About the only thing I believe in going into debt for is a house. At one time we had three as we owned some rentals and they did make us some pretty good money.  We also went into debt to build a house. A calculated risk that we only hung onto for two years.  John had to work two jobs and I did daycare for those years and we sold and made a bunch of money.Temporarily invested in the rentals as the real estate in this area was going up 15% a year and the bank was paying  very low rates at that time.   I think real estate is a pretty good way to go most of the time but now is not that time unless you can get a very sweet deal.  I'm not comfortable going after foreclosures or taking advantage of others so we'll figure something else out.   I also think you need to have your own money and then your investment money or business is separate.   My college education was also paid for with cash. When I started tuition was under $250 per semester and you could take unlimited credits- I finished in 3 years and they were up to $350 a semester for tuition and thinking of limiting the number of credits for that price as well.   I think using OPM is ok but be careful.  It is always better to pay cash and get out of debt and be prepared as much as possible.  I would rather get rich slow and keep out of trouble than jepordize my family's well being.   I think perhaps going into debt for a first car if it will get you to work cheaper can be a good investment too but I've never it necessary to borrow for a car- well once we borrowed $2,000 cash from our college daughter when John's jeep engine blew up  but just until our tax return came in so it was totally secured. 

Carmina:

Have debt to become rich?

LOL, I guess I don't want to be rich.  I can't wait to pay off our house and student loans.  Yeah, everything is at a low interest rate, and yeah, going to school was an excellent choice for us, but still...it's debt.  I love the idea of no debt at all, how very freeing that must be. 

It's great you were able to pay cash for your college education, but unfortunately, times have changed.  I just finished my 4 year degree and now owe student loans to the tune of some $43,000 + for my Bachelor's degree.  Too bad my boss won't give me an automatic $300 + month raise to offset that new payment!

 Your idea of real estate investment may work well for you, but that same plan may not work well for others.  I know first hand the problems you can run into with home purchases, upkeep, upgrades, etc.  If you or your spouse can do those repairs and keep the costs down, it is a huge plus - if not and you have to hire them done - the expenses may simply outweigh the income on any rental property.

 Good luck!

I can't wait until the day my house and home equity line of credit ( I used it to buy a second properrty) is paid off. Then I will have have about 550.00 a month that I am currently paying for the intrest on those loans that I can put in the bank for myself. My next property I will be paying cash for.

I have no regrets buying both properties though, don't get me wrong. Last year they apprieciated in value 3 time the ammount than my take home pay is yearly.

Miserly:

I can't wait until the day my house and home equity line of credit ( I used it to buy a second properrty) is paid off. Then I will have have about 550.00 a month that I am currently paying for the intrest on those loans that I can put in the bank for myself. My next property I will be paying cash for.

This is what Greg Moore is always talking about. When you have no debt, your money is yours to do with as you please. Then you can use it to build wealth. Avoiding thousands upon thousands of dollars of interest when you buy a home goes a long way toward building a solid financial position.