David Bach’s new book: Debt Free For Life — Want it? :)

Debt Free For Life bookGoooooood morning ladies and gentlemen! I got my hands on 2 copies of David Bach’s new book on the shelves: Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom.

For anyone who’s ever read or heard of The Automatic Millionaire, or Start Late, Finish Rich, this is the same guy. And he’s AWESOME. Seriously, one of my fave financial authors. Probably because he keeps everything nice and SIMPLE. Anyone can pretty much read ’em and get something outta them. Okay, enough of me gushing :)

Here’s the gist of Bach’s new book (via Amazon):

In Debt Free for Life, David Bach has written his most groundbreaking and important book since The Automatic Millionaire, giving us the knowledge, the tools, and the mindset we need to get out of debt and achieve financial freedom— forever! Offering a revolutionary approach to personal finance that teaches you how to pay down your debt and adopt a whole new way of living – debt free. Bach unveils the Debt Wise program that empowers you to pare down your debt automatically. You’ll learn how to calculate your Debt Freedom Day – the actual date you will be completely free of debt. And you’ll discover that when you are debt free, you need a lot less money to live on. You can retire, even with a smaller nest egg — perhaps earlier than you expected.

David Bach has coached millions to pay off their debt and now he can guide you. Whether you have home loans, student loans, car loans, credit card debt—paying down your debt is truly a game you can win, if you know the rules. Debt Free For Life will teach you the rules and give you the tools to buy back your freedom.

Want your own copy? Let us know in the comments below how much debt you have, and why you have it, and you’ll be entered to win one of TWO free copies :) I’ll pick the winners this Sunday, Feb 13th using Random.org. Good luck! I got a free copy of it too to review – it’s dope. But whether you win this book or not, keep working on KNOCKING DOWN THAT DEBT! As Brad from Enemy of Debt says – It’s slavery, baby.

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*** GIVEAWAY OVER ***
Thanks for participating everyone! The two lucky book winners are….. Dani @ OKDani.com and jen (commenter #8). Congrats guys :) I hope you enjoy the book!

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106 Comments

  1. Beckey & Jeff February 8, 2011 at 8:06 AM

    We have about $40K in debt right now, most is student loans that were brought into the marriage. The remainder is some consumer debt but we have paid off 5 credit cards in the last 1 1/2 years, so we’ve really been focusing on that. We also have 2 car loans but both are paid off in the next 6 months and will free up $800/month that we will be rolling into the next credit card and let the debt snowball keep growing!

  2. Jubilance February 8, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    I have about $65K of debt, with $60K being from my student loans and car loan. The rest is credit cards which I’m actively paying down using the debt snowball.

  3. Josh February 8, 2011 at 8:21 AM

    I currently have about $30K in debt from student loans. I’m paying off more than my minimums and pay off my credit card every month, but it’s still definitely a struggle.

  4. Amy February 8, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    We have $54k in debt! This is 1 student loan ($34k), 1 car loan ($15k), and 1 credit card ($5k). We also have a $230k mortgage. It’s a struggle!

  5. Dani @ OKDani.com February 8, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    I LOVE David Bach! Automatic millionaire and Smart Couples Finish Rich were awesome! I loaned them out and never got them back :(
    I’m currently not in debt, but in 2 years I’ll have racked up about $40K in grad student loans. Bummer.
    Do we have to be debtors to be entered to win?

  6. lisa February 8, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    Uuuggghh, We were on our way to becoming debt free when we started building our house. Unfortunately credit cards were used for all appliances and other work that we did ourselves. So, where this spring we had had no credit card debt, we are now in the whole about $10,000, It sucks. I don’t like it. I also have about $30,000 in school debt that we just started paying on. Our house mortgage is $164,000. So, total is a little over $200K. As soon as we get moved into the new house (which I hope they will be done soon) we will start throwing all our money at the credit cards again.

  7. Meredith Lines February 8, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    Currently, I have no debt (ya, baby!) In two years, we will have a mortgage. That counts, right? Haha

  8. jen February 8, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    I have about $38k of total debt – $17k of credit card and $21k of student loan! At this rate I’m never going to be able to buy a house or a car. Luckily I live in Philly so I can easily rent and get around via public transportation. I also possibly have a shopping problem, cutting up my credit cards helped A LOT, but paying them down is really hard.

  9. Ryan February 8, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    Currently working on our mortgage, 120,000 trying to apply extra payments every month!

  10. Jt February 8, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    I have about 50k in debt which consists of car loan, credit card and student loan. I have been snowballing for a while now. Most of the debt came from loss of income from maternity leave for my wife and hospital bills for my son with athsma.

  11. Curt February 8, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    $115k mortgage – cars are paid off, student loans paid off, 20k/yr tuition currently being paid for with cash. Once schools done, mortgage is next, then never again.

  12. Pat February 8, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    I currently have around $11000 in debt from student loans, which isn’t bad considering that over half of that is from an aborted attempt at college right after high school, when I probably wasn’t ready for the challenge. Due to winning some scholarship money this time around and taking 2 years at a community college, the total will be under $15000 when I graduate, which is a lot better than a lot of people do! Technically, I should add in a couple hundred dollars on credit cards, but I pay those off every month like clockwork and only use them to build a credit history.

  13. Sue February 8, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    16K in debt due to student loans and dumb spending with my credit cards.

  14. Drew February 8, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    I’m down to just under $2.5k left on my student loans, but have been looking for a house to buy, just so I feel like I’m paying myself instead of padding someone else’s pockets. That sounds like a perfect book as I’m looking towards the next steps in life.

  15. Kevin February 8, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    I currently have about 356k in debt and thats due to a mortgage. Other then that 2x cars paied off, 1 credit card paied off, no student loans…… soon to get married so as long as my soon to be doesn’t go over board with everything we should be ok :-)

  16. Cassie February 8, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    I have little under $238,000 in mortgage debt, little over $9,000 on a car loan, and little over $15,000 in other unsecured consumer debt. So, about $262,000. The mortgage and car loan are fairly self expanitory, but the $15,000 is due to little more that stupidity. After I bought the house I took a lower paying job for sanity saving reasons but my spending habits didn’t adjust accordingly for months. I’ve given my head a shake, and now I’m digging myself back out again.

  17. Sandy X February 8, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    I have $37,203.54 in debt. Of that, $30,406.15 are student loans (hooray for higher education?) and the remaining $6,797.39 is for my car. I’m feverishly trying to pay off the car note so I can start maxing[out the Roth] and stacking[10K for savings]!

  18. Jessi W. February 8, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    We have about $57k in debt right now, but only $2k of it is credit card debt which is a huge win for us (we started with about $10k in credit card debt). The rest is student loans which we’ve just started to pay back. This book would be such a help right now!

  19. Elizabeth February 8, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    I have $28k in student loans left from law school. My financial goal for the year is to pay them off.

  20. Jen February 8, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    I have $55k in student loans and $9k (and falling fast!!) in credit card debt. I have both because I was too dumb to know any better. Now I do :)

  21. Miss Delish February 8, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    I am currently in debt about $4,000, and it is all medical debt. BOO! :( At least then I might have something to show or some memories for that debt.

  22. Karen @ Oldfangled February 8, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Hmm, I think we’re around $35K right now (not including home mortgage, which I think is around $60K). Almost all of it is from hubby starting his own business. Yeah, dumb. But we’re over half-way to paying it off!

  23. Jenna February 8, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    I’m pretty lucky. I’m currently debt free, however, I am house hunting so I’m sure that will change soon…

  24. Dawn February 8, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    $16K in credit cards from 2 years as a stay at home mom, $20K in Student Loans for also being a stay at home student, some car leases, and a $220 mortgage! Things are tight but we’re working on it.

  25. Erin February 8, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    A $957 hospital bill for a CT scan.

  26. Leslie February 8, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    I have $28K from a second mortgage, $5K in a credit card, and $9K in a car loan. Yay me!

  27. Jennifer Lissette February 8, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    My household has got $440,000 in mortgage debt. No other debts, just a mortgage from buying a house when the real estate bubble was leaking instead of after it burst.

  28. amy February 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    I have been reading your blog for 2 years and this is my first post! Love your blog by the way.

    We have mortgage debt of 99,000. I would like to start making extra payments but right now I want to focus on Roth IRAs and boosting up my cash savings to 20,000.

    David Bach is awesome, seriously changed my life when I read Automatic Millionaire, I think I have read that book 10 times or more.

  29. Kari February 8, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    I just bought a car so my debt total is almost $25K: $13.5K student loans and $11.5K car loan. The car loan is at 0% so that’s why I’m not paying it down quickly. When my bf and I get married though, he will likely add over $100K in student loans from law school to our total so this book would certainly be helpful.

  30. Mercedes February 8, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    I had an e-copy of this book on my computer but the hard drive fried before I got to finish it! I would totally LOVE to have a copy of this book!

    As far as debt, I’ve got approx $170k. $165k is my mortgage (which I’m paying more towards the principal every month) and the remaining $5k is credit cards that I just can’t seem to get myself out from under (Hopefully I’ll have them paid off by the end of this year)

  31. Kandace February 8, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    We have about 30K, 11K in car loan and the rest in low interest student loans. We’re going to start doing double payments on car, and use tax refund. We’ve continued to pay my portion of the student loans even though they are deferred because I’m in grad school (paying cash for that!).

    Love your blog!

  32. kimmie February 8, 2011 at 11:48 AM

    just under 19.5K, down from 33K and hope to be paid off by the end of the year or very soon after. it’s from a healthy blend of circumstance and utter stupidity :)

  33. LaToya February 8, 2011 at 11:58 AM

    If ever there was a failure at money it’s me. I am truly embarrassed to admit this, but I have been calculating the debt monthly every since the hubs and I completed Dave Ramsey’s FPU. The grand total is $290,399.75. As of current, I have 124K in consolidated federal student loan debt – undergrad and law school; 70K in mortgage debt; 36K on car loans; 29K on Sallie Mae Loans; 7K on a Private Institutional Loan; 4K on the Hub’s undergrad loan; and 22K in credit cards, medical bills, and past due accounts. The funny part about it, is my undergrad is in finance, and I practice bankruptcy law. So, I give a lot of advice to other people on how to manage their finances. What a joke!

  34. Jennifer February 8, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    We have about $7K in credit card debt that we’re trying desperately to pay off. Most of it is just stupid spending and wedding expenses. Our goal is start of married life debt free, but we’re getting down to the wire!

  35. finco86 February 8, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Just over $117k on the mortgage. Just went out and paid cash for a 2011 Fusion. Got money for daughters school saved and no other debt. Saving for another replacement car and then hitting the mortgage. Should be done with that in the next 4 years. Then it’s the kitchen remodel, master bath remodel, basement, etc.

  36. beth February 8, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    I currently have zero debt, but my boyfriend is 200K mostly from law school (but he doesn’t want to be a lawyer, and so has no income to repay, it is all in forebearance) and about 2k in credit card debt. That book would be a huge gift to him.

  37. stacey February 8, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    We have $49000 in car/credit cards, $42000 in a rental property mortgage, and our own mortgage of $85000. :( This is the year we hit it hard and while we won’t get it all paid off, I hope our 02/2012 numbers are not so crazy scary. :)

  38. Erin February 8, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    ~104,000 – credit card, student loans, and house, hopefully down to 84,400 by end of year

  39. Eric February 8, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    We are looking at about $16K right now, all in student loans. We will probably have to take about $5K more this summer, but we hope to have paid down at least that by then!

  40. JennyDee February 8, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    Credit card debt: $5,500 (down from $15,000 at the start of the 2000s) @ 11%
    Student loan (repayment kicks in April): $12,000 @6.8%
    Plus the mortgage on the house: $75,000 @3.75% (refi FTW!)

    I went on 3-4 trips a year, which is why I had $15,000 cc debt. I made a conscious decision to take on the debt, knowing a lot of these trips were “once in a lifetime” or at least “meeting up with friends I only see at conventions”. I didn’t realize just how LONG it was going to take me to pay them off. I think I’m now paying interest on interest accumulated from the debt. I’m so sick of it and it’s not going away FAST ENOUGH.

  41. Nunzio Bruno February 8, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    My debt is mostly student loans, car, and personal credit related totaling about 23K. I gave this book a look over through an Amazon preview and I would love to tear through it. Plus I think it would be cool to regive it away on http://www.financiallydigital.com after I was done with it – keep the debt destroying chain moving along :)

  42. Jenna February 8, 2011 at 1:16 PM

    I have $950 in a student loan and $900 on a credit card. :) Sallie Mae is almost kicked to the curb!! Until April….when I gain a husband ( :) ) and also his $77k in student loans and $7k in personal loans. :( Unfortunately, he’s not a doctor so we’re going to be paying it for a while.

  43. April February 8, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Down to about $8,200.00 total debt not including my $218k mortgage! Will knock out $2k off that number hopefully by the end of the week!!

    My biggest focus has been to make sure to make extra payments to the mortgage, but I am starting to realize just how important having an emergency fund is. Regardless, the path to financial freedom is an educational one for me and I certainly like to read all the literature I can get on the subject.

    If I did win this book, however, I’d donate it to my local library.I am in a poor economic area where I think a lot of people would benefit from reading a book like this.

  44. Sassy February 8, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    I have $91,000.00 in debt- mortgage debt. Why? Well, I decided for me personally, it was stupid to pay money into rent when the prices completely tanked here. The house I bought had been purchased at $271,000.00 at the peak of the market. Let’s just say that I paid less than half that amount. It just seemed to be the smartest choice for us to have a yard and more room, instead of being in a 2 bedroom condo.

  45. Debra February 8, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    We have about 35k in student loans and approx 300k in a home mortgage loan.

  46. Ally February 8, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    We have roughly $56,200 in debt; a car payment, 3 student loans, and 2 credit cards. We have alread paid off 2 credit cards, sold 1 car with payments. We also sold our home, moved 2 hours away closer to family. In jobs that we are making a bit more than before. We keep chipping awy at that debt, and hopefully enough to be able to add another child in the next year and a half, and ALSO be able to save for a LARGE down payment on a house! This condo is quite small for 2 adults, a 2 year old and 80lb dog.

  47. Erin February 8, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    I’m kind of embarassed to admit how much debt we have, but we are just getting started on our get-out-of-debt journey. Unfortunately, with one baby here and one on the way and I am a SAHM, we aren’t making progress very quickly! So here goes nothing:

    Consumer debt $20,000+ spread across multiple 0% interest credit cards
    Vacation plan (because we are suckers) $8000
    Personal Loan from the in-laws $14,000
    My student loans $19,000
    DH’s student loans $6,000
    Car $24,000
    1st mortgage $183,000
    HELOC $46,000

    Grand Total: $320,000 Can you tell we need some help?!

  48. Vanessa Sealey February 8, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    I have about $7000 worth of debt – school loans and one credit card that I overused a bit too much last year. Oh and then there’s the mortgage, but I see that more as good debt!

  49. Maci February 8, 2011 at 1:58 PM

    We have about $24,000 of debt (14k car, 10k credit card), and another $400k on our house. We are working on an aggressive plan to have credit card debt paid off and $40k in savings (currently have $4k) in 18-24 months. House and car will have to wait. Would love to have a copy of this book!!!

  50. DIYMILF February 8, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    I have $27,000 in school loan debt, and recently racked up $3,700 in credit debt (although I usually have ZERO!!!). We just bought a house, so that’s part of the reason. Hubby has a little school loan debt. Not sure how much. And we just got some new windows installed in our home, which was $13,000, and hubby just paid $5,000 off of that, so $8,000 left on that. We’ll use our tax refund to knock out as much of the $8,000 left. We HATE debt!!

  51. LB February 8, 2011 at 2:11 PM

    WOW, just WOW! I can’t believe all of the high debt! I thought my debt was high at $11,431.63 as of January 10, 2011. It is a combination of unable to finish school / medical debt / credit cards / home.

    I think a lot of what is in Bach’s book has nothing to do with me. I could be wrong, as I haven’t read the whole thing, but a lot of the reviews I have read have to do with common sense and taking your extra spending money and putting it towards debt.

    Since I already take all my money and put it towards debt, I would need the following to get out of debt sooner 1) have more income, 2) sell my home to pay off debt and live in an apartment, or 3) Find scholarships or win money for school. I don’t see the book offering help in my case.

  52. Bonnie February 8, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    I have gone from about $26K to $14K in credit card debt in the last three years because I used to live WAY beyond my means.

  53. Quisha February 8, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    I have about $15k in debt. Something that I am in the process of working down. Getting on a set budget is definitely what I need to do. Now that I’ve paid my credit card off I can focus on student loans. It’s like a never ending cycle but I know there’s a greener side :)

  54. Michelle marks February 8, 2011 at 2:56 PM

    Between the mr and I, we have 100k in debts. Scary huh? I hope I win!!!

  55. AprilFire February 8, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    I have just under $34,000 in debt. I am that far in because I was very stupid when I was younger about how debt actually works. Seems like creditors like to be paid back! But, I’m educating myself now and am digging out of it. I’ll be debt free by the time I’m 30 in just over 2 years!

  56. Danielle February 8, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    You asked. I currently have $12k in credit cards, $23k to the Bank of Grandfather and like $99k in Student loans. $12k is down from $37k (just about two years ago) incurred from compulsive shopping addiction and a very expensive medical specialist who doesn’t take insurance (who probably saved my professional life). $23k (down from $45k) was a loan from my grandfather so that I didn’t have to do a short sale on my house in 2007 when the Vegas housing market started to crash. $99k in student loans is so that I can put Esq. after my name.

    I really like David Bach, random.org. That is all.

  57. Lori February 8, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    I have a $124K mortgage.

  58. rabi February 8, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Currently have 87k. In mortgage, medical bills and credit card debt, single income with wife and 2 children. Working on getting every thing caught up and trying to save for retirement, thanks for your site and advice

  59. Kelli February 8, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    Let’s see…I have about $150k left on the mortgage, $12k left on a car payment, and approx. $6,800 in CC debt for past car repairs, medical and dental costs that came up and, yes, I’ll admit it: there were some non-essential charges on there as well like dining out, vacations, etc. The good news is that I’ve stopped running up the CC debt, so I just need to pay it down more aggressively now.

  60. Javania Webb February 8, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    I owe $106,797 all from student loans. OUCH I have $531 on a target card that I have the money for.. I would like to own an house one day but that seems far off.

  61. Eric February 8, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    I have $15,561 in debt from the purchase of a Toyota Prius. I bought it as a form of disciplining myself as a result of getting pulled over for street racing.

    It is my intent to live debt free and pay cash for my next vehicle.

  62. Laura February 8, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    I have about $85,000 in undergrad/graduate school loans and $11,000 in credit cards. Yeah, I never got the memo when I was younger on money management. Survived college on credit cards, loans, and waiting tables part-time. Am ready to start paying off some debt!

  63. Melissa M February 8, 2011 at 5:52 PM

    12K, mostly school debt but I do have a tendency to take trips I can’t afford!

  64. Dan February 8, 2011 at 6:01 PM

    I have about $30,000, the majority of that is car and student loans, the rest being credit card debt. I’ve been slowly paying it down. I want to have my credit cards and student loans gone before I propose to my girlfriend. Have to look like I’m responsible ;)

  65. Stephane L February 8, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    Hi,

    We got about $23 000.00 of debt. How we got there ? I meet a girl.

    Seriously don’t realy know ! Mortgage too high I guess.Not able to clear our credit card after each month. I begin to tell my girlfriend that we will have some problems if we didn’t began to pay back our debt. But thing didn’t really change.. we just didn’t want to change our habit. So in no time we had a lot of money on credit cards.

    We didn’t just not face the truth. Our revenue was just not high enought ! Seriously we were in a situation that we didn’t see the day that we could have no debt. We try to pay back those credit card but… It becoming frustrated. We realize how hard it was…

    Now we try to pay back those debt. And now we just dream of that day…

    Good luck to everyone with those debt.

  66. zade February 8, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    I have $3.5k in debt…left on my car loan and i’mhoping to pay it off by June 2nd 2011 (yes, I’ll be eating ramen till then and it will be so worth), 2 years early! cant wait!

  67. Jenn T February 8, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    Our only debt is our mortgage – 28 years and 285K to go – but hoping to keep paying extra to pay it off faster!

  68. Jenni February 8, 2011 at 8:34 PM

    $32,331.56… all in student loans :(

  69. C Ann February 8, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    Unfortunately I am a victim of student loans as well…amongst other things. I have about $45,000 in debt. $40K from student loans, 3K in credit cards, and 2K from a doctor bill I just received today :(

  70. RLW February 8, 2011 at 9:04 PM

    I currently have $177k on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, $69,500 in Student Loans for both my wife and myself combined, and $24k in Auto Loans for a total of $271,000…

    Pretty self explanatory on the origin of the debt.

  71. Chris P February 8, 2011 at 9:35 PM

    $50, 138 and getting lower every day. Mostly House and Car-working hard on eliminating credit card debt and that WILL be gone this year.

  72. Erin February 9, 2011 at 1:31 AM

    Paid off 38,000 of credit card debt and had 140,000 mortgage….then we bought a new house for our growing family with a 205,000 mortgage but we will never have credit card debit again!
    Love David Bach’s books!

  73. thewanderingbudget February 9, 2011 at 2:07 AM

    I have about $5,500 remaining in credit card debt and can’t wait to be rid of it! It’s there because I was so proud of myself of getting out of university with no student loans that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to put a little on my credit card. It wasn’t quite the right mentality and the debt just kept coming. On the way down now!

  74. Jennifer February 9, 2011 at 3:52 AM

    $65,000 in debt + $47,000 mortgage. The debt is credit cards & heloc.

  75. Gary Atkinson February 9, 2011 at 5:05 AM

    We have been working on our debt snowball plan for the last 5 years. The last debt we have is our home mortgage. We still owe 48K, but we have been adding to our savings also, and hope to pay it off sometime this year. I’d love to have the book! Thank you!!!

  76. Ryan February 9, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    I have slightly over $50k in debt. About 20 in credit card and rest in student loans. The CC debt came from buying things I thought I needed to keep up with my friends. Clothes, new computer, nice meals.

  77. Stephen February 9, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    I have around $10k in debt and that is pretty much because i went in on a house with my Ex that i thought i’d be spending my life with. but life thru a curve ball and she left me with the house and a loan for $10k. lol So far ive paid off about a quarter of it. and hoping it’ll be gone in a year. :D

  78. Mande February 9, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Total credit card debt: $26,100
    Loan debt: 0
    House debt: 0- and I do own!
    Total debt: $26,100

    My debt is the result of setting up house after my divorce. Although I am paying more than the minimums by way of a combination of “snowball” and “snowflake” methods, I am a long way from being debt-free.

  79. Candace February 9, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    20k – Credit Cards
    30k – Student Loans
    107k – House
    8k – Car Loans

    Pick me! :-)

  80. Maria February 9, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    Actually, apart from my mortgage which is $114,600.00 I am debt free – after being in debt due to spending more than I earned, and then getting a 2nd job and working 7 days a week to clear it all. HOWEVER, I would love to get this book for my sister and her husband. I don’t know their exact total but they have a mortgage, two car loans, 5 credit cards, and she has just lost her job which was paying $85,000. I know she is having to sell her house ASAP and move into a much, much smaller home. I think she needs a lot of guidance and assistance with creating a new way of financial living and this book would be ideal. Thank you.

  81. Tracy February 9, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    I have around $20,000 in debt. Most of it is student loans from nursing school, about $5,000 is credit card debt! I only work part time right now because I have two small children at home. But I pick 5-6 extra days per month strictly to go towards extra debt payments. It is slow going but with my tax return I’ll be paying off one of my credit cards!! I would LOVE the book!

  82. J. Money February 9, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Man, so crazy how different we all are, but also how similar we are too. Thanks for being so open and honest about all of this, guys! I think it def. helps us realize that we’re not alone here. We can support each other and get us to pay it all off over time :)

    Oh, and here’s our debt: $348,507.92

    100% mortgages, and 100% pisses me off. It’s the only thing we have left to conquer, and it just seems so scary. Oh well, we work at it bit by bit…. some responses:

    @Dani @ OKDani.com – haha no, anyone can be entered as long as they follow the rules and tell us how much debt they have. and $0.00 counts! well done ;)
    @Pat – I do the same thing w/ my credit cards. If you pay it off every month, it’s not considered “debt” to me either :)
    @amy – wow, 2 years of reading budgetsaresexy? you are my new best friend :) thanks for coming out and saying hi today!
    @LaToya – I think your obsession is sexy ;) And only $70k in mortgage debt? wow, that’s great.
    @Erin – Let it all out, sista! There’s no shame here, look at all this debt we all owe! :)
    @Danielle/b> -Haha, no many people can have that Esq. after their name, so good work ;) ALthough sometimes I add it after mine just cuz I think it sounds cool. J. Money Esq. And that’s free.

  83. rubyruns February 9, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    $18,500 in student loans and $145k mortgage.

  84. jen February 9, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    Consumer Debt – $0.00
    Student Loan – $0.00
    Vehicle Debt – $0.00
    House Mortgage – $198,000(ish) OUCH!
    …. and of course, under water on it :(

  85. Brad Chaffee February 9, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    Thanks for the shout out my friend! Debt is definitely slavery! I recently read this book and like how his position about good debt versus bad changed over the last few years.

    Can a mortgage be considered good debt? Well, by some it can, but the ultimate question is, wouldn’t it be better to be 100% free from that debt game and owe no one! If you owe ANYONE money, you are essentially their slave until you can stop working so hard just to pay them back.

    Freedom is absolutely exciting!

  86. J. Money February 9, 2011 at 8:05 PM

    I agree! Mortgage debt still sucks like all other debt. 100% pure freedom is where it’s at! Now, can I borrow $350k? ;)

  87. booboonotthefool February 9, 2011 at 8:40 PM

    I am in for 120K for student loans between grad and undergrad. Won’t buy a house or a car because I’m working on paying off 6K in credit card debt so I can have a decent debt to income ratio before I go take on more debt.

  88. cat February 9, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    about $70,000 in student loans, except for the $1,922.00 that is credit card debt. I transferred it to a 0% interest card and plan to pay that off by June! I can’t wait, then my only (huge) problem will be student loans. But that’s just the way it is I guess.. I’ll just obsess over them until they are gone. :)

  89. Erica February 9, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    I have $13,766.99 in a car loan + interest + money I owe my parents add to that the $8,000 in my school Loan for a grand total of $21,766.99 but who’s keeping track eh. lol

  90. John February 10, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    $53,237.85 in student loans for undergrad and grad. Paying extra on the 6.8% one which should be paid off in 2014.

  91. Ryan February 10, 2011 at 12:51 PM

    We (wife and I) currently have just under $53k in debt. This is mixed between student loans (most of it) and credit cards (2 of them). The student loans are obvious, but the credit card helped during college and soon after graduation (including getting married). More than half of the total debt will be gone by the end of this year. What’s nice is that none of my debt has a higher rate than 7%, including my credit card.

  92. Kaye February 11, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    Currently have $40K in debt. $25K is in credit cards (I know…seriously dumb spending) and $14K+ in a timeshare (more dumb spending). We paid off $20K this past year in credit cards and medical debt. If this year is as promising as we hope, we plan to be rid of all of this by March of 2012! =)

  93. Kevin I February 11, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    We’re currently $5k in debt for an auto loan we took out when we bought the lie of “everyone has a car payment, it’s normal debt!”. I’m considering going to graduate school in the near future and that’ll probably open us up to some debt as well, but thankfully with my new personal finance outlook I’ll be quick to make sure it’s as minimal as humanly possible.

  94. jennydecki February 11, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    I have just under $200,000 in debt. House, student loans, medical bills. I can’t wait to get it all paid off! I’d love a copy of the book :)

  95. ccw February 11, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    i have about $55k in cc debt! mostly from racking up living expenses after college. I moved to an expensive city (sf) and took a low-paying professional job in my chosen career(architecture)! snowballing the debt now, down from $72k four years ago.

  96. michelle February 11, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    I have about $12,000 in credit card debt. We own all 5 of our cars free and clear (3 drivers, two commuting to college, one to high school and work in a non-bus, non-rail town!). Oh, and our mortgage, which is low, with low payments. Here’s the nut: I have one graduating from college, one halfway through and one heading there next fall. I want to kick the cc debt out the door and use all that cash for college money. That’s my plan.

  97. michelle February 11, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    Me again … I want to add to my comment that my husband and I are committed to putting our kids through (state) colleges so they have no debt when they graduate. We pay tuition and room/board, they pay the rest with summer jobs, scholarships, etc. My parents gave me that tremendous gift, and I want to pass it along. It will be very, very hard in this economy (I’m in print media–YIKES! And my husband is a builder –DOUBLE YIKES!!). We’ll sell our house and buy down if necessary to achieve this goal for them. So, you can see why the credit card debt has got to go, and why I need that book … stat!

  98. J. Money February 11, 2011 at 2:48 PM

    Wow – that’s a lot of kids going to a lot of colleges! You can do it though!!! With or without this book ;) We’ll see if random.org likes you!

  99. Uncle El February 11, 2011 at 8:23 PM

    The only debt I have is student loan debt of 30 grand, paid off credit card and my car in 2010 and it feels great. I guess the good ol USA is making alot of dough on the interest from all the people mentioning loans as their debt, but we are still in a hugh deficit. Wheres all the money going?

  100. Zoeyjane February 11, 2011 at 11:59 PM

    I currently have $12,300 in student loans and about $300 on my credit card (which I pay off each month). I’ve just started making payments on my loan after about six years of being in default – because of a stupid loophole, even though I didn’t cash the loan (I dropped out of school), I’m still considered to owe it because the loan paperwork was never returned. Argh.

    I want to get completely debt-free so that I can return to school when my daughter starts kindergarten in the fall, going to classes by day and continuing to freelance by night. The only way that I can do that is to suck it up to the tune of $13K, a quarter of my income a month at a time.

    I’ve been looking forward to this book since the first time I heard about it. May random.org be on my side!

  101. Sass February 12, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    I currently have $10,826.35, spread amongst two credit cards and a vet bill. My debt came from pet emergencies, vacations I really couldn’t afford, and a couple of ill advised spending sprees with my teenage daughter. A large part of it came from three trips to Fayetteville NC — the first one the Christmas before my brother deployed to Iraq, he couldn’t come for Christmas that year, so we loaded up and went to him because we knew his next Christmas was going to be spent in Iraq. Then we went back up there when he deployed and then again when he came home. No, I couldn’t afford those trips, but looking back on those, I would do those trips again, because there was just so much uncertainty — but maybe just not throw so much money around while I was doing it! I’m hoping the situation never arises again, but if it does, I plan to be much better prepared financially!

  102. J. Money February 12, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    Oh man, that’s hard but I’d do the same thing I think. Now it’s just a big push to get it paid off! :)

  103. Brian c February 12, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    We have 46k in debts right now. The 46k is all that is left on our home. Debt free except for that. We hope to be completely out of debt in a few years!!

  104. Crystal C February 13, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    Is it too late too enter this? If not, I’m 30K in debt. About 15K in student loans from undergrad and the other half from grad school. BTW, I graduate in May! Woohoo!!!

  105. Kate February 13, 2011 at 10:02 PM

    I have $13,300 in student loans, $6,727 on a car loan, and a $145,000 mortgage.

  106. J. Money February 14, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    *** GIVEAWAY OVER ***

    Thanks for participating everyone! The two lucky book winners are….. Dani @ OKDani.com and jen (commenter #8). Congrats guys :) I hope you enjoy the book!