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Paid Off CCs, Now What?

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Fenixgoon said:
Buying a car is a great example. Some people will say to only ever pay cash. But if you're eligible for a 0% financing promo, you'd be stupid to pay cash because you could invest that pile of cash and (almost guaranteed) make money at the end of the term. And some people will still prefer to pay cash because then the deal is done and they dont have to worry about a payment at all, which i totally understand.
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When I bought a car a few years ago, they didn't offer me 0%, but there was some small discount if I financed it at like 2.9%. It was slightly tempting, because I could have taken it and just paid off the loan very quickly, but I figured the hassle of clearing the title afterwards was potentially a hassle I just didn't want to deal with.
 
Well I put 1 streaming service per card just to keep using them, and set auto pay to pay the balance in full each month and just tossed the cards in a drawer. The wife has a few other cards we'll tackle next while stashing as much as possible into our current savings. Have a few trips planned towards the end of the year that we're going to actually set a budget for so we don't use any cards except for plane tickets to get the miles.
 
Fenixgoon said:
I think this is the general gist of "only pay cash".

Debt is a tool. It can be a very useful one. It can also be very dangerous when used inappropriately.

Buying a car is a great example. Some people will say to only ever pay cash. But if you're eligible for a 0% financing promo, you'd be stupid to pay cash because you could invest that pile of cash and (almost guaranteed) make money at the end of the term. And some people will still prefer to pay cash because then the deal is done and they dont have to worry about a payment at all, which i totally understand.

I paid cash for the roof on my house. But i got a 0% down for 6 months home improvement loan to install a new HVAC system because the local utility operator is offering a $12k rebate. And when i receive the rebate check, I'll instantly pay off the loan.
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I get that a lot because I paid for my current vehicle with a check, and people told me I was stupid for not taking the 1.9% loan rate and investing that sum. But again people do not factor in risk tolerance nor behavior. Many people, if given he cash to pay off a vehicle, will continue to make payments and then piss the cash away for something else long before investing it. I counter that if we ever hit any sort of an economic slump like we just did but an even longer period such as covid, at least you aren't making payments. A high rate of return isn't always guaranteed, and it isn't always guaranteed over the term of the vehicle loan.

If you have the cash to buy a vehicle outright you're hopefully well enough off that making a few hundred bucks in interest isn't a factor to your overall finances.
 
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