It has only solidified my general distaste for debt. Yeah, a 15 mortgage is acceptable, modest student loans happen, maybe one car note per life time, other than that.. count me OUT.
I do not subscribe to the "invest at 7% with money borrowed on <7%". That math does NOT account for different levels of risk. That 7% return is not guaranteed, that 1-6% APR on your debt IS guaranteed.
Entering a recession debt free also makes one a lot more tolerant of the huge 'losses' in ones investment accounts... because you KNOW you don't need the money. This offsets ones natural urge to panic sell.
When you are investing using leverage (lets be honest, choosing to invest while having debt IS LEVERAGING and IS RISKY) you will naturally sweat downturns a lot more.
and when it comes to leverage, well.... "the market can remain irrational LONGER than you can remain solvent". Investing in stocks is plenty risky enough for me. Investing in stocks 'on margin' is a whole different level of risk.
Oh and being debt free means your emergency fund can be ALOT smaller, which is nice cause now you have less cash sitting on the sidelines.