Dear Family,
Debt gets talked about in extremes, and that’s part of the problem.
On one end of the spectrum, you’ll hear people say to avoid it at all costs, that any form of borrowing is dangerous and should never be part of a wealth-building strategy. On the other end, you’ll hear people promote debt as the key to financial freedom, positioning leverage as the shortcut to building wealth quickly.
The truth, as it often is, sits somewhere in the middle.
Debt itself is not the enemy. But believing that debt, on its own, will create freedom is where people start to get into trouble. Because debt does not create outcomes.
It amplifies them.
If you are disciplined, if you are patient, and if you have clarity around what you are building, debt can absolutely accelerate your progress. It can help you scale something that is already working. It can help you move faster in a direction that is already sound.
But if you lack clarity, if you are moving too fast, or if you are making decisions from a place of pressure rather than intention, debt does not fix those issues.
It magnifies them. I see this dynamic play out often. Someone works hard, builds their career, and reaches a level of income they once dreamed about. They are earning well into six figures. They have stability, options, and access to opportunities that were not available to them before. And naturally, the conversation shifts.
They start asking, “How do I use leverage to get ahead faster?”
They begin exploring real estate, business loans, lines of credit, and more advanced investment strategies. None of these things are inherently bad. In fact, many of them can be incredibly effective when used correctly. But before any of those tools are introduced, there is a more important question that needs to be answered:
What exactly are we amplifying?
Because if the underlying foundation is not solid, leverage becomes less of a strategy and more of a risk. If your cash flow is inconsistent, debt adds pressure. If your spending is not controlled, debt creates strain. If your goals are not clearly defined, debt introduces confusion. And when those elements are present, leverage does not move you forward. It increases the consequences of being wrong.
There is a clear difference between using debt as a tool and depending on it as a solution.
Using debt as a tool requires discipline. It requires intention. It requires a clear understanding of how that capital will be deployed and how it will generate a return over time. Depending on debt as a solution, on the other hand, often comes from impatience. It comes from the desire to accelerate outcomes before the foundation has been properly built.
And impatience, especially when paired with leverage, tends to be very expensive.
The reality is that most wealth is not created through one big decision or one perfectly timed move. It is built over time through consistency. It is built by making sound decisions repeatedly, even when those decisions are not exciting or fast-moving. It is built by staying in the game long enough for those decisions to compound. Debt can play a role in that process, but it is not the foundation.
You are!
Your habits. Your discipline. Your ability to delay gratification.
Your ability to remain steady, even when things feel uncertain or when the world around you is moving quickly.
Before you introduce leverage into your strategy, there are a few things that need to be in place.
- You need clarity. You need to understand what you are building, why you are building it, and what success actually looks like for you.
- You need discipline. You need to be able to execute consistently, not just when things are going well, but especially when they are not.
- And you need experience. You need to have a grounded understanding of how decisions play out in real life, not just how they appear on paper.
Because once leverage is introduced, the margin for error becomes smaller. And the cost of being wrong becomes higher.
For the record, I am not against debt. When used correctly, it can be a powerful and effective tool. But I am far more focused on ensuring that you do not feel like you need it in order to succeed. Because the real objective is not to get rich quickly.
The real objective is to build something that is sustainable.
To put yourself in a position where you can continue to operate, even when things do not go as planned. To create a level of resilience that allows you to learn, adjust, and keep moving forward. At the end of the day, the goal is simple.
It is to stay in the game long enough to win.
Not just once, but consistently. And in most cases, consistency will outperform aggression. Every single time.
From LUX, With Love
Matt
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