would probably never find a husband because I have excessive school loan debt." She then wrote and said, "now I understand why my relative made such a statement, after reading your article."

I need to clarify something. Even though this website has nothing to do with finding husbands, I just need to say that I don't believe that a husband is something you "find." Enough said about husbands.

Now I need to clarify the difference between "good debt" and "bad debt."

Examples of bad debt are:
-Debt accumulated on items that do not increase in value over time.
-Debt that increases the total cost of items by two to three times the original value, when you consider the interest charged over time.
-Debt that charges compounded interest. This means the interest is charged on the outstanding balance, not just the original principle. Therefore you end up paying interest on interest and principle, and interest on the previous interest and principle.
-The worst part is because most of these goods and services decrease in value over time, many of them you may not even own by the time you are finished paying for them.


Examples of good debt are:
-Debt accumulated on goods or services that increase in value over time.
-Debt that charges simple interest, instead of compounded interest. This makes it easier to pay ahead of schedule and pay off the charges early.
-Examples of good debt are home loans and school loans.
-Provided you acquire payments that your employment can bear, these are considered good debt because most homes increase in value over time.

-School loans are considered good debt because-
#1) they allow you to acquire a job
#2) most of the jobs will increase in income over time
#3) most school loans charge simple interest, making it easier to pay them off early, by making small additional payments.

-Business startup loans are also a form of good debt, provided you have expertise, experience, and proper preparation for the business you are starting.

I hope this clarifies things a bit.

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Lois Center-Shabazz is the founder of MsFinancialSavvy.com and author of the 3-time award-winning personal finance book, Let's Get Financial Savvy! ISBN #0971979502.



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