By Gabriele Denaro · Published 20 September 2026 · Updated 6 October 2026
A rough but useful line: debt taken on to buy something that holds or grows in value, such as a home or an education with real earning potential, behaves differently from debt that pays for spending already gone by the time the bill arrives, such as a card balance for things you have consumed. Even the first kind is only good if the payments are sustainable.
A €5,000 card balance at 18% costs €900 a year in interest. A €150,000 mortgage at 3.5% costs about €5,250 in interest in the first year, on a much larger amount and for something that holds value. They are not comparable risks, even though both are called debt.
Repaying a debt at 18% is the same as earning 18% on that money with no risk, and no investment can promise that. That is why paying off high-interest debt usually comes before investing more aggressively. It also needs a basic emergency cushion, so the next surprise does not put you back on the card.
Borrowing to buy a home is not automatically wise: a mortgage that eats most of your income leaves no room for savings or surprises. Borrowing to invest magnifies losses as well as gains. The label depends on the numbers, not on the category.
That is why Patrimony keeps a remaining debt figure on each asset separate from its value. A mortgage balance shrinking and a home's value changing are two different things, and seeing both shows which one is doing the work.
General educational information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. It may be incomplete or out of date. Terms of use.