| Cash should be your first line of defense when you are hit with unexpected expenses. But I know that in the YF&B years, you might not have had the time or money to build up a large enough cash reserve to cover life's inevitable surprises. That's where your credit card can come to the rescue; when you use your card for emergency repairs, that's a good use of debt. — Suze Orman, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke |
Bah.
No, Suze, it isn't a "good use of debt." It's just debt. It may be necessary, no-getting-around-it debt, but I'd suggest that even in that case, there's nothing good about it. "Good" would be having a rewards credit-card handy to get you a smidge of cash back just for making the "surprise" purchase, followed by the inevitable online transfer / payment of cash to said credit-card to pay all charges in full before any interest accrues.
I'm just bugged by Suze plugging the word "good" in there. Why not "valid" or "legitimate" or something like that? "Good" is way too benevolent. Too allowing. Too alluring. I'd contend that even if it wasn't what she intended, "good" puts the wrong idea out there ... even if at an almost-subconscious level.
Anybody with me on this?
Labels: Suze Orman
