Debt Free!

So I sat down and worked out the numbers.  Added up all my cash and liquid assets (i.e. stocks & unit trusts).  Looking at the number,  I suddenly realised its meaning.  The number I was looking at was larger than the outstanding loans and debts that I have.  In other words, if I were to liquidate all my shareholdings today and add that to the cash that is sitting around in the family's bank accounts, I will have sufficient money to pay off all my debts (e.g. housing loan, etc) right here, right now, with some cash left to spare.  That means I can become debt free!!!!  

This was perhaps never really a surprise to me.  I sort of knew that God had blessed me with many good things.  For one, I have enjoyed good health in my adult working life and was able to work almost continuously despite some job switches here and there.  I am also a saver as I do not spend on unnecessary things.  I eat at restaurants and stuff.  But that is about all that I spend on.  In my early years, I also managed to save quite a fair bit of money.  God also has blessed me with some positive returns on my investments. So I sort of knew that I would become debt free much earlier than most people.

And yet, the realisation that I can be debt free does not necessarily mean that I want to be debt free right now.  Having the money to pay off all my debts does not mean that I should go ahead and do so.  After all, interest rates are very low here in Singapore.  But then again, there is this difference between bad debt and good debt.

So the decision has come. Should I pay off all my loans and become debt free?  Or should I continue to hold on to my debt and carry on investing?  Decisions, decisions...


Anyway, to celebrate the occasion, I open a bottle of Hoegaarden (which reads original belgian wheat beer) to celebrate.  And the next thing I do is to log into blogger to type this post and schedule it for publishing.