David Bach has written another personal finance book, Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom. In this book Bach gives general advice about getting out of debt. I can’t say that there is anything wrong with the advice but if you have read or listened to Dave Ramsey or any other anti-debt gurus this advice will be pretty familiar. His advice against getting in debt is somewhat contrary to the advice he gave in The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner: A Powerful Plan to Finish Rich in Real Estate.
He also uses the book to promote the company Debt Wise which is a partnership between the author and the credit bureau Equifax. The company automatically calculates the order and how much you should pay toward each account in your plan every month using Bach’s debt stacking strategy. This is something you could do a close approximation of yourself pretty easily so I don’t think it is really worth $14.95 a month but I suppose some people would find it worthwhile. There is another company DebtGoal that offers a similar plan and they also charge $14.95 a month so I guess that is the going rate.
If you haven’t read other books on getting out of debt than I would recommend this book as a good resource on what you need to do to get out of debt. If you have already read books on getting out of debt such as The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness than this book will probably not provide you with any new information.
I’d add that debt is dangerous. The interest and fees you owe make it much harder to get out of debt. In the debt equation, you want to be on the receiving / creditor side than the paying / debtor side.
Tax lien certificates are a good example. When people can’t pay their property taxes, the town auctions off their debt. The average interest on that debt is 16%. To hold on to his property, the owner now has a year to pay his back taxes plus interest to the certificate buyer. In these lean times, tax lien certificates have become a favorite investment for retirees! Don’t let yourself get in this predicament. I know that’s easier said than done, but it can be done.
The thing I don’t like about his and Dave Ramsey’s advice is their tip that you pay off your smallest debt first — for the psychological win — rather than paying off your highest-interest debt first. I think both options should be presented so people can pick the strategy that works best for them.
Those are good points. Thanks for the comments.