Home vs education. Which debt is better to take and why?

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D1 that is a short sighted view. Debt is not bad if handled appropriately. People from low and middle class families may not have had the fortune to have college paid for by their parents. Government backed student loans are some of the most advantageous debt from a borrower perspective. There are so many relief programs that are out there (income base repayments that are forgiven in 20 years, public student loan forgiveness, forbearance, etc.). In addition, using student loans to get an education—albeit in an appropriate field of study—will result in increased cash flows in perpetuity and allow that low or middle income student to move up in society.

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"Value" of student debt is directly tied to increased earnings over the remaining portion of your career. Going to a private school and racking up huge student loan debt is fine if you come out and are able to land a high paying and secure job. If you end up in a big 4 start class with others that went to a cheap state school for the same degree and same salary and career trajectory then it was not worth it.

"Value" of mortgage debt is relative to the cost of renting including all related expenses and what you'd do with the extra cash if renting was cheaper. Also, there is value to me of having my own space, no "upstairs neighbors," and stability. Had I invested instead of buying a house I'd have more money right now but we couldn't handle apartment life.

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I’d change your mindset. Debt is never good. If you could pay for everything cash, you should. Which is less bad? I’d argue home is less bad because you can get out of it with bankruptcy.

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Agree with A1: Debt decisions should be rate driven and tax benefit driven. Not asking to go get debt just because rates are cheap now. But if you are trying to make a cash payment to buy a house where interest rates are less than 3% (not to mention interests tax deductible) and trying to pay cash where 0% interest rate for new cars or 2% rate for used, those are not good financial decisions. This is not your parents’ or grandparents’ economy anymore. Just put that excess cash in market index.

Mortgage loans typically have lower rates. Education tends to vary and there’s no asset you can use as collateral if you can’t make payments

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Is your education going to be an MBA from a top B school? If not I'd say focus on getting a certification. If you're doing it for a career change, that's a different convo. My personal perspective is that if you are not looking to jump from PA, buy the house

I’m thinking of MBA or Master Degree in Data Science . Which certification that you recommend is valuable right now except PMP? Thank you.

Mortgage default they can take away your house, education defualt they can garnish your wages.

Most people would never have an issue with either so if you need to borrow i would take the lower interest rate.

it's no right or wrong answer...all depends based on a number of factors and will vary from individual to individual. Typically it's usually education before home as an education can set you up to afford a decent home in a decent neighborhood. Too much debt of either is never a good thing.

A degree from MIT is more valuable than a shack in West Virginia. An apartment in manhattan is more valuable than a degree from trump university. Context is necessary in order to give a decent answer to your question.

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