I had a conversation with a friend recently about how becoming a parent made him a better worker. Wanting to provide the best for his kids, he felt the pressure to be more productive because he needed to support two additional mouths each day. He mentioned how he was earning more money than ever before. If you had asked him two years before he became a dad whether he could afford having kids, he would have said, “Of course not, I barely make enough to support myself!” But now, they drive a big car and take vacations to the US or other exotic locations annually.

I approached my investments in a similar way. Many people might settle for a modest life, claiming they can’t afford kids, while others might rely on welfare to support their children. However, some, like my friend, are determined to provide for their kids once they have them.

When I graduated from college, I decided to invest despite the debt. With some savings, I bought my first rental property outright, after unsuccessfully trying to convince several banks to let me take out a loan for a bigger property. I was about to embark on a year-long trip around the world and couldn’t justify a stable income to cover a mortgage in case of a vacancy, and the banks wouldn’t accept my savings as collateral. Had I taken a job for just three months before my trip, I could have secured a mortgage and benefited from the significant rise in property values in Paris over the past decade. I eventually sold the property I bought in 2003 for double its price last year, but that’s another story. At that point, I was debt-free.

A few years later, once I had stable employment again, I decided to take on debt to grow my wealth. I bought a second property and even utilized consumer loans and 0% credit card balance transfers (with a 3-4% fee) to invest. I worked hard to find the money needed to repay those loans every month. Now that the second property is rented, it generates positive cash flow, even covering the last of my consumer loans. But when I lived in the property, I had to scrape together enough to cover all those repayments.

My mom and an old friend lent me money when the bank deemed my debt-to-income ratio too high. I never used that money for vacations, a new car, or fancy clothes. I borrowed because I believed the investment was solid and knew I could easily repay the loans, even if the investment took longer to pay off or didn’t work out as planned.

I wasn’t afraid to take on debt. The loans allowed me to enter the market sooner than if I had saved up, and the interest I paid was minimal compared to the returns I expected from investing. Even if some investments failed, I considered it a fair price for the potential gains and fast-tracked wealth building. I didn’t let fear cloud my judgment and adopted an aggressive investment strategy.

I was confident in my ability to earn more money, knowing the pressure to repay the loans would push me to work harder. Although the bank thought I had too much debt, it didn’t account for my work bonuses and various side hustles, and I was determined to prove them wrong.

I had multiple backup plans. I tutored at night in addition to my 9-to-5 job. I wrote for travel blogs, translated websites for friends, and waitressed at weddings on Saturday nights. At any given time, I had about six sources of income, and my day job was nearly as secure as a government job. I even took on roommates to share living expenses. At 25, my primary focus was achieving my goals, regardless of how tired or inconvenienced I felt after a long day.

By spending money only on what mattered to me, like good food and travel (mostly covered by my travel writing gigs), my other expenses were low. This allowed me to allocate large sums towards repaying my loans every month. By the time my investments paid off, the loans were already repaid, except for one consumer loan with hefty early repayment penalties, which wasn’t worth paying off early. But I had already made more from the investments than the combined principal and interest on the loan.

This accelerated wealth-building strategy enabled me to leave my day job three years ago, and by age 30, I was financially independent from my investments. I spent most of 2011 and 2012 traveling, then bought a house in Guatemala with cash last year.

I firmly believe in using debt to create wealth. Although the strategy is risky, without taking on debt, I might have settled for a more relaxed approach to building wealth, or worse, spent the money on consumer goods or vacations, delaying financial independence by decades.

What are your thoughts on going into debt to invest?