When the bills get overwhelming — and according to the latest inventory of household debt in America, the odds are good that they are — take a reading break. But rather than some momentary diversion, try opening your wallet one more time for a debt book that may actually help you climb your way out.
Need to go on a budget? Here’s an easy budgeting tool that you can start now for free!
1.Power Up: Taking Charge of Your Financial Destiny
Author: Howard S. Dvorkin
Dvorkin is a CPA, personal finance columnist, and chairman of Debt.com, but more to the point he’s helped thousands of regular people dig out of financial catastrophe. The debt book comes with the physical tools like worksheets to track budgets, but also tools to gain insight into what’s driving the ways you spend and redirect habits that derail your finances.
2. Life or Debt: A One-Week Plan for a Lifetime of Financial Freedom
Author: Stacy Johnson
The creator of the TV series Money Talks keeps it simple and short. The simple comes in the form of three guiding principles: Get rid of the debt. Live below your means. Invest sensibly and consistently. Short on time? All you need is seven days.
3. The Path to Happiness and Wealth
Author: Steve Rhode
Financial health flows from discovering your true self, says the man better known as the Get Out of Debt Guy. Rhode’s debt book maps the path to that discovery for readers.
4. You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
Author: Jen Sincero
New York Magazine described this debt book as “a cheerful manifesto on removing obstacles between yourself and the income of your dreams.” According to this best-selling author, what you think is as important as how much you make.
5. Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship With Money And Achieving Financial Independence (Updated for 2018)
Authors: Vicki Robin and jjjJoe Dominguez with Monique Tilford
The pitch: “In times like these, it’s more important than ever to know the difference between making a living and making a living.” Some readers swear by it, others find the prose hokey, the mantras sometimes cringe-worthy, but then they give it five stars anyway. The common thread? It made them think.
Author: Melanie Lockert
Who wouldn’t want to break up with Debt? And probably the best guide for doing that comes from an “ex”, in this case, Melanie Lockert who at one time owed $80,000 on student loans. Recognize spending triggers, find cheaper alternatives to expensive habits, learn the art of salary negotiation and more.
7. The 2% Rule To Get Debt Free Fast: An Innovative Method to Pay Your Loans Off For Good
Authors: Alex and Cassie Michael
From paying off the mortgage to creating an emergency fund, the authors offer a strategy to overcome financial hardships using lessons they learned conquering $100,000 in consumer debt. Need worksheets to guide you through the process? You can buy the companion 64-page workbook.
8. How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck: A proven path to money mastery in only 15 minutes a week!
Author: Avery Breyer
Getting into debt likely took months, if not years, so why not invest 15 minutes a week to get out? The book promises to deliver a budget system that isn’t time-consuming and gives access to an online budgeting tool to make it easier. Bonus: Discover the “11 worst budget traps” that will ruin your financial plans if you let them.
9. AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip
Authors: Jean Chatzky and Michael F. Roizen, MD
A “twofer” covering your financial and physical health into the future from “Today Show” financial expert and Cleveland Clinic’s chief wellness officer. If you think about it, the parallels run deep – what you wind up with depends on what you put in. The pair detail strategies to come out ahead on both fronts.
10. Why Didn’t They Teach Me This In School? 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By
Author: Cary Siegel
Perhaps we can get to the next generation before they go into debt. Written by a retired business exec for his five children, this book is popular on the graduation circuit, both for high schoolers and college grads. We hear over and over that young people aren’t learning the basics of financial literacy at school. This book promises to deliver some of those lessons without reading like a textbook.
