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The Advantages of a Debt Free Life

Breaking the golden credit shackles is like having a super power.

Dean Brooks
9 min readMar 8, 2023
Made with Dream by WOMBO

Nowadays, debt has become so commonplace it’s practically considered a rite of passage. You’re an oddball if you aren’t loaded to the gills with monthly payments.

This wasn’t always the case. Many decades ago, the typical person rarely had high debt. They didn’t even have access to credit. They lived within their means, more of less out of necessity.

But now it’s become expected to go through life chained up by the golden credit shackles. People routinely have $700+ monthly car payments so they can drive to the grocery store in style. Owe tens of thousands of dollars on student loans for degrees so they can sit in front of a computer all day. Take out jumbo mortgages for McMansions. And run up the plastic for the new Air Jordans.

Sadly, many people are actually dependent on debt just for everyday expenses like fuel and food.

Many Amerians live in high cost of living areas, where rent and living expenses can comprise 50% or more of their annual budget. This makes it harder to avoid using credit to keep above the cost of living. Many blame the “necessities” of life, like a college education, or cars, as an excuse for debt. And for sure, for some people, it’s a necessary evil.

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Dean Brooks
Dean Brooks

Written by Dean Brooks

Novelist. I write about anything and I'm right about everything.

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