‘Facebook Founder’ Shares His Wisdom
You know what The Teller is always looking for? No, not that.
The Teller is constantly on the lookout for tips and advice for just about every aspect of our life. Restaurants. Other, er, "entertainment venues." You get the idea. Also high on that list is financial advice. The Teller likes reading up on what to do with the few bucks we can put aside, invest or blow on useless, empty status symbols.
We’ve read "Good to Great," and just about all the other bullcrap, mentor-in-a-box business books we could get our hands on.
But when we received an email claiming to contain "Money Lessons from the Facebook Founder," we realized the marketing for these kinds of things has obviously gone way too far.
This email purports to show us ordinary Joes and Josephines that "the Facebook Founder" Mark Zuckerberg is a canny and accomplished money manager by telling us that he – gasp! – borrowed in order to purchase his $6 million Palo Alto, Calif., home.
Well congratulations, Ike Ikokwu – "The Financial Independence Coach" who brought us this bolt from the blue – for letting us in on the little known fact that debt can be characterized as "good" or "bad," and that a mortgage is generally considered "good" debt.
"The question I keep hearing folks ask is, ‘Why does a billionaire like Mark need a mortgage on his home? Why doesn’t he just pay it off with cash?’" Ikokwu says.
It’s because then he would have less cash. Thanks, Ike.
"Mark ascribes to my definition of being debt-free," Ikokwu says.
Somehow The Teller doubts it.
Zuckerberg is a smart guy. Lucky, too. The Teller seriously doubts he needed "The Financial Independence Coach" to let him know he’d be better off borrowing to buy his home. That way he can have a liquid asset and his cash. Brilliant.
The Teller wants to point out one thing that "The Financial Independence Coach" does not: Zuckerberg, as far as billionaires go, has bought a modestly priced home. He hasn’t overpaid. He could have afforded much more. By Palo Alto standards, $6 million isn’t exactly top of the market.
In light of that, The Teller has some financial advice for you, too: Borrow less than you qualify for.
