Debt Can Build Your Empire—or Burn It Down

There are two types of debt:

• Smart debt, which allows you to leverage your earning ability.
• Foolish debt such as instant gratification purchases, financing imprudent, unnecessary, or reckless consumption.

Running up stupid debt is one of the most serious threats to your prosperity you will face. Foolish debt is a prison best left as soon as possible.

It makes no sense to invest $1,000 that is getting you a six or eight percent return trying to grow wealth, while you have $30,000 in credit card debt that you’re getting zinged 27 percent interest on.  If you’re completely debt-free, you’re in the driver’s seat to start exponentially increasing your net worth. If you still are holding some foolish debt, then your next step is creating your…

Get Out of Foolish Debt Plan…

Debt is a prison. I’ve been there; seen friends in worse. Nothing kills your prosperity faster than letting borrowed money own you. Your credit cards, car loan, upside‑down mortgage… they all quietly drain your energy, dim your self‑worth, and shut the door on abundance. Let’s kick that door open!

This is not theory. This is a roadmap I used personally to completely erase all foolish debt from my life.  It’s radical, relentless, and real. Follow it. Do the work. Then watch what happens.

Step 1: Get the Naked Truth
You can’t fix what you won’t face.

• Pull every statement you’ve got: credit cards, store cards, car loans, personal loans — everything.
• List every balance, every interest rate, every minimum payment.
• Make a master list. Give yourself no hiding places.
• Find the debts that are bleeding you worst (highest rates). These are your priority targets.

Step 2: Make a Cold, Clear Promise (No Emotion, Full Strategy)
Emotion will kill this plan. Clarity saves it.

• Decide: “I WILL pay off the worst debt first.” Then map monthly by line item, including minimums on all others plus extra on the highest rate.
• Commit: no new bad debt. Stop adding to the hole.
• If a card tempts you — the fine points matter: late fees, cash advances, penalty rates — kill the temptation. Cancel the card or freeze it.
• Don’t revolve balances. Use cash or use only what you know you can pay off immediately.

Step 3: Negotiate & Disrupt the Terms
You don’t have to be a victim of high interest. Money isn’t always fixed; there’s leverage.

• Call every creditor with interest over 12%. Tell them you’re shopping balance‑transfer offers and better rates elsewhere. Ask if they’ll lower your APR. Many will do this on the spot, simply because you took the time to call and ask.
• Consider balance transfers if they make sense. If one card is charging 25–30% and someone is offering 5–6% for 12–18 months, that’s a golden window. Use it. But don’t use it as a crutch to just delay the problem.
• Watch out for fine print: skipped payments, deferred interest, increase after promotional period. Know what you’re stepping into.

Step 4: Kill Consumer Debt, Smartly Buy Big Treasures
Some debts are worse than others. But all debt that doesn’t serve you is dangerous.

• Cars: Never buy a new car while you're upside‑down on the old one. That negative spread gets thrown into the financing of your next car, and you pay multiple times for it.
• If you need a car before you're debt‑free, buy “almost new” or gently used. Use warranties. Check histories, condition. Avoid high depreciation.
• Homes and mortgages: same principle—don’t let debt for these things cripple you. Buy within your means. If you can pay cash without wiping out your life, do it. If not, structure so you’re not living in financial fear.

Step 5: Build a Budget That Ignites, Not Inhibits
A budget isn’t about deprivation; it’s about direction.

• Set a strict budget for your life. Food. Holidays. Gifts. Entertainment. Do this ahead of time. Plan.
• Every dollar “saved” goes toward your debt‑kill fund. Then when those debts expire, redirect that same cash toward something that builds you up (wealth, giving, significance).

Step 6: Celebrate Progress & Keep the Motivation Live
You will need emotional fuel to stay in this fight.

• Celebrate each debt paid off. Big or small. That’s momentum.
• Visualize being debt free. What would your life feel like? What doors open? Let that vision burn in you.
• Daily reminders: affirmations, journaling, mirror work (yes, mirror work even for money stuff). You are not a debtor; you are becoming debt‑free.

Step 7: Shift from Debt‑Avoidant to Wealth‑Proactive
Once you've removed bad debt, don’t just rest. Build.

• Work on opening new platforms of income or resource generation. More income gives you leverage.
• Align your spending with your values. Buy what matters. Everything else is noise.
• Protect your peace: avoid returning to the same debt patterns. Upgrade your identity: you are someone who lives above debt, not under it.

Why this matters…

Because debt isn’t just financial. It’s spiritual. It’s emotional. It robs you of confidence, of choice, of power. But when you dismantle it—you reclaim yourself. You get time. Mental space. Energy. And that returns to you in every quadrant of prosperity: wellness, resources, harmony, significance.

If I were you, I’d run through this plan in 90 days (for most consumer debt). Six to 12 months max for bigger obligations if you follow fully. Don’t flirt with shortcuts—they cost more in faith, freedom, and ROI later.

Debt That Builds You…

Not all debt is created equal.

Some debt is toxic, like financial crystal meth. It gives you a temporary high (the new shoes, the upgraded OLED TV, the Vegas weekend), followed by a brutal comedown of regret, interest payments, and energy leaks.

But other debt? Used intentionally, it’s leverage. And leverage, when applied correctly, is a superpower of wealth building. It’s what you do to make sure you wake up every morning wealthier than you were when you went to sleep the night before.

If you borrow $400 to buy a new television because your old one doesn’t have Dolby Vision, you're just another ignorant consumer trapped in the Matrix. (Getting played by the financial system we discussed in chapter 7.)

But if you borrow $400,000 to buy an income-producing property that throws off monthly cash flow, appreciates in value, and lets you legally deduct depreciation on your taxes—you’re a wealth-building machine. You just used debt to buy an asset instead of a liability.

This ain’t rocket science: Broke people spend money on things that make them poorer.  Wealthy people spend money on things that make them richer. Ask a simple question: Does this debt make me poorer or richer?

If it creates cash flow, appreciates over time, or increases your capability to earn more—it’s smart debt.
If it just scratches an emotional itch or gives you a dopamine hit—it’s stupid debt.

This is how you flip the script from being owned by debt to owning wealth with it.

• Getting out of bad debt is phase one.
• Using strategic debt as a wealth lever is phase two.
• Becoming the kind of person who never needs to impress anyone with what they bought is phase three.

This chapter wasn’t just about escaping. It’s about ascending.
Debt, like fire, can either burn your house down—or power your empire.  Choose mindfully.

Peace,

- RG

P.S. If you’re committed—ice-cold, rock-solid, absolutely-locked committed, to manifesting more prosperity in your life—then you definitely belong in the next cohort of my Breakthrough U Program. Really.  It’s not starting until January 1^st, but I can tell you that spots at the highly coveted Alchemist and Anarchist levels are filling up. They might all be gone before the program is announced.  As blog readers, you can apply early and lock in your spot. Get all the details here.

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