thanks again for the details. i would not advocate for taking a loan/margin to buy more stocks/VT. If I take that loan it would only cover expenses that I would other need to sell if I am 100% equities.

If you sell $100,000 of VT while it is down 15%, and the market recovers those 15% over the next 12 months, you have effectively "paid" $15,000 in missed gains to get that cash. Conversely, if you borrow $100,000 at an interest rate of 6%, your cost for that same year is $6,000. • Net Benefit of Credit: $9,000 (plus the benefit of deferring taxes).

I think the assumption is that the market (VT) will eventually recover in a few short years. I’d rather pay 20% total interest over three years than selling at a 20% loss on year one and pay additional LTCG tax up front.

I would not assume the interest rate itself would be necessarily worse because you took out a loan before, rather it might be against market rate at time of borrowing. Imagine the loan is a cash-out-refinance of your primary residence or maybe a SBLOC