DEBT FREEDOM...how many see it as the first step to SS?

[Buster]

These are the two best books on a debt free life I have seen. The plans are very similar. Dave Ramsey encourages you to work your way out of debt using baby steps, the most important of which is the debt snowball. He has a daily radio show you can find archived online. It is GREAT for inspiration as well as information.

Hunt's is almost identical, except she adds something called a Freedom Account, which is a special account you set up to take care of those non-emergency emergencies some folks have mentioned in this thread, as well as irregular expenses. For instance, you know your car is going to break down sooner or later, so that is not really an emergency. So, you save up for it in your freedom account.

Both authors are fundamentalist Christians, so be aware. If that sort of thing turns you off, just ignore it for the very valuable information they provide.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey

Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free, by Mary Hunt.

The following program is considerably less intense than either Ramsey or Hunt, and appeals to people those two authors don't. Warren is one of the people trying straighten Congress and the Treasury out where it comes to money issues, so she is a pretty hefty name in economics. But this book is about balancing your life and working toward debt free living and other financial goals. Contains good philosophy.

All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi.

The following is the bible of frugal living, so I'm sure you have heard of it before on a website that has a subforum on frugality. Amy is a goddess to our household.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.

And then there is good ol' Ben...

Poor Richard's Almanac & His Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin.

and how could we forget...

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence,by Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin.

This is a book that can turn your thinking about money on its head. Basically, money is just a symbol of the amount of effort (life energy) you put into earning that money. Therefore, when you spend money, you are actually spending your life. You start to consider, "Gee. Is this iPod really worth two whole weeks of my life?"

The goal of this book is to reach a point in life when you no longer have to work to earn money and are therefore financially independent.

You know... "self sufficient."

And being a librarian and a frugal fellow, while I linked to Amazon for information purposes, I encourage you to avoid buying these or any book you can get for free from your public library. If your library doesn't own them, ask about interlibrary loan.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Okiemommy]

I see debt freedom as a first step to ss for us. We have a lot of debt. My husbands income is good enough that we shouldn't be struggling the way we are. We had an emergency back in the spring of last year that required an immense amount of driving, when the gas prices were skyrocketing. The only way we could survive was to use our credit cards b/c any other money was just not there. No family members to borrow from, no credit for a small loan etc etc. We bought a house just before this, and went crazy on the things that we wanted to do to it to "make it ours." Had it only been that debt, or the emergency debt only..one or the other, it would have been managable.

This spring we are paying off most of our debt, which will free up money to pay off the remaining debt in larger chunks. We are going to buy our final car for a really long time, and then make extra payments on it to pay it off early. We are then going to take the money that were using on the car payment, and put it in some type of safe interest bearing account. Then just let it sit there. And not touch it. And still continually live below our means.

My husband sent me this link and this is what we have both decided to do together so that we can stop living paycheck to paycheck. And it's so crazy that it just might work. ^_^

Free Car

Now off to read the rest of the thread

Edited to fix the link and say that we are also cutting up all of our credit cards and closing 3/4 of them

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks, Buster! Librarians are among my favorite people on earth Our famiy has had endless free entertainment, education and socializing through our public library for ages. I appreciate all the work you put into informing us of those books and will be sure to check out some of them!

 

[Wifezilla]

I am not a religious person and I have to say that Dave's religious beliefs have never interfered with my ability to enjoy his show.

 

[Buster]

I am not a religious person and I have to say that Dave's religious beliefs have never interfered with my ability to enjoy his show.

I agree. While I am religious, I share either neither Dave's religious nor political viewpoint, yet I do enjoy listening to him. I credit him largely for my debt-free lifestyle. He helped get me out of debt, and Hunt's plan helps keep me there.

The nice thing about listening to Ramsey online is you can always skip ahead when he gets on one of his largely irrelevant religious or political rants.

 

[Buster]

Thanks, Buster! Librarians are among my favorite people on earth Our famiy has had endless free entertainment, education and socializing through our public library for ages. I appreciate all the work you put into informing us of those books and will be sure to check out some of them!

Thanks for the kind words, especially about librarians.

Another of my favorite money books I failed to mention...

The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason. I read it every other year for inspiration and as a reminder of the basics.

 

[Wifezilla]

I recently found a copy of the Tightwad Gazette at Goodwill...for 99

 

[Buster]

I recently found a copy of the Tightwad Gazette at Goodwill...for 99

Now that's the kind of thing Amy D. would approve of.

I didn't do quite that well. Mine was on a Barnes & Noble discount table for $5. It is in my personal library, because some books are just too important not to own. It is dogeared and highlighted throughout.

 

[dacjohns]

I saw this rant over on BYChickens.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=127231

It is all about credit card companies raising the interest rate. I haven't read the thread but my reaction to the first few posts is this:

If you paid of your debt each month and lived within your means you wouldn't have much to complain about.

I know that everyone's situation is different. Just my initial take.

 

[Okiemommy]

I agree but RR Barons not properly protecting their RR against highway Robbery doesn't make highway Robbery acceptable.