Should I pay off my debt or start a business? Please Help?

All of the answers here are based upon a single assumption about debt: debt can only be bad. This is not true, and I will help you to navigate your way through this dilema.

First, you need to understand something. Most of the people you run into do not have any formal training in "Financial Literacy." They don't know what to do with money, or how to do it or who to do it with or even why. Not tryig to put them down this is just a plain fact.

Be care with this: the average person that hits the lottery (has a windfall cash infusion) is in the same (bad) financial position they were in previously within two years.

Unfortunately, most financial advisors can't help you either bc the entirety of their training is based upon helping someone get to "retirement": when the money does them no good to make any MORE money!

I know all these people mean well, but IF they really knew what to do they'd be doing it - and giving you a decisive plan to do it. You seem to want to go beyond the levels of "Security" and "Comfort" that Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" describes: you impress me that you want to be "Rich." I say this bc you are asking if you should take your money and use it to make more money (which is what the rich do) or spend it all, have no debt, but no way to make more.

I will answer this in several ways, in the hopes to raise your financial literacy on the subject: your "Intellegence Quotient" (I.Q.)

First, you need to buy a few items. Two are the financial literacy games that Robert Kiyosaki created, CASHFLOW 101 and CASHFLOW 202. These are like getting an MBA in Personal Business Finance within a few hours. Please do not do the online thing: play the actual board game. The reason is you will learn how the cashflow patterns of the poor, middle class (what you will remain if you pay off all your debt), and the rich. You will also learn how to write out a cursory Income Statement and Balance Sheet, and do this in such a manner that it becomes a regular financial tool that you are inimately familiar with. This is an important aspect of your training. With it you will know how to read the numbers and act accordingly, without it you are forced to asking people for financial advice that don't know you, your situation, or understand what they are really dealing with - or know HOW to deal with it.

I cannot tell you what to do but I can tell you HOW I came to the level of confidence and understanding I now have about such matters. What you are really seeking is the knowledge on how to identify and manage RISK and OPPORTUNITY. This is based upon your ability to create a sound plan, have sound resources behind you - which includes a SMART team that are all working on YOUR common objective and doing the "due dillegence" that you need to make sound business decisions. That makes "retirement" a low priority in case you were wondering, so no one on your Advisory Team should have that as the primary objetives at this point.

What I did was play CASHFLOW 101 (get it at www.RichDad.com or look it up on Ebay.com to get a discount - but RK's website typically will bundle special packages together and you might consider joining their Affiliate program) as much as I could - which meant mostly alone. I would play various scenarios, and I suggest you do the same: heavy debt, light debt, RE only, stock only, pay off debt first, pay off debt last, etc. What you are doing is practicing HOW to become rich! You will find as you play enough (100 hours or more) that the moves you should make become second nature to you. You can almost "feel" where you are financially as you go through a given scenario....

Do not try to be too frustrated at first. The game will show you EXACTLY what your CURRENT fianancial literacy level is - based upon what you do (which is based upon what your strategy/approach to money is). If you want to crack up, play with a banker! Also, understand most people are really clueless when it comes to money so be patient when playing with others (don't "correct" them): let them make their mistakes (as is their right) and come to their own cognitions and conclusions. Really, the REAL reason you want to play with others is to (quietly) learn from their mistakes.

Again, this is how most people ARE living their lives financially, and these are life lessons that are invaluable: playing this game alot with other inables you to gain many, many lifetimes worth of experience. I suggest you hold any game with absolutely new people to two hours so as not to tire them out, then have them discuss with you what they learned - if anything. I always show the RK video to folks before we play: an absolute essential (then they won't resent you if/when they fail at the game the first few times - at least they'll know what and why the made "mistakes").

It will take you about 20-40 hours before you learn to "do the dance well" in this game: get your "sea legs." AFter that point, you ar