Business debt: This time, it's personal
Do you view personal debt and business debt the same way? I have about $210,000 in farm loans that are mostly tied up in land I rent to farmers. It’s the only debt I have, and the rental prices supply me an income of about $200,000 a year.
Dear Dave,
Do you view personal debt and business debt the same way? I have about $210,000 in farm loans that are mostly tied up in land I rent to farmers. It's the only debt I have, and the rental prices supply me an income of about $200,000 a year.
Anne
Dear Anne,
Your debt required you to personally sign for it, right? So, it's all personal debt. The law is going to treat you exactly the same if you don't pay a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan as the law treats you with an unsecured personal line of credit. You're still going to get your butt sued, and they're still going to come take your stuff or garnish your wages. It's debt! The only way it's personal debt versus business debt is in your mind.
If I'm in your shoes, I'm going to live on as little as I can and pay this off like I was trying to pay off a house. If I made $200,000 a year on investments, and everything was paid for except one of my investments, how quickly would I pay that one investment off? Two years. In your situation, surely you can live on $100,000 a year!
-Dave
Dave Ramsey is America's trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover,EntreLeadership and Smart Money Smart Kids. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.