That is the key to ‘New Capitalism’ as Robert Kiyosaki would call it.

BUT!!! Before you all go out and whack new TV’s and cars on the credit card, you gotta be smart. Mr Kiyosaki makes the 2 different types of debt very apparent! There is good debt and bad debt.

Good debt is debt that makes you money, bad debt costs you money. Simple I know, but we all have a tendency to get it wrong! Basically, the difference is Assets vs Liabilities. An Asset is something that puts money in your pocket every month, a liability loses you money every month.

For example -

Car = liability (unless it makes you money as a Taxi for instance)

House = liability (unless it is rented and makes you money, all costs considered, every month)

Tbh, nearly everything that we buy is a liability, we buy it and it costs us every month, usually due to depreciation. So the plan of attack is to only buy things that make us money every month.

The greatest example of how more debt = more income is in buy to let properties. Just as long as the monthly rental covers the mortgage, management fees, maintenance etc and gives us an income on top, then we are winning! We will be earning passive income. Basically, once set up, we get money from it ad infinitum. I like to envisage assets as little engines that once started keep running, producing cash, and occassionally need a little maintenance.

That is the ‘Get Rich in the New Captalism Plan’ that appears to have worked for many people.

I hear you say, ‘But I don’t want any debt at all’, which is fair enough… But think how long it will take to save up for a house for example without a mortgage… It could take 10 years! Why not turn every £1 you have into £10 with the help of the banks money? And still get a return? Just need to make sure that the figures add up, so it doesn’t end up costing you!

Bearing in mind we all have a penchant for being in debt, this is surely a goldmine solution to all of our money problems!!

So, I ring Mum to tell her what may or may not be happening with Cartel and she was unimpressed. ‘You have a great house and are lucky to have a mortgage’ she said, which I totally agree with. In this climate there are many first-time buyers that cannot get the mortgage to get their first property, which is a growing problem.

So after the call I sat back and thought about what I have to lose. I am a single man with no dependents. I looked at what it would be like if I lost everything. Tbh, I think I would get a great sense of calm come over me, a whole new sense of freedom. I would be able to rent a room in a house somewhere and as long as there is an internet connection, I would be fine.

I think underneath I am very much an individual, I am not reliant on much.. Just a bag of clothes and a laptop is all I need to keep me going. So to have nothing else would be a liberator for me.

On the other hand, in that scenario, I would be able to use what I am learning to better effect. I would not have the biggest liability in my portfolio and if I were to get another house I would be using what I now know to find a better purchase.

Onwards and Upwards!

Bang on time at 10.30 this morning, Dorian, the rep from Cartel came around and we started talking about property. He seems to know quite a bit about what I am trying to get into and was keen to help me out if I needed it. A really nice guy too.

Turns out that my mortgage may be a goer in that it might not be an enforceable contract. Best case scenario is that my mortgage may be wiped out! Sounds exciting, but I am not keeping my hopes up, and to be honest, if that were to happen I have a feeling I might have a huge sense of guilt.. Because it doesn’t really seem fairplay, but then again, neither does paying back £2.10 for every £1 borrowed if I think about it. I have paid back around £500 a month for the last 4 years, on rough average, and have only paid off £5000 off the loan! Bear in mind, I’m spending £6000 a year on paying it back.. How does that add up?

We’ll see what happens anyway.

Dorian also had some ideas about other money saving methods and some sites that he runs which I will post later.

I have heard of Cartel before now, but got reminded about them at the property and finance course I went on. What these guys do is look into your credit agreements and determine whether or not the contracts are enforceable.

I also heard adverts on the radio, generally geared around the ‘struggling with your debt scenario’, but I thought I would try them out anyway.. In a best case scenario they could wipe out my mortgage!!

I contacted them and got a call back from a really nice guy, who bizarrely went on a very similar course to the one I did. I gave him the details of my mortgage etc yesterday and by lunchtime today I got an answer.

The rough pre-requisites for the agreements are, if I remember rightly -

• Mortgages taken out before 2006
• Other credit agreements taken out before 2007

Sadly, my mortgage was a no-goer but my credit card was. This leaves me in a juxtaposition, as I am trying to increase my lines of credit and, for the relatively small gain, I may sour the relationship with my chief creditor! So, I am going to talk that over with the guy on Friday. But, I have potentially sourced 2 more customers for him if I do indeed pull out.

Check out Cartel‘s website and have a look at what is involved (bear in mind this is UK only). A quick way to register is to  text ‘clear’ to 60777 and wait for a call back.