Buy Your Freedom!

Have you ever found yourself sitting in front of the TV watching "House Hunters" or a similar show, to see a young, newlywed couple, fresh out of school, looking at starter homes in the $800,000 range while thinking to yourself, "How in the world can they afford that"? This book holds the answer to that question, and many more.

A long time ago, in an America far, far away, we lived within our means, spent no more than our paychecks would allow, and only resorted to borrowing money from other people in the most severe of economic disasters or emergencies.

Oh, how times change.

Today, we borrow money from other people for almost every expense over $200. We now call it financing, or buying on credit. This is simply borrowing money from other people to buy the things we normally could not afford. In addition, most of us know personally (or have gone through the process ourselves) someone who has declared bankruptcy to get out of their debt problems.

This is also normal, and even approved practice today. What we have somehow evolved to consider to be normal "acceptable rules of finance" is shameful, at best.

There have been countless books on personal finance published before this one. They typically cover the same topics – Make a monthly budget, wisely-choose your mutual funds, put away an emergency fund for a rainy day, save something for retirement, and something for your kids’ education. Based on our current financial predicament, these books apparently have not worked very well.

This book is not one of those. This book is more of a Chuck-Norris-Roundhouse-Kick to the Financial Face. Most of you will not be prepared to hear what this book says, but sometimes, tough love is the best kind.

You have been warned. Buyer Beware.

-- Todd Nethercutt