It's all philosophical.
I can't remember the classic book (Maybe "Richest Man In Babylon"), but the philosophy of the book was "Pay yourself first."
The idea is, and it's true for the most part, you will always have some form of obligation to someone (debt) in your life. It's just something that comes along with you for the ride in life. If you wait until you are debt-free to invest, you will never invest.
I've invested at some of the most "leveraged" times in my life and never really regretted it. For instance, when I graduated chiropractic school, I had $53,000 in debt, a new mortgage and was starting a business. Yet, that year(s), I max out my wife's and my Roth IRA.
Do you know how golden of a decision that was?
What if I had done a "Dave Ramsey" and decided to just pour everything into debt reduction?
So, I do mostly agree with the mantra - "Pay Yourself First." In that, I may be kinda "anti-Dave Ramsey."
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