Let me offer some facts, an example, an update, and some advice.

Some facts:

• Average annual (in-state) tuition (no room and board) at public four-year colleges now stands at a whopping $10,700. At private colleges, the figure is about $40,000.
• Current total student loan debt now stands at $1.75 trillion (this includes both federal and private loans)
• Depending on what source you believe, the average federal borrower owes anywhere from $29,000-$37,000.

What does all that borrowing cost? Current interest rates on federal loans range from 4.99%-7.54%. Private loan rates range from just under 4% to almost 15%.

An example:

Let’s say you borrowed $35,000 at 6.54% from Sallie Mae for grad school and agreed to pay it back over 10 years. Every month for a decade you’d be writing a check for $398. You’d ultimately pay back around $48,000! 

Only time will tell if your degree was worth the expense. 

But you can see why the website www.collegescholarships.org has referred to student loans as the “gateway drug to debt slavery.”

“Okay, but isn’t the government forgiving student loans?”

An update (as of August 2023):

The Biden administration’s proposal to wipe out $430 billion in student loan debt was struck down by the Supreme Court in June. 

The President immediately vowed to find another way to offer government debt relief to those with student loans.

Meanwhile, other politicians keep touting the idea of “free college.” 

Should anyone make educational plans on the basis of such statements? 

Given the current political climate, I’d say, “Better plan on paying for whatever higher education you ‘purchase.’”

Some advice:

Let me close with 7 ways you can minimize (or eliminate) your need for any kind of student loan:

• Utilize other funding options. Look into grants, scholarships, and college savings plans first.

• Consider no-loan schools. Research colleges with policies that cover students’ full financial needs.

• Evaluate future earning potential. Ask “Do salaries in my chosen field justify me borrowing a hefty sum of money for schooling now?”

• Don’t overlook community college. Take basic courses at a good, but less-expensive community college, then transfer to a four-year college.

• Hustle. Take on a part-time job, create a small business, or get tuition assistance programs from an employer.

• Cut living expenses. Be frugal. Avoid unnecessary expenses to keep overall costs low.

• Understand repayment terms. Familiarize yourself with the repayment plans and calculate monthly payments. (And if you already have student loans, understand your options and create a plan for repayment. Two resources are the Federal Student Aid website and the National Consumer Law Center.)

Higher education might be a blessing, but student loans can be a curse. 

Just ask the 63% of college students who regret going into debt for their degrees.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

This admission reminds me of a book written more than 50 years ago by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in which she discussed five distinct stages people go through when facing death.  

I think a similar phenomenon is at work when people come face-to-face with a grim financial situation. 

Here are the stages Kubler-Ross identified, adapted to personal finance:

• Denial. Unless you are born into extremely dire circumstances, you begin life with no worries about money. You have what you have, and that is “normal.”

But as you get older you discover the truth that either money doesn’t grow on trees or you have forgotten where the forest is. Either way, there’s never enough of the green stuff to go around.

For a while you can deny that you have a problem. Credit cards make this “denial phase” easier—and longer—for many people.

• Bargaining. One day you realize that denial doesn’t keep those credit card statements from showing up each month, so you “bargain.” Bargaining involves making small, symbolic changes in your lifestyle and spending patterns, in place of real, substantive changes.

Bargaining involves more posturing than doing. You pledge to buy generic brands, take your lunch to work, iron your own shirts. That’s a good start, but you really should be discussing selling that luxury car and downsizing to something less sexy and within your budget range. 

• Anger. At some point, you figure out that bargaining doesn’t work. That’s when anger takes over. You feel put upon and victimized.

“Life just isn’t fair,” you fume. “If it wasn’t for my… (crummy job, lousy spouse, family background—etc.), I wouldn’t be in this place!”

After a while, this bitter ranting gives way to…

• Depression. Reality finally sets in. All the wishing, negotiating, and blaming in the world isn’t going to make your financial troubles go away. You’re in a tough spot.

What’s left? One more phase—and it’s actually a hopeful one. Sadly, however, many people never get there. They hunker down and try make peace with denial, bargaining, anger, or depression.  

What’s that final phase? Kubler-Ross called it…

• Acceptance. When you accept the reality of your present financial circumstances…when you accept that your problems are not going to magically go away…when you accept that it’s up to you to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT…then—and only then—can you get on a path that leads to hope—and true financial health. 

Hope balances a sober appraisal of the present with a confident vision of a better future. 

But you have to make the choice to get some help. It’s on you to take that crucial and wise first step. When you do, you can create a plan and get moving in the right direction. 

That’s when you’ll start feeling better about your circumstances. And if you keep going in that better direction, you’ll gain more confidence and more momentum. You’ll find that making smart financial moves is habit-forming.

Maybe you see yourself in one of those first four financial “stages.” If so, I’d love to help. Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and I’ll send you, no strings attached, a free copy of my e-book “How to Put Financial Worries in Your Rear View Mirror: The Financial Freedom Road Map.”

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

Whether I’m complaining of cold or flu symptoms, or getting an annual physical, he first listens to my heartbeat, assesses my breathing (with an extra cold stethoscope), and looks down my throat, up my nose, through my ears, and into my eyes. 

He takes my temperature, weighs me, and gets a sample of whatever bodily fluids he can coax out of me. 

Why does he do all that? He wants to get an overall sense of my health (or unhealth) so he can make a correct diagnosis. He’s trying to head off any serious problems before they have a chance to develop.

Only after that initial, comprehensive inspection, does he zero in on my specific complaint.

Guess what? You and I need that kind of regular check-up in our financial lives. I call it a fiscal physical. And I believe it needs to consist of these components:

• Personal development plan. What is your plan to continue increasing your value to the marketplace? This is one of the most overlooked pieces of a financial plan, yet it is of primary importance. You never want to stop growing.

• Income-to-spending ratio. Most of us need an income-to-spending ratio of 100/80/20. The 100% figure represents your income. Of that, you want to spend no more than 80% and save the other 20%. 

• Monthly savings rate. This is an echo of the above point—most of us need to be saving 20% of our annual income. If everyone did this from the first day of their first job, we’d be a nation marked by unparalleled financial health!

• Months of income in savings. In order to avoid bad debt (the kind where you end up paying someone 18% interest), we need emergency savings we can tap. A good plan is to accumulate six months of income in an accessible savings account. Anytime you spend money out of that account, replenish it ASAP.

• Debt strategy. Debt is neither good nor bad. It simply magnifies your financial decisions, for better or for worse. Debt can allow you to live the lifestyle you want to live sooner (e.g., buying a house). It can also cost you later, keeping you from the lifestyle you might have had if only you had saved more money over the years. An intelligent debt strategy can save you much regret.

• Protection strategy. Protection decisions should be made with the mindset, “Could this risk (e.g., the risk of death or disability) ruin me, or could I afford it?” If the risk might be devastating, you need to ask, “If I were able buy insurance the day after the disaster occurred, how much would I want to buy?” 

A good rule: Only insure for risks you wouldn’t be able to pay for.

• Retirement strategy. One day, by design, desire or destiny, you’re going to retire. Do you want to spend that “next chapter” mostly fretting about money? Or would you like to enjoy your retirement years? 

Satisfying retirements need a strategy—not only smart investing, but also efficient income generation. Why settle for a big “nest egg” that produces only modest income? Instead, why not position yourself to increase the amount of income you can get from your retirement assets?

Couldn’t I just take my medical questions to the Internet? Of course. But if I want a thorough and personal checkup, I go see my real doctor.

To get an accurate read on your financial health, you need to make an appointment with a trusted financial professional. Get a “fiscal physical” and you’ll have a clear, workable plan for better financial health.

Want an easy first step? Do what lots of others have done. Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com, and I’ll send you my FREE comprehensive checklist of pre-retirement questions for people who are 60-something. There’s no obligation.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

Think about it. You borrow money. You get to use that money now. Then you get to pay it back slowly, over time. Who wouldn’t want that deal?

You might expect a financial planner to say getting out of debt is what everyone should do, ASAP. Though I wouldn’t make such a blanket statement, it’s generally true—being debt-free is wise.

But why?

• Is it because debt is bad? 

No. Debt isn’t bad or good. It’s simply a magnifier of your financial decisions. 

When you buy things that lose value over time (e.g., cars, clothes, electronics, vacations), debt raises the cost of those items. With credit card debt, you can end up paying double the sticker price! 

But when you use debt to buy money-making assets (e.g., timber land, rental real estate, etc.), you get to start growing your wealth immediately. You don’t have to wait years until you have the money in hand to pay cash for those assets.  

• Is it because debt is dumb? 

Debt isn’t “dumb.” If I cut off my hand with a power saw and say, “That dumb power saw! It cut off my hand!” I’m going to be the one who looks and sounds really dumb! The real problem was operator error. 

It’s the same with debt.

• Is it because debt requires you to pay interest? 

Maybe. It depends on the interest rate. If I can buy a $400,000 house with money that costs me 4% over 30 years, and that house stands a good chance of doubling in value over those 30 years, I’ve made a pretty good choice. 

But if I repeatedly pay Eddie the loan shark 400% interest for “payday loans,” I will soon be broke. (Or Eddie’s boys will break part of my body. Or both.) 

It’s expensive and unwise to pay high interest rates, either to Eddie or to that credit card in your wallet (or phone). But all this just hints at the real reason most people need to get out of debt.

Debt keeps us from saving money. 

The more we pay in finance charges, the less we have to sack away for the future.

I may not know you personally, but I know this: You want to be financially free. You want to get to the place one day where your financial assets produce enough income for you to live the way you want to live . . . where if you work, it’s because you want to, not because you have to. 

The only way to get to that place is by saving money now. For most, that means saving between 15% and 20% of your income. I know. That’s hard to do. But it’s less so when you don’t have lots of debt. 

Understand that getting out of debt isn’t a financial plan. It’s just one part of a comprehensive financial plan. 

The best reason to get out of debt is because it is an important step in becoming financially free. 

“Get out of debt!” That sounds grueling—like a chore.

“Be financially free!” That sounds like a destination worth going to—even if the pursuit involves some work and a little pain.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an e-book about this very subject. It’s called “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear View Mirror – The Financial Freedom Roadmap.” 

In it, I offer turn-by-turn directions how to get from your present location to your desired location—financial freedom. 

I’d love to send you a free copy. Just email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com, and then watch your e-mailbox.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

People in our lives who live in a chronic state of financial mess. When it comes to money, they habitually make poor choices.

There’s the friend who overspends. Despite his big salary, he’s got even bigger debt. There’s the parent who under-saves. The sibling who comes to you annually for “just a little help” because they lost money—again—in some sketchy investment.

It’s agonizing to watch, isn’t it? It kills you to see loved ones struggle. You want to help—get them to meet with your financial planner, read that book that was so helpful to you, anything.

Occasionally it happens. They show up and say they’re ready to get their financial act together. So you step in—again—and help. And nothing changes.

Here are a couple of things I’ve learned: First, it’s not enough for people to NEED change in their lives. They have to really WANT to change. Second, when you help people who don’t really want to change, you actually hurt them. 

It’s called enabling. It’s not your intent, but you actually enable them to continue down the road of financial foolishness.

I won’t kid you – situations of the type I am describing rarely turn out well. The person in the enabler role continues to hope, plead, and give . . . and the enabled person continues to deny reality, play the role of manipulator, and take. The dance often doesn’t stop until the enabler crashes.

And guess what the irresponsible person does then? He or she goes and finds someone else to take from.

I know. This isn’t easy to hear (it’s even harder to do). But if, in a genuine effort to be helpful and loving, you’ve actually been enabling someone, you need to do three things:

1. Be honest with yourself. Look hard at what you have been doing. Call it what it is, enabling. Stop rationalizing what your friend/loved one has been doing. It’s manipulation, pure and simple. They’re taking from you—and probably others too.

2. Draw some financial boundaries. Easier said than done, I realize. But if you want to save yourself (and maybe…just maybe…your sibling/child/friend), decide now that you have given your last dollar to them. 

Even if he’s late on his bills. Even if she loses her car to repossession. Even if they say they’re about to lose their house. Honor that boundary!

Because if you don’t make that kind commitment to yourself, a skilled taker (and talker) will keep working you till kingdom come. 

3. Let your loved one experience natural financial consequences. This is the heart of the issue. Many people have created lives for themselves where they never feel any pain for their financial misbehavior. They can always find one or two “soft touches” to shield them or bail them out. 

Listen, the only way enabled people can be motivated to live differently is for them to have to face the natural consequences of their actions (or inactions). True transformation only comes when we confront—and wrestle with—hard things (like the financial messes we ourselves have created.)

A warning: When you draw a firm financial boundary and stick to it, your enabled person will likely declare that you no longer love him. He’ll play the victim and try to make you feel guilty. He may even go find someone else to be his patsy. As painful as that is, it’s still better than the enabling relationship that exists now.

You can’t change another person. But you can change your own behavior. You can stop doing things that are keeping the one you love from experiencing needed change.

The only question is: Will you?

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

We chuckle, but it’s true.

Lending institutions couldn’t stay in business long if they loaned money to folks who couldn’t repay them (with interest). 

So banks are careful. They consider the risks before issuing a loan. We should do likewise before taking their money and going into debt.

When is debt constructive? When is it destructive? A brief examination of three popular approaches to debt can help us know the difference.

1. Debt instead of discipline. Debt is destructive when it is used because forethought, planning, and self-discipline were not.

Some people seem to believe credit cards possess a magical capacity to create wealth at the point of purchase. Quite the opposite actually. Once you start “revolving” credit on your card, every purchase you make increases in price due to the interest you’re paying. So those shoes costing $200 actually cost you $236 if you’re using a credit card that charges 18% interest.

People who live like this soon find themselves in a modern-day debtors’ prison. Their cards are maxed out but they’re still paying hundreds each month just to maintain their minimum payments.

It’s a painful existence.

Debt is simply a magnifying tool. It makes bad financial decisions worse and good financial decisions better.

Here’s a second approach to borrowing money:

2. Debt instead of delay. Years ago I met a man who had been listening to a Christian financial guru who argued that any and all debt was a sin against God. 

As a result, the man refused to take out a mortgage to buy a house. He would only purchase a home when he could pay cash. Consequently, he moved his family into a run-down rental property in a not-so-great neighborhood. It was the only place he could find a house large enough to accommodate his family.

What this man failed to realize is that what he saved in interest he lost in time. You only get to raise your family once. Constructive use of debt would have allowed him to raise his family in a better setting. 

Using debt to buy a home can be a very wise thing. Especially during times like these when lenders are “selling money” at all time lows. 

Here’s a third popular approach to debt:

3. Debt instead of diversion. I’ve had clients with enough assets to pay off their mortgages. Doing this would have made them debt-free. Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

But they also had the opportunity to buy into the business where they worked. They understood the business and saw its bright future. There was a good chance any money they put into the business would double in the next five years. 

Some in this situation would decide to be debt-free and be done with it. That’s a good choice for them.

My clients chose to keep their mortgage payments and invest their available cash in their business. Nothing is risk free, but they didn’t want to “divert” dollars away from their highest growth potential. 

Keeping some debt so they could invest instead—debt instead of diversion—was their best choice.

Debt is simply a magnifying tool. It makes bad financial decisions worse and good financial decisions better. 

I have a chapter on debt in my book “How to Put Your Money Worries In Your Rear View Mirror – The Financial Freedom Roadmap.” I’ll be glad to get you a free copy if you’ll email at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and ask for one.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

That was my father’s reaction years ago when I told him I was about to have a professional photograph taken. 

I was baffled. I had no more hair then than I do now. Why this odd advice?

Dad proceeded to tell me about his own experience. He’d once had his picture snapped right after a bad day at the barbershop. He never forgot the deep embarrassment he felt over that photo. 

A lot of us operate our financial lives that way. In reaction to negative experiences, we tell ourselves, “Never again!” 

And many also base their financial decisions on the bad experiences of others. Every time a client says, “I’ve heard I should never…” I ask for the source of that financial absolute. Often it’s not the time-tested advice of an expert. It’s the bitter experience of a close friend or family member. 

That’s not entirely unexpected. We tend to trust those we know more than those we don’t. But in some areas of life (e.g., surgery, skyscraper design, financial advice, etc.) expertise is far more important than acquaintance.

You don’t have to live according to everyone else’s mistake. You can make your own wise, informed plan, and then act on that plan! 

Here are four financial “areas” often dominated by loud, emotionally charged stories, rather than the sound advice of experts: 

1. Investing. The popular Pixar film Finding Nemo, features Dory, an adorable blue fish with almost no short-term memory. Perhaps the only creature in the world with a worse memory is the average investor. 

Many forget that markets have always changed directions frequently and unexpectedly. This both confuses and frustrates most investors. They try to “time the market,” and they get burned. 

For success in the market you need to bring—and maintain—a long-term (i.e., 10+ years) perspective. Those with a short-term view often suffer big losses—then scare those close to them with their tales of woe.

2. Real Estate. Real estate is wonderful…until it isn’t. Who could have expected a government mandate (due to COVID-19) that would forbid all evictions, even when rent wasn’t paid for months? Most landlords survived this crisis this time, but not all. Many will pass on their bitter experience to others in the form of, “NEVER get into real estate…the government can cut you off at any time!” 

3. Debt. For most of my career, people have had easy access to debt. This has resulted in much wealth and worry…rarely for the same folks. Easy debt has allowed many to buy more house, more car, and more education than they can truly afford. The painful stories of those who have taken on a mountain of debt serve as proof to the “Never Debt-er” crowd that “debt is always evil.”

4. Life insurance. Life insurance suffers from two things: confusing terminology and a history of overly aggressive salespeople. You’ve got term insurance, which is temporary, and whole life insurance, which is permanent. They are entirely different products useful for different purposes. One is not superior or to be preferred. 

When interest rates spiked in the 1970s, some insurance agents began peddling their permanent, cash value policies as a safer alternative to investments. The idea was supposed to be that the cash values of these policies would grow as fast as a mutual fund. As interest rates fell back to earth, that didn’t happen. 

In response, some advisors recommended, “Buy term and invest the rest!” The problem came when many consumers did buy term, but (surprise!) forgot to invest the rest. 

Look, you’ve got plenty of people in your life who would be more than willing to tell you how they got burned making certain investments, engaging in real estate transactions, borrowing money, or buying life insurance. 

But those things aren’t inherently evil. They’re simply tools that require skill, knowledge, and experience. And the bad experiences others moan about are simply cautionary tales, not a definitive blueprint for what you should or shouldn’t do. 

You don’t have to live according to everyone else’s mistake. You can make your own wise, informed plan, and then act on that plan! 

A great place to start is by reading my new e-book “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear View Mirror – The Financial Freedom Roadmap.” It’s free—and a quick read. Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and I’ll get it to you right away. 

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

“All it does is reveal a lack of discipline,” they insist. “All it does is cause major stress.”

I agree it’s a bad idea to use debt to buy items that decrease in value over time. And, yes, indiscriminate borrowing often stems from a failure to spend less and save more. 

But even as debt brings misery to many, it can—when used wisely—be a source of good. You heard me right: Debt can sometimes have an upside. 

Using debt will cost you some interest. But the failure to use debt wisely may cost you years you can’t get back and memories that would have made life sweeter.

Think with me for a few moments:

• Farmers use debt to buy seed and equipment to plant next year’s crop. There may be a farming family in north Louisiana that doesn’t rely on debt, but I haven’t met them.

• Astute businesspeople take on debt to acquire facilities or to have the working capital they need to generate profits. 

• Savvy entrepreneurs borrow to purchase assets (e.g., a rent house, a share in a business) that will produce a revenue stream.

• And some individuals take off their accountant eyeshades, put on a baseball cap and think about using debt to “live more.” 

What do I mean?

Imagine having assets worth $250,000 (I like round numbers). Let’s say those assets produce annual income of $25,000 (rents, dividends, etc.). Now let’s assume you still owe $100,000 on those assets. 

Do a little math and it’s clear you could use that $25,000 in annual income and pay off your debt in about five years. Five years to freedom, right?

But there’s also this: Your oldest is about to enter high school. And another child is soon to follow. After that, they’ll be gone. Out of the nest. And to a degree, out of your day-to-day life. 

So you’ve got how many years left with them? Four? Five? Six? 

What if you said, “Let’s stretch our debt repayment plan out a little bit”? And what if, instead of directing every dime of that $25,000 in income toward debt repayment, you said, “I’ll use half to keep paying down our debt and I’ll use the other $12,500 to invest in memories with my family.”

Fact is, you’re never going to get these years back. Ever. What you do now will largely influence your family experience for years into the future.

If you slowed down your debt repayment for the next five years to invest in your family, then picked it back up again once the kids were gone, you would (roughly) extend your journey to debt freedom three extra years. 

The problem with me bringing up such a scenario is that it might give an already irresponsible person an excuse to continue in his irresponsible ways. So be it. If they didn’t find justification from me, they’d find it somewhere else. 

I’m not talking here about putting expensive vacations on a credit card. Every family needs to live wisely. This isn’t one-size-fits-all advice. 

But it is a challenge to think deeply—and differently—about debt. I hope you’ll use it wisely in your life. Failure to do that may have a cost – a profoundly deep and unrecoverable cost.

Using debt will cost you some interest. But the failure to use debt wisely may cost you years you can’t get back and memories that would have made life sweeter.

Make sure you count the cost of debt. 

All of it.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

So, like most young men, he considered his options and did the only sensible thing. He ate more. 

Well, that didn’t help, so he bought the jumbo bottle of Pepto-Bismol. By the time the weekend was over, he was doubled over in pain and begging his wife to drive him to the emergency room. 

Fast forward through lots of exams, treatments and finally exploratory surgery and the doctors discovered the true culprit. Chris had cancer. 

Impossible. How can a man this young and healthy have cancer? 

Chris’s introduction to cancer showed him that neither his sincerity nor effort were of any use to him in this situation. He sincerely thought he had a stomachache, which could be addressed by an over the counter treatment and maybe taking a day off from spicy tacos. And once the pain continued, he became 100% dedicated in his efforts to find a remedy.

But as Chris told me later, “You can’t get well until you are right about what is wrong.” 

Chris’s health situation isn’t that different from many financial situations I see.  And like Chris, if your financial situation is unhealthy, you’re never going to get financially well until you’re right about what’s wrong.

Chris went through a four-step healing process:

Examination. Sometimes surface examinations don’t reveal the deeper problems behind the presenting symptoms. In Chris’s situation, exploratory surgery was necessary to find his underlying problem. Financially, a comprehensive financial examination is the first step to understanding the depth and breadth of what ails you economically. 

Evaluation. Once they had him open on the operating table, it didn’t take long for the doctors to see what was going on…it was cancer. 

Financial evaluations are not always that obvious.  Sometimes personal economic problems are limited to the numbers, but often we find a lot of emotional and relational issues as well.

Treatment. For Chris, the treatment option was obvious. Immediately he started a round of chemotherapy to kill the cancer tissues troubling his body. 

Sometimes treatment plans for financial ailments can be instant, such as the writing of a will or the installation of an insurance policy. Other times, the treatment plan involves the initiation of a set of habits to be practiced regularly for a long time – things like saving money, investing discipline and debt reduction. The benefits of these actions are like exercise – they only become evident after practiced over a long timeframe. 

Recovery. The very good news for Chris is that he began to get better almost immediately. Soon evidence of the cancerous tissue was undetectable. It was a long road, but today Chris is a healthy man. That’s really good news!

Financial unhealthiness can be treated in such a way that the transition into financial health can be made (if not instantly) more quickly than one might have imagined. Walls of protection can be erected. Money can be saved. Debts can be reduced and eliminated. Investment programs can begin. Retirement plans can be imagined. 

But none of that can happen if you keep treating your financial cancer with extra-large bottles of financial Pepto-Bismol. You’ve got to go deeper than the symptoms. You’ve got to discover the real problem(s).

Because like Chris said, “You can’t get well until you are right about what is wrong.”

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

That’s an oft heard declaration that erupts early in some of my meetings with new or prospective clients.

Most of the time it happens as a large sheet of paper is pulled out of a folder, or a spreadsheet is opened on a computer.

Whether computerized or penned, it’s a list of their debts. Often a long list.

“We owe on our house,” he begins (most often it’s a he). “And both of us have vehicles, and we have notes on those. Then there are our student loans, a couple of credit cards and some medical debt that we incurred from last year.”

“I really hate debt,” he’ll say again, as if to convince either me or himself. 

There is a reality TV show for which I’ve seen commercials. I confess I’ve never watched the show. It features a family with 19 children. Nineteen. I think about them whenever someone tells me they hate debt. I imagine the father of the 19 children saying, “I hate children.”

Really? You could have fooled me.

Because you were around when each of those children came into existence. And both husband and wife continued in the activities necessary to bring about each of the 19. 

No doubt, with 19 children there may be days when the consequences of having children seem particularly burdensome. But a person with 19 children wouldn’t be very convincing if he said he didn’t like children.

Same thing with debt.

You may not like the fact that today you owe over $250,000 and pay 35% of your income for the privilege. 

But that’s a far cry from saying you hate debt. 

The truth is you love debt. You love what it did for you when you moved into the house, when you drove the three quarter ton pickup off the lot and smelled the new leather interior, when you graduated from college and when you went on vacation last summer (remember when people did that?). 

Debt is not evil. Debt is not virtuous. Debt is a magnifier of our choices. It makes our good choices better and our bad choices worse. 

So, don’t waste another ounce of energy swearing off debt or cursing the day you were approved for a credit card. 

Instead, use that energy to seek out and adopt money strategies that solve the problems your poor uses of debt have created. 

Problems with debt are usually indicative of a paucity of saving. No saving, no money. No money…enter debt. 

Instead of a lifetime of borrowing from banks and other lending institutions to meet your large purchase needs, why not fund and create your own “lending system,” which lends you money and makes money off the interest you pay. This is an old saving strategy called “the Family Bank,” and can be very effective at re-capturing and re-directing the flows of money you now direct to pay to your debtors. 

You may say you are one who hates debt, but I doubt that. 

You hate your poor choices.

So, plan now to make better ones.

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