The right way to borrow

Summary: Zero-cost EMIs make life look easy, but they can quietly wreck your finances. This piece breaks down the difference between productive and decorative debt, when to borrow, how to avoid slow-poison EMIs, and how to reach debt freedom faster. Walk into any electronics store today and you’ll hear it within minutes: “Sir, zero-cost EMI is available.” That one line sums up our times. Buy-now, pay-later has become a way of life. From phones to furniture, EMIs have turned wants into needs and patience into an outdated virtue. Well, borrowing isn’t bad. In fact, it’s often brilliant. The right loan can help you move ahead in life without waiting for years and watching your goals slip away. But the line between smart borrowing and silent self-sabotage is painfully thin. When debt builds, not breaks Some goals can’t wait. You can’t delay buying a home forever. You can’t postpone your child’s education or a course that could double your income. In such moments, borrowing isn’t a weakness, it’s a leverage. They are very much counted as productive debt, the kind that builds your future. But the kind that buys holidays, cars or gadgets is decorative debt. It makes life look rich and actually makes you poor. Remember one simple test: If what you’re buying won’t help you grow in the future, it’s probably not worth financing with a loan. The loan landscape You should know that loans broadly come in two flavours: collateralised and un-collaterali

This article was originally published on November 20, 2025.