Review by Michael Mendenhall for How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously: *(Based on the Proven Principles and Techniques of Debtors Anonymous)
Rating:
I first read this book almost by accident in September of 1997. I was browsing through a bookstore out of town, and there it was. I thought $7 couldn’t hurt. I’ve tried everything else. Why not this book?Well, 2 1/2 years later, I’ve been able to pay off more debt than I care to mention. ($20,000+ comes to mind as a fairly accurate figure). I have often wondered what makes a self-help book really helpful. There are several things about this book that I really liked.The first is that it is not a book about investments and how to get rich quick. It’s not about depriving yourself either. It really doesn’t give any specific financial advice which is why I liked it so much. There are other books for stuff like that.Probably the single most important lesson in this book, and one which has changed my life immensely, is stop borrowing money. Just stop. Do it one day at a time. When I started on my debt repayment plan, I didn’t worry so much about paying off my debt as much as not taking on any new debt. If that sounds simplistic, well it is. That’s the whole point of this book. It’s simple. It’s not easy. If you want to heal, stop the bleeding. People who are in the rat race of juggling credit cards are bleeding cash every month. Stop the bleeding first, and then you start to heal.Another lesson I learned is the monthly spending record. My friends howl when I suggest this. Keep track of every penny, yes every penny, that comes into your life and out of your life. I can say with conviction that that suggestion alone, coupled with not taking on new debt, will make your life so much different, you’ll wonder in amazement. The author suggests keeping a weekly spending record and transferring it to a monthly record. I keep just a monthly record. It takes up very little time. It’s also very eye opening how much money flows right out the expense column every month. The benefit of this is it allows you to make adjustments and find out where you are bleeding. It’s not enough to guess. Until you write down everything, you will never fully understand where your money problems are. You can use a computer spreadsheet or you can do what I do which is write it down on old fashioned paper.Another lesson this book taught me is that you don’t need a credit card. Now there’s a revolutionary concept. If you really think about it, how many people in your life including yourself say, “I need a credit card for emergencies.” Hogwash! I’ve had two genuine emergencies in my life where I needed money and needed it fast. Well guess what? I had two choices, I could pay with a credit card or I could pay with cash. I paid with cash. Funny how many people accept cash as a payment these days. If you want to get out of debt, get out of the credit card habit. Use a debit card. I use my Visa debit card for all my amazon.com purchases, and it works beautifully. Same as cash.One more thing, if you use credit cards and you pay interest every month, do you realize you’re making the bank rich? Do you realize you’re working for the bank? Whether you like it or not, that’s true. Here’s another lesson. Look over your credit card balances right now and ask yourself out of all the money you owe, how much stuff do you have to show for it?Why do I give this book 5 stars? Well, I can divide my life into two time periods. The first time period was everything that happened up until september 14, 1997 which is the day I bought the book, and everything that has happened since then. I have no credit card debt at all since reading that book. I do have a credit card (okay, I cheat) with a $350 limit only to rebuild my credit. I pay it off every month. One word of caution, reading this book can be frustrating at times because you will come to the full realization that your attitude about money is completely wrong and that you are overwhelmed with debt that will take a long time to pay off. Relax. Once you start paying off your debt, it’s all downhill. It picks up speed as you go along. I know, I’ve done it. Thanks Jerrold Mundis for writing this book. I’ve saved thousands of dollars in interest because of it.

Review by Anthony G Pizza for How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously: *(Based on the Proven Principles and Techniques of Debtors Anonymous)
Rating:
Jerrold Mundis’ practical book “How To Get Out Of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, And Live Prosperously” not only describes handling money properly, but what power money can and must not provide to those having or needing it. Mundis’ precepts are easy to understand if not swift to accomplish. He acknowledges this in writing, “Anyone who has taken grade-school arithmatic or who can push the buttons on a simple calculator has all the technical mastery he needs to understand his personal money.” His steps: write each and every incoming and outgoing transaction into a weekly, then monthly account. Use those figures to create a budget to fit your lifestyle and repay your creditors, without hard-core sacrifice that only proves self-defeating. Know to the penny what you have, spend and owe. Do not debt, at all, just for today. Or, to quote Teddy Roosevelt, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”The most interesting sections concern psychological and social implications associated with and leading to problem debting, and how to overcome and prevent them. Mundis encourages figuring out creative ways to handle money emergencies other than with a credit card. He encourages meditation, visualization, planning future successes beyond momentary highs or relief credit seems to provide. He explains how to handle the collection agency, lawyer, courtroom. To achieve this, he encourages creative list making, re-evaluation of supposedly nevessary material things (his section, “Keel The Bool” most notably here) or ideas that seemed zany. Most of all, he encourages dismissal of any emotions associated with money: it’s no mood changer, nor love declaration when spent, nor sell-out to materialism and selfishness when saved.His opening chapters, describing the types and warning signs of problem debting, were chillingly accurate and uncompromising. (“And everybody bounces a check now and then, don’t they? No. Most people without a debt problem hardly ever do.”) Mundis writes with the compassion and reassurance of someone knowing the issues of problem debting. His three things to remember when debt worry becomes overwhelming are among the most useful worry defusers I have heard. Yet Mundis also speaks with the zeal of the recovered addict, knowing the road to and from disaster and letting no one cross or return. His personal stories and case studies from Debtors Anonymous (including that of the young woman who tearfully gave up her American Express card), are sweepingly sad. Like all self-help books, “How To Get Out Of Debt” can only be judged successful if those reading it apply its precepts and achieve its promised conclusion. (Obviously, those for whom debting is not an issue probably do not read or review, these books.) Suffice it to say that Mundis has provided possible emotional and practical tools to achieve financial freedom, and has done so in re-readable, instructional style. Debtors Anonymous, quoted liberally as inspiration and support source, would do well to endorse this guide in its program.

Review by A thrilled reader for How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously: *(Based on the Proven Principles and Techniques of Debtors Anonymous)
Rating:
This book saved my life. Here is the thank you e-mail I sent to the author:

Dear Mr. Mundis,

I am writing to thank you for essentially saving my life. For the last 10 years, since I was 21, I have been drowning in debt — student loans, credit cards — and filled with anixety and depression. Every time I dug myself out, I did it by throwing every single penny I had into my debt, then needed to borrow again right away to pay for expenses that arose. Even though I make a decent salary, I haven’t had money to buy simple things like clothes because I am putting all my money toward debts. I have put off graduate school and other things I really want to do in my life for years while I try to deal with this. I am guessing I am not that unusual, but I never really talked to anyone about it until a few weeks ago.

Someone I respect a great deal recommended “How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously,” and I finished it in a single sitting. I was completely stunned when you said that I came first and my creditors came second — those words really changed my life. I put needed expenses and expenses that make my life fulfilling back into my spending plan and started from there, as you recommended. And I decided to work with a reputable credit counselor to help negotiate my horrific credit card interest rates down from 31% and 29% to 8% and 9%.

I now actually have a completely reasonable plan to pay off all of my debt in 4.5 years — and that assumes no increase in my income over that time, and I expect it to increase. I can also afford to take the prerequisites I need for graduate school and put $50 a month toward clothes. I can even put a tiny amount into savings for a contingency fund in case emergency expenses arise. I am again completely stunned.

Your book is so straightforward and blunt while at the same time completely compassionate. I was expecting scolding and shaming, which is basically what I’ve been doing to myself. Your advice was completely doable, and I really believe I am on my way to being debt-free.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.