Your fool-proof guide to paying off debt, planning for the future, and breaking free of our debt-loving culture. The consumer credit industry wants us to believe that debt is necessary to bridge the gap between our pitiful incomes and the lifestyles we desire. But the problem is not that we don't have enough money. It's that we don't know how to manage the money we already have. And until we learn that, more money will never be enough. In this life-changing...

"Credit cards and loans can be helpful tools in your financial future. Credit cards and loans can help you finance purchases and build a credit history when used correctly"

"Frequent New Yorker contributor Jake Halpern investigates the shadowy, unregulated world of consumer debt collection, focusing on an unlikely friendship between a former banking executive and former armed robber who go in search of "paper," spreadsheets of uncollected debt sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar"--

"The sensible strategies in this book will help the reader take control of their finances, clean up their credit report, and rebuild their credit. This book discusses how to prioritize debts and create a budget, reduce debts and cut expenses, negotiate with creditors, correct credit report errors and remove old information, add positive information to a credit report, adopt strategies to rebuild credit, and avoid identity theft and credit repair scams"--...