I think this is my first, or at least one of my first book reviews here on the site. This book got my attention since they recommended the GetOutOfDebt.org site as resource for readers. Nice!

What I was given to read was a pre-release copy. Who knows, there might be some fine tunings in the final version.

The book is broken up into a number of helpful sections

It covers the background of credit and debt, how to handle credit and debt emergencies, and even how to work on later having great credit. Without a doubt this covers all the stages of dealing with problem debt.

I love the fact author Garrett Sutton, Esq. addresses the psychological and health impact of debt problems. It’s nice to see a book not just concentrate on the dollars and cents part. There is so much more to the impact of debt than just addition and subtraction.

Table of Contents

Part One—Credit and Debt
Chapter One An Introduction to the Credit System
Chapter Two The Psychology of Debt
Chapter Three Health Effects of Debt
Chapter Four Beat the Lenders At Their Own Game
Chapter Five Debt Consolidation
Chapter Six Getting Help

Part Two—Emergency Measures for Crisis Debt Situations
Chapter Seven Car Loan Troubles
Chapter Eight Mortgage Troubles
Chapter Nine Student Loans
Chapter Ten When You Owe Taxes
Chapter Eleven Military Matters
Chapter Twelve Debt Collectors

Part Three—Great Credit
Chapter Thirteen Credit Reports
Chapter Fourteen Credit Scores
Chapter Fifteen Credit Repair
Chapter Sixteen Common Credit Report Problems
Chapter Seventeen Scams
Chapter Eighteen Winning With Credit

Some Impressions of the Book

Sutton divides borrowers up into the following categories: Wishers, Wasters, Wanters, Whiners, and Winners. Kind of cute and entertaining. His category descriptions in the pages that follow are insightful and enlightening.

For example, Whiners – “Whiners will start to read this book and will give up because they decide it’s too hard, or it won’t work, or the deck is stacked against them. They may read lots and lots of information about credit and personal finance but instead of taking action, they continue to spend their time focused on the negative. When a solution or answer is presented to them, they will go into detail about what’s wrong with it.”

OMG, so true! I think those of us on the side of assisting people with debt problems recognize this person.

I would love to have seen him expand more fully on this part of his book. it appears his insight about the drivers of debt are solid.

As we move into the action section of the book, where specific advice is given to readers Sutton presents the reality of real unsecured debt consolidation loans from LendingClub.com and Prosper.com as I do here on this site. They are a legitimate tool to use for the right person.

Can’t say I’m one hundred percent behind his section on borrowing from retirement funds. Would have loved to have seen some sterner warnings and examples about the true cost of these loans. Not to be too harsh on Sutton, this issue is a pet peeve of mine and I’m constantly searching for more in-depth information on this subject.

I could nitpick on some of the other approaches on getting out of debt but I’ll let those slide and for the most part the advice this book offers is good general advice. Even though Sutton was more direct about credit counseling I think he could have been more open about the realities. He comes across as tougher on legitimate debt settlement for those that are good candidates to settle but I do like his statement, “there is nothing immoral about paying back as much as you can. Life happens and people run into problems. The credit card companies know that when they extend huge credit lines and hike up interest rates to 25% plus, some people won’t be able to pay them back. They are still enormously profitable.”

Sutton goes into naming some scams that consumers should avoid he even names some companies and his examples of excellent examples of how consumers in debt can get duped.

His approach on bankruptcy is refreshing. Thankfully he doesn’t make the uneducated statement that bankruptcy is the last resort. He presents a realistic picture of when it should be considered.

All those small issues aside, I’d have to give the book a buy recommendation. For the little bit the book costs, those that want to really get a good overview of dealing with their debt will get value out of reading this book.

It is my understanding the book is available for preorder from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Steve Rhode Debt Coach and Author

Steve Rhode is the Get Out of Debt Guy and has been helping good people with bad debt problems since 1994. You can learn more about Steve, here.

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