When Sean Cooper burned his mortgage papers after going to
extremes to pay off his house in three years, he never imagined it would get
folks so fired up.
But after CBC
News reported Cooper's story late last year, reader comments flooded
the internet, either praising or reviling the 30-year-old's financial
achievement.
"What is he going to do next, buy a car and sell one of
his kidneys to pay for it?" snarled one reader.
An era of cheap interest rates has helped ignite an
escalating and troubling household debt binge. The topic has become such a
touchy one it can spark polarized opinions, finger pointing and even
contempt.
Fuelling the debt fire
Not wanting to face a lifetime of debt, Cooper
sacrificed three years of his life to pay down a $255,000 mortgage on a
$425,000 Toronto home he bought in 2012.
He worked up to 100 hours a week at three jobs: pension
analyst; financial writer; and
supermarket clerk. Naturally, the bachelor's social life suffered. Cooper also
lived like a pauper, maintaining a strict budget and residing in the basement
so he could collect rent on the rest of his house.
His story generated more than 2,000 comments on CBC News
sites.
"Well done! Worked your butt off to get away from
debt," wrote a jubilant reader about Cooper's accomplishment. But others
had only harsh words.
"He'll probably die young," opined one reader.
"What a load of horse patty," posted another, adding, "Work
yourself to an early grave!"
Someone else chided, "Sean Cooper is the most boring
man on earth. Life's [too] short to live like a hobbit."
Readers also invented details about Cooper's life such as
claiming he got his $170,000 down payment from his parents. Cooper
said he saved the cash himself by, yes, living frugally.
Media across the globe have now jumped on the story and also taken
sides. "Well done, big fella, congratulations, an inspirational
guy," gushed host David Koch on the Australian breakfast television
program, Sunrise.
Cooper appeared on the Australian breakfast television program Sunrise in December, where the hosts praised his accomplishment. (Sunrise)
But America's Slate magazine had a different take, stating
Cooper's story implied our money troubles were entirely our own fault. The Slate
articlesuggested cash-strapped people wanted real economic change rather
than just "inspirational stories of sacrifice and pluck."
Shaming and blaming
So just how much of our debt is our fault and
why has Cooper's story ignited such a furor?
There's no denying some Canadians have money troubles.
Thanks in large part to fat mortgages, Canada's
debt-to-income ratio is at a record high — on average people now
owe $1.64 for every dollar of disposable income they earn.
Cooper said he understands not everyone is in a
position to live the single, super frugal life. But he believes many lack the
willpower to pay down their mortgage more quickly and that's what inspired the
nasty comments.
"They have different priorities in life, so I guess
it's just easier to kind of hate-on me for trying to accomplish this because
they aren't willing to do [it]," he said.
Financial writer Kerry
K. Taylor agrees many people are not motivated to make the extra
effort.
"Saving's hard," she said. "We want our stuff
and we want it now," added Taylor, who lives her own frugal lifestyle
with her family in Toronto.
She
has also written about the Cooper story and suggests his feat inspired
hate because many of us don't want to confront our own money problems.
"It's easier to poke holes in his lifestyle rather than take nuggets of
advice from it."
Taylor added that we have no one to blame but ourselves for
our debt. "Look in the mirror," she said.
Understanding the haters
Kitchener-based bankruptcy trustee Doug
Hoyes is more sympathetic to the haters. While he applauds Cooper's
accomplishment, he said the 30-year-old's extreme methods are out of reach
for many. "That is not realistic for a single mother of a two-year-old
kid," he said.
He suggests some people find Cooper's story offensive
because they are not in a position to achieve the same goal.
"It could be interpreted that the finger is being
pointed at me. Why am I not working 100 hours a week?"
Hoyes also believes individuals shouldn't shoulder all the
blame. While he feels personal choice definitely contributes to debt, so
can many other factors such as bad luck, one's health, a tough economy and
policies that allow easy access to massive loans.
Cooper takes it in stride
For those who are inspired by Cooper's
achievement, he'll soon be offering his services. In addition to his current
pension analyst and freelance writer gigs, he's planning a new venture:
advising people how to get rid of their mortgage faster.
He's working on a book on the same topic. The working title
is "Burn Your Mortgage."
He admits if he had do it again, he'd probably take a couple
of more years to wipe out his debt so he would have had more time for
socializing. But Cooper wants the haters to know that mortgage-free life is
great.
"I'm in a financial situation that people are typically
in in their 50s or 60s and I'm only 30 years old, so that's a nice feeling to
have," he said.
Cooper's now owns his $425,000 home mortgage free. To help quickly pay off his mortgage, Cooper lived in the basement and rented out the rest of the house.
