'if you haven't the brass in your pocket you cant afford it' that rings true today.
I've never liked the idea of being in debt or renting stuff as it removes options. You can't tell your boss to Eff Off if you need to keep your job to make this month's credit card payments.
That so rang an accord with me, I was fortunate to work for a really good employer that paid well above the industry norm but was quite demanding of you. They sucked you in deeper by giving you more money hoping you would get a bigger house etc and therefore become more financially indebted and therefore more dependant upon them and so the screw turned. In the late 80's after a final 2 year spell of a 5 year stint abroad, where they paid for everything in a beautiful home I had enough savings to pay off my mortgage. Paying off that mortgage removed a shackle and the dependency tie to the company, lifting a weight and an obligation from my shoulders. So much so they noticed a change in my approach, the MD pulled me to one side after a Board meeting having noted there's something different since coming back to the UK, I never let on, but it did change my approach to everything. I remained with the company for quite a few years after, but they had lost that effective control over my finances and therefore me. Since then I have been completely debt free and pay cash for everything and never place myself under any financial obligation to anyone
