I recently read the book 'Lifeonaire' by Steve Cook, which has had a big impact on my thinking over the last couple of weeks. In a nutshell, the book is about designing your life so that you're rich in life experience (time with your family, time doing the things you love, the ability to give to the causes that matter to you, etc.) rather than in just money. It was written by a real estate investor, so it has that bent, and essentially makes the argument that if a sense of freedom is what you seek, then debt doesn't usually add to your sense of freedom.  

It's important to note, the book does NOT say "Debt is Bad," but rather that debt doesn't usually make you feel more free.  Also, if a sense of freedom is not your real goal, then the book will not be as relevant either.

Have you read the book? If so, I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on the principles around debt. I have long been in the "there's a difference between Good Debt and Bad Debt" school of thought, and I do still believe that Good Debt is an indispensable tool. Plus, of course, real estate debt brings lots of other strategic advantages for taxes, higher cash-on-cash returns, etc.  But from reading this book, I feel moved to begin having a different strategy for my personal finances/investments than for my business investments. My current thinking is like this:

My Business

Maintain a high level of leverage using real estate debt until I can reach a "critical mass" of assets, then begin to pay the debt down to convert to cash flow.  Any debt in this category is offset by a corresponding income stream from the asset.

Personal Finances

Pay down my personal debt as soon as I can so that I feel less pressure about making payments out of my earned income. Because there are no corresponding income streams from these personal debt assets (cars, my house, etc.), I feel like I want to get rid of those now.

What are your thoughts as you weigh the different philosophies about debt in your LIFE and your BUSINESS?