It takes some perspective to see (gathering stats from wwikipedia.org): --------------------------------------- Gross Domestic Product of Top Ten Countries =

It takes some perspective to see (gathering stats from wwikipedia.org): --------------------------------------- Gross Domestic Product of Top Ten Countries ======================================= United States 13,843,825,000,000 Japan 4,383,762,000,000 Germany 3,322,147,000,000 China 3,250,827,000,000 France 2,772,570,000,000 United Kingdom 2,560,255,000,000 Italy 2,104,666,000,000 California 1,812,968,000,000 Spain 1,438,959,000,000 Canada 1,432,140,000,000 --------------------------------------- Country External debt of Top Ten Countries ======================================= United States 13,450,000,000,000 United Kingdom 9,088,000,000,000 Germany 5,208,000,000,000 France 5,021,000,000,000 Netherlands 3,733,000,000,000 Spain 2,410,000,000,000 Italy 2,328,000,000,000 Ireland 2,287,000,000,000 Japan 2,132,000,000,000 Luxembourg 1,994,000,000,000 --------------------------------------- If I was to be concerned about any country it would be England. They are 6th in GDP, but #2 in external debt. To make things simple: • Fred has a salary of $13,843,825.00/year and buys a $13,450,000.00 house via a loan. • Jane has a salary of $2,560,255.00/year and buys a $9,088,000.00 house via a loan. Now, which one do you think has the potential pay off the loan early?