Quote from Attacking Mid:
Many seemingly bright and financially "savvy" folks borrowed equity from their homes over the past decade to invest in equities with the hope of borrowing at low rates and investing at high rates of return.
Anyone taking equity out of their house to put into the stock market is neither bright nor "savvy." They're even bigger idiots than those who pay for a car in full with excess cash.
I have a degree in finance and advise people in financial matters for a living. Personally, I pay cash for my cars. If I can't afford to pay cash, then I can't afford the car.
Someone has $48,000 in cash to lay down on a new car and you, Mr. Risk Aversion, say the best bet is to pay it in full.
If so, you're proof that people need to become financially educated because all your degree proves is that you're capable of completing a task without having anything of value to show for it afterwards.
Anyone out there who can fog a mirror can open a passbook savings account earning 2% compounded annually, most likely with no fees until the balance drops below $5k.
Next, and this is key because it's just a friggin' car, is to find a dealer willing to sell you one and finance it with a zero percent interest loan.
Let's say the dealer says, sure, but you have to put 25% down and pay it off in 3 years.
No problem. $12K to the dealer and the remaining $36K in the bank. Then, once a month you withdraw the monthly payment of $1K and pay off the loan.
Guess what?
At the end of that three years you will still have $1,082 left in the account, somewhat less if you had to pay an account fee for the last 5 months of the loan.
Yeah, they took on a whole lot of risk there...