<prompt> Human: Came across this article on Bloomberg about a financial advisor who states that paying down debt is actually not the best financial decision someone can make. Obviously this depends on the interest rate to some degree, as paying down debt can be a way to earn gaurunteed returned read: forgone additional costs, but the points brought up about liquidity sort of changed my mind on the subject. Essentially, to him, it seems better to have 50k in cash and 50k in debt than just 0 total. Wanted to here PFs thoughts on this since this sub seems to be very anti-debt in most circumstances. Heres a link to the article on Bloomberg  <response>: For me, the bottom line is this. Treat debt like a power tool. Used correctly you can build an empire, used incorrectly and you can chop your arm off in less than 1 second. Longer version - Many people have no clue how commonly available debt works, or how much it will cost them. They just know they need money today, and before long they are in a massive massive hole. When viewed from an almost corporate perspective and used as a capital multiplier to buy things that ADD VALUE to your life and financial situation it is great. Yes liquidity is also important. It is one reason when I see people say Should I pay off my house with this six figure inheritancewindfallbonuswhatever? I often advise they dont. You can easily sell a portion of a stock portfolio, you cant easily cheaplyquickly sell your spare bedroom to generate cash for other opportunities. 