No one says you need to invest it in the stock market though. There are plenty of assets one can acquire, that are not directly connected to the stock market. Use some debt to acquire them, and good returns can be made, even in small(er) deals.
Gambling on debt sounds like a sure-fire way to end up with even more debt. And that's what most investment boils down to: A gamble
Profit isn't generated out of thin air, somebody has to be the sucker and pay for it, those are usually the losers of aforementioned gambles.
Dating? Hell, you can't even get to know someone properly in 6+ months. Taking a job? It's all rainbows and unicorns unless you work there for a 6-12 months, etc.
You act as if investing is bad. You're never going to make any meaningful amount of money if you don't invest (in the broadest sense, this could be in yourself, in your business, in the stock market, in alternative assets, etc).
Debt magnifies the result of your investment. Whether you make a good or bad investment is ultimately up to you. Moderate debt isn't a real issue. The interest is often also tax deductible. It sure as hell makes more sense taking on debt for investing than it does taking on debt to (excessively) spend (as most Americans do).
Indeed, it's all about risk-management and in that regard gambling on debt represents a way higher risk, one I would not take, than gambling on savings you actually own.
With the latter, you at least have some control over the worst case scenario, while gambling on debt throws any control like that straight out of the window as debt can spiral out of control very quickly that way.
> The interest is often also tax deductible. It sure as hell makes more sense taking on debt for investing than it does taking on debt to (excessively) spend (as most Americans do).
Sure, it does make more sense but consumer credits are mostly short-term and as such somewhat more manageable for debtors with no real income security. Long-term investment credits, which usually have way better interest rates, are simply out of reach for many of these people because they lack the secure long-term income and/or can't make the required deposit.
Also, say you can acquire a plot of land you want to hold for a long time, and you can acquire it with 10% cash down + pay < 1% annual interest on a secured loan, you'd be an idiot not to take on the debt. Take the remaining cash and invest it somewhere with a higher yield.
It depends, is probably the correct answer here. :)
Disclaimer: this is not investment advice. Do not take investment advice from Internet comments.
Unless you're talking short term, put it in a total stock market index fund and forget about it.