David Bachs Debt Free for Life

Beating Broke is a blog about living a life that aims to be free of debt, and the journey of getting there.  You can drop by the Beating Broke blog to read an interview with Debt Free for Life author, David Bach, as well as a review of the DebtWise.com debt reduction tool.

If you’re reading this, there is a very good chance that you know the name David Bach.  You very likely have read one of his “Finish Rich” books.  Many of those books focus on helping take control of your finances, create a system to make it almost automatic, and then execute it in order to become “rich”.

Debt Free for Life is closely aligned with those other books, but is aimed more towards those that are on the brink of financial disaster.  In the course of reading the book, Bach leads us through a mini course in debt, how we get in debt, how we stay in debt, and then the different methods and tools that we may need to get out of that debt and stay out.

BOOK OVERVIEW

The educational part in the beginning of the book should prove very valuable for those to whom the book is aimed.  In chapters 1 and 2, Bach covers the basics of the ways that we’ve come as a society to spend more and more that we don’t have, and then how the math on that debt is designed by the lenders to keep us in debt.

In chapters 3 and 4, he then goes further into the psychological mindset needed to work your way out of debt.  He does a great throughout the book, and especially in these chapters, of making sure that the reader is aware that there is no instant fix for debt.  If you want to get out of debt, it’s gonna take some time.

Chapter 5 and chapter 6 explain his DOLP method, which resembles what most would know as the debt snowball popularized by Dave Ramsey, and using the DebtWise.com debt tool to execute the DOLP method.  Much like the debt snowball method, the DOLP method is a solid method that will resonate with many readers.

The rest of the novel, with the exceptions of the last two chapters, goes through the different methods and tools that Bach suggests to get rid of your debt.  Beginning with negotiating your debt and interest rates, Bach moves on to credit scores, and then moves on to a few topics that most personal finance bloggers are usually hesitant to discuss.  Time-barred debt, debt counseling, debt settlement, and even bankruptcy make the set list.  Don’t let that turn you away from the book though.  The truth is that all of those topics are necessary evils to talk about for many who find themselves deep in debt, and Bach does a wonderful job of explaining each and giving the detailed situations where each might be needed.

Bach finishes up the book with a chapter that introduces (or reintroduces if you’ve read any of his previous books) his automatic millionaire method, and a chapter that makes the reader aware of the many places where there may be “lost” money.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

My thoughts on the book are somewhat mixed.  In my opinion, the book spent too much time in the final chapters dealing with attempting to write off “time-barred debt”, and then bankruptcy.  Bach doesn’t necessarily push either method, and certainly doesn’t push the debt settlement industry, and instead suggests the non-profit debt counseling industry. I would have liked to have seen a bit more on the DOLP method, and different scenarios on how it might work.

I think part of my issue here is that the book is clearly aimed at people who are struggling with debt and are handling it poorly.  It’s a guide for those who have very little knowledge on personal finance.  I don’t think that I qualify as one of the readers that Bach is aiming for here, so it just didn’t do anything for me.

If you are struggling with debt and are searching for a way out from your debt, this is the book for you.  Before you go and pick it up though, you should add Yakezie.com and Beatingbroke.com into your RSS feed reader (or subscribe for email updates).  Then go pick up the book. Or, if you want to try your chances at our giveaway, you have a chance to win a copy of the book.

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