The ABCs of Getting Out of Debt: Turn Bad Debt into Good Debt and Bad Credit into Good Credit

by Garrett Sutton

Overview

In difficult times, debt can be a matter of life and death, happiness and despair. Controlling your debt can bring order and calm. Mastering debt can bring wealth and success. As bestselling Rich Dad/Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki says, “Good debt makes you rich and bad debt makes you poor.”

The ABCs of Getting Out of Debt provides the necessary knowledge to navigate through a very challenging credit environment. A Rich Dad’s Advisor and best selling author of numerous business books, Garrett Sutton, Esq. clearly writes on the key strategies readers must follow to get out of debt. Unlike other superficial offerings, Sutton explores the psychology and health effects of debt. From there, the reader learns how to beat the lenders at their own game, and how to understand and repair your own credit. Using real life illustrative stories, Sutton shares how to deal with debt collectors, avoid credit scams, and win with good credit.

“The reason Garrett Sutton’s book is so important is that like it or not, debt is a powerful force in our world today. The financially intelligent are using debt to enrich themselves while the financially uneducated are using debt to destroy their lives.”- Robert Kiyosaki

The times call for a book that offers hope and education on mastering credit and getting out of debt.

To learn more visit: RichDadAdvisors.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937832070
Publisher:	RDA Press, LLC
Publication date:	09/18/2012
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Garrett Sutton is an attorney, best selling author and one of Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Advisors. A clear and engaging writer, Garrett demystifies legal topics and presents them in a very understandable and accessible manner.

Garrett has over thirty years experience in assisting individuals and businesses to limit their liability, protect their assets, implement advantageous corporate structures and advance their financial goals.

Garrett is the author of “Start Your Own Corporation,” “Writing Winning Business Plans,” “Buying and Selling a Business” and “The ABC’s of Getting Out of Debt” among other titles.

Garrett is the owner and operator of CorporateDirect.com, which since 1988, has provided affordable asset protection and corporate formation services, as well as resources for entrepreneurs and real estate investors. Robert Kiyosaki, the best selling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad calls Garrett and Corporate Direct “the premiere source for asset protection strategies.”

Garrett attended Colorado College and the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration in 1975. He graduated with a J.D. in 1978 from Hastings Law, the University of California’s law school in San Francisco. He has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other publications. Garrett enjoys speaking on asset protection strategies and is a frequent lecturer for business groups and the Rich Dad’s Advisors educational series.

Garrett serves on the boards of the American Baseball Foundation, located in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Reno-Nevada based Sierra Kids Foundation.

For more information on Garrett Sutton, please visit his Web sites at www.sutlaw.com, www.corporatedirect.com, and www.successdna.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword: I Love My Credit Cards Robert Kiyosaki xi

Part One Credit and Debt

Chapter One An Introduction to the Credit System 3

Chapter Two The Psychology of Debt 9

Chapter Three Health Effects of Debt 15

Chapter Four Beat the Lenders at their Own Game 19

Chapter Five Debt Consolidation 35

Chapter Six Getting Help 43

Part Two Emergency Measures for Crisis Debt Situations

Chapter Seven Car Loan Troubles 61

Chapter Eight Mortgage Troubles 67

Chapter Nine Student Loans 75

Chapter Ten When you Owe Taxes 81

Chapter Eleven Military Matters 85

Chapter Twelve Debt Collectors 89

Part Three Great Credit

Introduction 101

Chapter Thirteen Credit Reports 105

Chapter Fourteen Credit Scores 127

Chapter Fifteen Credit Repair 149

Chapter Sixteen Common Credit Report Problems 171

Chapter Seventeen Scams 187

Chapter Eighteen Winning with Credit 203

Appendix A Sample Letters 207

Appendix B Worksheets 213

Appendix C Resources 221

Index 227

Editorial Reviews

In this guide, Sutton (Run Your Own Corporation, 2012, etc.) offers recommendations for avoiding and solving debt problems. The author begins by asserting that "the credit industry actively entices all comers, especially the young and inexperienced." In the first part of this book, he goes on to offer some overall guidelines for dealing with consumer debt. In Chapter 4, he explains a 10-step strategy, along with sample worksheets, used by one couple who "never seemed to make a dent" in the amount they owed. The author makes recommendations about debt consolidation and includes a lengthy chapter, "Getting Help," that thoroughly explains the different kinds of bankruptcy and the process of borrowing against a 401(k). The second part of the book looks at specific kinds of debt, ranging from current mortgage troubles to tax debt. A section on student loans, for example, includes eight remedies for dealing with overwhelming loan payments. Sutton's chapter on debt collectors asserts that negotiating with collection agencies is "one of the most important skills you can learn and hone." The handbook's third part deals primarily with credit reporting agencies, credit reports and how they're compiled, and credit repair. Throughout, the author presents stories of real-life predicaments that enliven what might have otherwise been bone-dry material. For example, "Credit Reports" describes the yearslong misery of a failed entrepreneur: "Roberto...had taken some risks on a restaurant that didn't work out." Finally, a chapter on credit scams and good uses of credit is followed by three appendices, including a list of other helpful books and websites. A fact-packed, easy-to-navigate resource for consumers concerned about debt.

Kirkus Reviews