That's a great post, I really enjoyed reading it.

I think a lot of people would struggle, mentally, with that amount of debt, even if they were able to service the interest AND pay off some of the capital.

But, the fact is, that somehow will all need to be able to get to OPM to build our respective empires. That can be in the form of using a credit card to get your first mailing/website/whatever up and running, all the way through to a $1billion finance deal with the Saudis/Chinese/Swiss, etc.

My wife and I have a new business in the pipeline, which will require about 85% bank financing AND we'll need to put our home up as collateral. A few years ago we wouldn't even have considered doing it, but if the figures work out, and you can repay the interest, and maybe some of the capital, then it'll all pay off in about 10 years. Then you'll have a business that you own free and clear, bringing in a significant household income AND you'll have something worth selling so that you can bugger off to the Cayman Islands.

And that, as they say, is much better than a kick in the ****.