[Eggzachery]

I don't prescribe to Kiyosaki or Ramsey. I think they both do a good job of saying what appeals to the masses, without indulging in that pesky "reality" crap, and selling the hell out of it. If one wants to model themselves after people who have successfully achieved riches the way Kiyosaki claims to have, there are far better examples. If one wants to pull their debt-ridden ass out of the hole they put themselves into, everything Ramsey teaches is repackaged and regurtitated from someone else.

That said, I don't have an universal modus operandi when it comes to debt. I treat different areas of my life differently. In my personal finances, I probably live more like what I remember Ramsey preaching. Little to no personal debt. Business life, I use debt as a tool.

I'll use housing as an example. I own my personal residence outright. Paid for it in full when I bought it. My feeling is, that is where I shelter my family. It is our home. The idea that it is an investment, or thinking of the money spent on it in terms of what kind of return I'm getting is foreign. I don't want anyone (other than the government taxes owed annually) to have any claim to that. It is our bastion of safety.

My rental properties, however, I would never pay for outright. They will be paid off eventually. But I'll let my tenants do that. That's what they're there for.