I have a big chunk of cash(-equivalent) on the side because I have basically a non-funded pillar2, don’t like bond, and don’t have a risk tolerance to invest 100% in stocks or other volatile assets.
I own a paid-off house, not my primary home though - a @cubanpete_the_swiss -like abroad stuff, but having own RE without debt is not a common setup here, so I guess it’s interesting looking at it from a debt-is-debt total accounting.
So I’m debt-free. Leveraging (cheap) debt would also be mental accounting since I have cash. Wouldn’t it ?
On the other side that’s free money in current conditions (I have 0.5%, considering I can deduct them from taxes and current yield on the cash side, it’s a small positive carry just considering the chf part - but won’t last), and any financial advisor considering my balance sheet would say I “lack” debt.
On the other hand I like @finalcountdown approach, I think they’re debt-free, rich, and as far as I understand, illiquid-asset-free as well.
(The house for me is multi-purposes, incl. Post-retirement non-digital life, but I am deeply emotionally detached from the object and I’m quite the opposite of a homebody).