I feel this is a bit of strawman, though that may not be your intent.
As I mentioned in the above comment, wanting to avoid hurting your long term for the short term is fine and admirable. However, I think the distinction between "unavoidable" and "avoidable" debt is somewhat facile and unrealistic. It's a continuum, with points scattered throughout the center. Is this decision the best one? That is debatable, and should be debated, but the result won't be "yes debt" or "no debt".
I also said that if someone is shooting for "Zero debt" they should talk with their devs and make sure everyone is using words to mean the same thing. I continue to stand by that, because however clean and rational your personal definition may be, it's worthless if that's not the meaning anyone else is using.
