If you haven’t noticed, we live in a consumerism society where we are bombarded by advertisements that compel us to spend on things we don’t need. Some things are definitely worth spending up on. But for everything else, save your money.

Like many people, I have debt. Although my debt is tied to property, which tends to appreciate over time, it’s still debt that I plan on getting rid of by 2027. I don’t have any revolving credit card debt because their interest rates are absurdly high.

Earlier this year, I got rid of $815,000 of debt by selling a rental house for roughly 30X annual gross rent. I don’t miss the rental income because I don’t miss the $3,400 monthly mortgage, the $23,000 in annual property tax, the $3,000 in annual maintenance, the $2,000 in annual insurance, and pain in the ass tenants.

Despite the large pay down, I still have about $1,000,000 in debt spread between my primary residence and my vacation rental in Lake Tahoe. Simple math states that if I can pay down $100,000 a year, I will be debt free in 10 years. Here’s an easy strategy for how I plan to get there relatively painlessly that I recommend you follow as well.

I’ve got around $1,800,000 in home equity locked up in one property. The property was originally purchased for $1,520,000 at the end of 2004 with $305,000 down and a $1,217,000 mortgage. The property is now worth an estimated $2,600,000 with a remaining $800,000 mortgage at 2.375%.

Although it’s nice to have $1,800,000 of home equity (31% LTV), it’s essentially “dead money” that’s doing little to improve my net worth or lifestyle. I controlled this property when my equity was only $305,000 after the initial downpayment, so the leverage power is no longer as strong.

Because roughly 67% of the average homeowner’s wealth is trapped in home equity, being “house rich, cash poor” is a common situation. As a result, homeowners have traditionally turned to home equity lines of credit (HELOC) to extract equity to pay for life’s many expenses.

One look online and you’ll find that HELOC rates are generally 1% – 2% higher than your current mortgage rate e.g. 3.75% for a 30-year-fixed vs. 5% for a HELOC. In addition to higher interest rates, using a home like an ATM machine may get homeowners who lack discipline in trouble down the road.

If only there was a better way to extra home equity at a lower cost. Enter Patch Homes.

The decision to pay off debt or invest is a personal one that depends on a lot of factors: risk tolerance, your number of income streams, liquidity needs, family expenses, job security, investing acumen, retirement age, inflation forecasts, and bullishness about your future in general.

I’ve had hundreds of people ask me this question about paying down debt or invest over the years. As a result, I’ve racked my brain for months to figure out a viable Debt / Invest framework solution that can be used by many.

The solution I’ve come up with is called, “Financial Samurai’s DAIR” or “FS DAIR” for short. The idea is to come up with something easy to remember, challenging, logical, and effective, much like the 1/10th rule for car buying to help folks maximize their wealth. Even though plenty of people have objected to my 1/10th rule for being too restrictive, I strongly believe the rule has helped people minimize financial regret and boost the incredible feeling of progress and financial security.

Since we are all CFOs of our finances, we need to figure out the most efficient use of capital. My goal is to make personal finance simple so ACTION can be taken. All talk and no action leads to nothing. I’d like to “DAIR” you to follow my debt pay down rule to achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later.