Debt-Free Forever Reviews
Debt-Free Forever
Tired of Getting to the End of the Money before You Get to the End of the Month? Wish You Were in Control?If you-re afraid to open your bills, if you-ve never added up how much you owe, if you can-t even imagine being debt-free, it-s time to join the thousands of people Gail Vaz-Oxlade has helped. Her straightforward approach to money management is based on self-control, hard work, and prioritizing what-s really important. Debt-Free Forever is Gail-s step-by-step guide, and she-ll show you how t
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(out of 5 reviews)
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Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
- ISBN13: 9780976079118
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Getting out of debt is only part of the plan. The reader learns how to give, save and build wealth using the Contingency Plan and Freedom Account along with the authors sound and proven principles.There are plenty of heavily pedigreed personal-finance experts dishing out good advice, but not many who know what it’s like to have to eat ramen all month to make a car payment. On the other hand, there’s Mary Hunt, a recovered credit card addict whose free-spending ways landed her family in the m
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(out of 141 reviews)
List Price: $ 16.99
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Debt Free (PC CD Jewel Case)
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Face the facts – we all use our credit cards to extreme, often times with little consideration of the ACTUAL cost of what that purchase means over the long term. Now you can fully grasp and evaluate your COMPLETE financial borrowing history and utilize strategies of professional credit counselors to YOUR advantage to ELIMINATE debt and IMPROVE your financial rating IMMEDIATELY! This software can be utilized by individuals with both GOOD and POOR credit standings. Financial consultants who advise
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Price: $ 34.99
Review by RAYT721 for Debt-Free Forever
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This is a decent book although I would not give a five star “exceptional” rating to it. I like the author’s conversational “tell it like it is” style. This book is clearly written for the oblivious reader who somehow woke from a coma and declared, “I wonder how in debt I am” and is on a mission to find out. That’s okay. There are people like that who must first see the magnitude of the problem before they can take the steps to acknowledging and working their way out. Vaz Oxlade pulls no punches in upfront telling the reader that the way out is not nearly as easy as the way into massive debt was. It’s going to take hard work. I personally would have liked to see more money-saving advice on how to get out because I have figured out the debt that I have to the penny before getting a hold of this book. All in all, however, the book is good for those who need a push to take on the project of becoming debt-free. In this case you CAN judge a book by its cover… it’s a “how to” book on acknowledging, getting out and staying out of debt forever! That is well worth the price of this book. Read the principles, apply them, and you can become and stay out of debt.
Review by D. Charles Drake for Debt-Free Forever
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As a TV viewer turned reader, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Gail’s book. It showed me how to make percentages of the various categories of expenses and savings thereby allowing me to make a pie chart showing where the money is going. She uses a jar method for weekly expenditures, but you could also use envelopes. I found out my rent expense was within the percentage she allowed. I always thought I was paying way too much for this expense. I use a Vacation Club and Holiday Club. I am far behind in Retirement Savings and I am taking aggressive action; plus saving to pay cash for new/used car, and the emergency fund too. Using cash and using two credit cards by paying balances in full each month with no finance charge and the debit card seem to be working with the budget-a must! Still give to Church & Charity. Thank you Gail. Keep up the Great Work!! I highly recommend this book.
Review by W. McCallister for Debt-Free Forever
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I love her TV show and the book had a lot of good info. My only complaint was that the material was a little disorganized. It seems like it jumped around on topics a little. I would still recommend the book. Watch her show for good examples of people in trouble.
Review by AcerAcer for Debt-Free Forever
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I was so happy to see that Gail has written another book! Her head is on totally straight, her sense of humor is marvelous, and what could be more timely than this topic??
The best part about it is that there are chapters that can help you save more money toward retirement even if you’re already debt free and think you are doing just fine. It’s aimed at people in debt, though, and has marvelous ideas for how to get rid of those credit cards and dig yourself out of debt. She says it’s not easy and of course that’s true, but it’s easier with Gail as your teacher. Some of her ideas are so simple that you can’t help but wonder why you didn’t think of them yourself. But you didn’t. But she did!
I also recommend her TV show, Til Debt Do Us Part.
Review by Baby Nurse K for Debt-Free Forever
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I love Gail because she is no-nonsense but she is more than just a motivational speaker. She shows you how to get yourself in a position of financial freedom. I’m not much of an investment type so many of the financial gurus don’t work for me. Gail speaks mainly to people in way over their heads and us “common folks” and tells us that it’s not totally hopeless. We’ve paid off $10,000 of credit card debt in 2.5 years…thank you Gail!
Review by Michael Mendenhall for Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
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What can I say? This is a darn good book. After reading “How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously” by Jerrold Mundis, I thought I had read it all. That book changed my life. This book by Mary Hunt has taken me to a higher level.Strangely enough, what I like most about this book is the writing style. The content is excellent, but much of it I’ve read before. You know, cut up your credit cards, cut your expenses, save 10% of your income, etc. etc. etc. The style of writing makes the subject matter so much more enjoyable to read. I felt like the author was speaking directly to me as a human being. Considering the author had at one time $100,000 in unsecured debt, I’m impressed. She practices what she preaches.In terms of content, the writing style is a joy to read, but there are some really good points made in this book. One idea, which was definitely worth the purchase was chapter 8. I had already been implementing that idea a little bit, but now I can refine it with the author’s method and really make it work.The point of this book is to make dealing with debt a proactive issue. Don’t just work on paying off debt. Structure your life in such a way that you avoid debt at all costs. If you plan your life properly, it’s entirely possible and quite easy I might add. Been there done that.My favorite quote from the book came in the chapter about college students getting their first credit card. Most people I know have at least one credit card in case of an “emergency.” Here’s what the author had to say about that:”If you accept a credit card with a big line of credit, I can guarantee you will have lots of emergencies. They’ll come in the form of pizza and airline tickets, clothes and social events.”My advice if you’re going to buy this book is read it through and mark the areas of interest. The chapters toward the end really didn’t apply much to me, so I breezed through them rather quickly. The beginning chapters were excellent. The author has a way of understanding human nature having been there herself.I’m giving this book 5 stars. That was easy. I found a couple of pieces of really valuable information in here. I plan to go back and read the book a couple more times to start mapping out my plan to the next level. If you have already paid off your debts, this book will help you keep it that way. If you are in debt, that’s two reasons to buy this book. Just be sure to use your debit card, not your credit card. Well, in this case, you can cheat.
Review by Marie for Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
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I have been working on my debt for 5 years. The last 3 with the help of Mary Hunt, her books and The Cheapskate Monthly Newsletter. I can now say I have entered 2000 unsecured debt free! I did not know what I was going to do. After reading this book I have a plan and a direction. I know where to put my money for my Contigency Fund and how to better manage my Freedom Account. If you don’t know what either of these two accounts are get the book! These two accounts along with your own attitude and determination will get you out of debt and keep you that way! This book is an easy read and extremely motivational, what everyone needs if they are contemplating getting rid of DEBT! Mary gives you the tools to JUST DO IT!
Review by Book Reader for Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
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Mary Hunt’s “Debt-Proof Living” is one of the books that all families should read and then put the concepts into action. We used an earlier version of this book to get our expenses in control and I used that book to teach a class about handling their money. People that were desperate about their money problems were finally able to be optimistic about how to take control. It will help you learn how to set up a “spending plan” and to maintain your money so you will have it for both necessities and for things you really want. You should read this book but also think about getting her “Debt-Proof Living” newsletter. Be an online subscriber so you can take advantage of the fantastic Toolbox and calculators. Go to http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com. I used her “Rapid Debt Repayment Calculator” to first be totally shocked at how much interest we would have to pay for the credit card debt and how long it would take to pay it off. We then used it to figure out how we could pay it off much faster and we saved over $14,000 in interest plus now enjoy the freedom of being “out of debt”! Now is the time to get control of your finances and this book will tell you how to do it!
Review by FliBBiTyFlooB for Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
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In 2000, I left Graduate School with over $20,000 in debt from a student loan, car loan, and credit card bills used to pay for groceries during my graduate studies. ($800/month is not a lot to live on!)
I didn’t learn any sensible budgeting techniques in high school, college, or graduate school. I decided I needed to learn to handle my money better and needed to get out of debt. I found this book at the Christian bookstore and purchased it. It revolutionized my financial thinking. It took about 18 months for me to get out of debt, and I have stayed out of debt since.
1. KEY THOUGHT: The Freedom Account. To this day, I still use a Freedom Account. I am married now, but my husband and I have a freedom account fully stocked for a new car in our future, health care, flood insurance, home insurance, car deductibles, etc. It is so freeing to realize you have that money set aside for things that may well/are going to happen. A great technique.
2. KEY THOUGHT: The RDRP (rapid debt repayment plan). So many people tell you you should pay off your highest-interest debts first. To me, it was motivational to start with my smallest debts. It was like a steamroller taking the money that I once was paying for debt A and sending double,triple, or quadruple payments to debt b. I really liked this technique! Currently, my only debt is a house mortgage. I use techniques I learned from the RDRP to pay down my mortgage early as well. I usually make more than twice the monthly payment so I can end my 30 year mortgage within 8 years.
3. KEY THOUGHT: Save 10%, Give 10%, Live off 80%. I really liked that Mary had her 80/10/10 rule . I think it’s so important to realize that you have to save and give while still paying off debts. It was a very unique view, and refreshing!
I really think people will enjoy this book. I also subscribed to Mary’s Cheapskate Monthly newsletter for several years as I got my finances in order. One nice thing there is as a subscriber you can have access to all the previous issues! I learned about many things there not covered in this book: Price Books, Once-a-month Cooking, Maximizing Food Dollar Value, etc. Fascinating reading
I hope I’ve helped someone… At the very least, you could check tihs book out from a library to read… but, you will likely find that it is well worth the price to buy it!
Review by Sonja for Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free (Debt-Proof Living (Paperback))
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The Good:
Hunt’s book has a lot of great information that for the most part is clearly written. She covers everything from credit reports, to mortgages, to insurance and how to save money in these categories. The plan she leaves us with in order to get out of debt is a strong and solid one, that still allows you to have a life and actually create a savings plan wbile paying off debt. Using an RDRP calculator I designed for myself, I was pleased to see that I can pay off my $32,000 of debt in six and a half years, not taking into account and tax refunds, or raises beyond the cost of living increases I may take in.The Bad:
As with any book that tries to get you to change your life, you need to pick and choose the ideas that best suit you and fit your lifestyle. Hunt tells us we should give 10% of our money away, in a sense back to God. Among other reasons, this is to feel more connected with the world. She states a few times how people write in saying that they’d rather give their time and how Hunt feels this runs counter to the principles of giving away money. I for one, feel much more connected to the world when I am volunteering – writing checks and putting them in the mail is what you do to those evil credit card people you’re trying to get rid of.Another GLARING frustration I had with the book was all the shameless plugs to her website. Not because I am against shameless plugs, but because in order to ACCESS the features she mentions, you have to buy a subscription! Key to the whole book is her Rapid Debt Repayment Plan (RDRP) which, as she puts it on her website, can be a very complicated thing to figure out on your own. If you have rudimentary knowledge of a spreadsheet program, such as excel (and no, you don’t HAVE to be a financial whiz to figure it out), know how to use formulas and even hide columns, you can crete a RDRP for yourself and save yourself the $20 yearly subscription.I found this caveat frustrating because it was not stated in the book that this was a subscription source (perhaps it wasn’t when the book was published). So if you buy this book and can’t figure out excel for yourself, you could easily spend almost $40 in no time that isn’t going towards your credit payments. This issue made me question the line Hunt walks between her capitalistic enterprise (which she admits she loves) and her desire to truly help those of us out there with debt. What about giving 10% back to her readers?