get out of debt books

There are hundreds of personal finance books to choose from when you are looking for a way to get out of debt. You could spend hundreds of dollars, going further into debt, just buying them all and you still may not get out of debt.

Fortunately, there are some gems that stand out with proven methods to help you get rid of all your credit card debts, mortgage debts, and student loan debts fast.

One such book is from Dave Ramsey called The Total Money Makeover. In it, you will find tons of inspirational stories from regular folks who were buried in debt and never thought they could get out and have. Does that sound like anyone you may know? Someone buried in debt and losing hope.

Dave Ramsey advocates using a debt snowball to get out of debt fast. This is one of the best ways to get out of debt fast but it is also controversial. Many of the other personal finance gurus say the best way to eliminate debt is to pay the credit card with the highest balance first. Dave says to pay the one with the lowest balance first.

It's more of a psychological thing why Dave says to do this. The reasoning is that you will be more motivated to stay on your debt free path as you get rid of one credit card debt after another and faster.

That's one reason why The Total Money Makeover is one of the best get out of debt books you can buy.

Another book that has been in the news lately is a new book from Kevin Trudeau called Debt Cures. In it, KT promises to help you not just reduce your credit card debt but to eliminate it and fast.

He promises to teach you how to get rid of your credit card debt fast. The thing about this book is that some of it is not new and other authors have said it before. But, many personal finance ideas are not new. They have been around for years and years.

Any new book that comes out just repeats most of what has been said but gives it a different term or uses a different angle. Even Dave Ramsey says in his introduction that what he says is not new.

All that said, I did find some useful information in Debt Cures. He provides some tips and scripts to tell to your creditors and credit card companies to help reduce your interest rates or eliminate some of the fees they have charged you.

He also provides the two magic words to help clear up your credit report - those two words are identity theft.

When you check your credit report and find something that is not yours, you want to dispute it. You need to make sure you are not the victim of identity theft. That's why all personal finance gurus tell you to check your credit report regularly.

What about free money from the government?

KT promotes that heavily in the infomercials. But is it really true? Yes and no. Yes, the government gives away millions and billions in grants and loans each year. However, it's not just for you the individual to pay off your personal credit card bills. It's not just for you to help your own personal situation. You have to use the free money to help others and by helping others, you will eventually help yourself.

The good news is that Debt Cures is a decent book that can help you get out of debt. It will be out on Amazon in May 208 so you can get your cheaper copy instead of $42 on the infomercial.

Or, you can just buy The Total Money Makeover and do the hard work instead of all the shortcuts KT has in Debt Cures.

How fast do you want to get out of debt? Overnight is what we would all wish I imagine. But unless you win the lottery, it just isn't going to happen that fast. That would probably be a bad thing if it did.

We have to change what we think about on the inside for us to get out of debt. We have to change our thinking habits just as much as our spending habits in order for us to thrive.

You have to make up your mind to getting out of debt and fully commit to doing it no matter what.

The best thing you can do is write it down on paper and make it a goal. Make it a goal to get out of debt by a certain date. Write down how much credit card debt you have so you can get a total picture of what you need to accomplish. If you have $10,000 write it down. If you have $25,000, write it down. It you have $65K or $150K or more, you have to know where are going before you can start.

Once you set upon a plan to get out of debt and fully commit to it and become focused on that one and only goal, your mind will help you find ways to accomplish is quickly. There will be resouces made available to you to help you reduce your debts fast. Maybe a new job, maybe a promotion, maybe a second job.

But, you have to take the first steps and reduce your spending. You have to eliminate using credit cards.

One other tip you need to keep in mind is that you need to have an emergency fund. You need to have money to pay the bills in case something happens - car trouble, medical trouble, etc. If you don't plan for these, they can derail any efforts you have to getting out of debt. The Total Money Makeover has several tips for getting started on your emergency fund. Once you do this, you can start attacking your debts with relentless force.

Put all your efforts into paying down your bills. Eat ramen noodles and put all that money into getting that debt paid off. You will feel better as you see your balances go down. No more worry and anxiety. No more sleepless nights. Become debt free.

There's nothing wrong with getting help getting rid of debt. You can talk with the folks at Credit Solutions to see if they can help you lower your balances from the get go so you have even less to pay off.

Here's how to use the debt snowball method to get out of debt fast:

The Debt Snowball approach is:

1. Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance.

2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.

3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except the one with the lowest balance.

4. Throw every other penny at the debt with the lowest balance.

5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.

Thanks to Get Rich Slowly

What does it take to get out of debt?

Do you know what you have to do to get out of debt?

You probably already know the answers, save more, spend less.

Easier said than done when there’s all these new gadgets that come out every other week or so. It’s hard to save money when you see a hot new car that you just have to have.

It’s hard to stop charging on your credit card when there’s a new season of Lost or The Office released on DVD this Tuesday.

The first thing you have to do when you want to get out of debt is resolve not to spend any more money that you don’t have.

That’s what so nice about credit cards - you get to buy and enjoy stuff with money that isn’t yours. You get to spend other people’s money - the credit card companies.

And then 20-25 days later they want some of that money back with a courtesy fee of course - interest.

I was browsing around Yahoo and found these tips to help you reduce your debts:

“Stop spending and start paying. Sell your stuff, get a job (or a second job), get a roommate, sell your car and use public transportation, spend the absolute minimum on food, no new clothes, no new anything - shop at a thrift store if you absolutely must have something”

Keep this in mind, you are never going to pay off your debts if you do not stop spending money.

Make it a test for yourself and challenge yourself to not spending money on things you don’t need for a week. Then go 2 weeks then go one month. If you can do this then you’ll be off to a good start.

You need to think about things a little differently. You need to consider what you are preventing youself from doing by being in so much debt.

It’s hard to travel the world if you have a mountain of debt to pay off.

It’s hard to do volunteer work for your favorite cause if you have debt collectors calling you asking for money.

There are hundreds of things you are prevented from doing because you have so much credit card debt it makes you lose sleep at night.

So what does it take to get out of debt?

First, you have to stop spending money.

Do that and you’re halfway there.