Customer Reviews

DEBT-FREE LIVING: How to Get Out of Debt and Stay Out

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is written from a Biblical perspective and non believers will find it hard to follow Larry Burkett's advice to tithe (give away 10% of your income to church or charity), one of the most important secrets for achieving financial independence. It also has a wealth (!) of information for people who are close to caling it quits before deciding on bankruptcy. And to the reviewers who found the stories corny, I can only say that any of these scenarios could easily happen to anybody who is less than savvy about their finances (80% of the general population?). I didn't give this book 5* because I wished there had been more information on how to whittle away at credit debt, and some of the optimal housing costs recommended totally ignore the reality for people living on the Northeast coast of the US (The West Coast proably, too!).

While there are a few good principles in this book, it is nothing more than a bunch of scare tactics about how 3 couples got into tremendous financial hardship. The title of the book suggested something far different than what the actual content was. Hearing about how a couple got married without telling anyone and had no job and struggled financially is such an elementary and incredibly dull story. Of course you'll struggle financially if you don't prepare and live below your means. How this book sold over 150,000 copies is beyond me. I could honestly write a better book than this. There is VERY LITTLE instruction on practical things to do to enjoy debt-free living, which is why I got the book. Nothing more than 3 worst-case scenarios, which went on and on and on. Whoever wrote the review that this was the best financial planning book they've ever read has never read another financial planning book. It's that simple. A great alternative book would be The Richest Man in Babylon. If you can deal with the old English style of writing, you'll love it!

Unfortunately for me I actually bought this book. It [bites], just like their website crown dot org. They don't give good advice about how to get out of debt, not at all... they just admonish people who are IN debt. I have a friend who's written a really good book about getting out of debt... sensible, easy to follow information. It's called "Debt Free - One Paycheck at a Time". Look for it on her website called onepaycheckatatime dot com, but since I'm building her website (for free) it won't be up until mid January. Too bad, her course is great! I'm doing it now and very grateful that she took the time to write it. But THIS book by Larry Burkett stinks. I am going to take it back to the Christian book store where I bought it and ask for my money back. Make a note of Kim's website, when it is 'up' and you can buy the book, you'll be glad you did. It will be worth whatever she's gonna charge for it. 19.95 I think.
Seriously. I get no funds from her sales. I just know she knows what she's talking about.