Customer Reviews

Degunking Your Personal Finances: Free yourself of financial burdens starting TODAY!

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I am a CPA and this is a book I would like to give to several of my clients and many of my client's children!! It's easy to read and has a common sense approach to handling the financial aspects that everyone encounters in their life. Fiscal responsibility is one of those things that many people have discussed and try to master, but very few are successful at. Degunking your Personal Finances is an easy and informative book to read, and will help you to become more organized and fiscally responsible. The firsthand "war" stories and tips help someone reading this to understand and relate to what the author is writing. This book is most beneficial if read from beginning to end, but is also very useful if you have limited time and you read the chapters out of order. I even found some tips that I will use to start finding some hidden money as the book points out. This one is a winner!

Buy This Book for Chapter 6 Alone!

A friend gave me this book recently because I've been having some serious difficulties with my personal finances. After a divorce and a move, I'm now a single mom raising a teenage son. My finances are really a mess. I've had to run up my credit cards in the last year as a result of a messy separation and loss of my husband's income, and setting up a household has been really expensive (especially now that we rely on only my income). The author's voice is reassuring and practical - I can see why she's a successful counselor! She's gotten me to take a long hard look at my finances, and I'm on my path to getting out of this financial mess I've found myself in. Chapter 6 is a godsend, "Degunking Your Consumer Debt." This chapter alone is worth the price of the book. The author emphasizes that you'll never degunking your personal finances until you commit to stop adding to your debt. Making that commitment has saved my finances. The rest of the chapter shows how to avoid new types of debt, chart out your debt, set up a way to start paying back debt, and deal with creditors.

Chapter 3 is great too - it shows how to organize your financial life so you know where your money is going. I've always hated creating a budget, which is why I've never had one before. Shannon shows how easy it is to set up a budget and check in on it every other week (which coincides with my pay periods). It's much easier than I thought. And even though my mountain of debt looks really high right now, I'm already feeling better about myself because at least I'm back on a path to financial stability again.

I've also shared this book with my son - who will be heading off to college next year. Having watched me wrestle with my money problems, I know he doesn't want to get into the same mess. This book is a great resource to teach you how to manage your money so that you don't get yourself in over your head. I think it's especially good for women who manage their household's finances, or for teenagers who need to learn about how to manage money.

Finances sometimes being a difficult and stressful topic, I was extremely relieved at the ease of navigating and digesting the information in this well done book. The way the author uses humor and examples from her own experiences in her writing made me feel like I was sitting down having a conversation with a close friend. This book is the best I've seen on this topic!

I wish they would give a book like this to everyone entering college (before they offer all those credit cards!) This book offers great ideas on cleaning up credit and being more aware of the purchases you make. Like all the Degunking books, it is easy to read and not boring like most personal finance books! I definitely recommend this book to people who are trying to get a higher credit rating.

Getting into financial difficulties is far too easy in today's society, and getting out is a struggle. Shannon Plate has written a book that will greatly aid you in the process of getting your financial house in order... Degunking Your Personal Finances (Paraglyph Press).

Contents:
Why Are My Finances All Gunked Up?; Where Do I Start Degunking My Finances?; Organizing Your Financial Life; Creating a Clear Picture of Your Financial Situation; Degunking Your Credit and Debit Cards; Degunking Your Consumer Debt; Degunking Your Home and Mortgage; Degunking Your Housing and Living Expenses; Degunking Your Savings and Investments; Degunking Your Credit Report; Fine-Tuning Your Budget; Degunking Other Expenses; Degunking Your Taxes, Benefits, and Insurance; Finding Hidden Money; Putting Your Computer and Other Technology to Work; Improving Your Credit Security; Backup and Emergency Planning; Index

All the Degunking titles are set up to have you follow a 12 step program that, if followed, will greatly improve the area being "degunked". In this case, it's your financial affairs. Plate starts out with the very basic first step... set up an area where you can organize all your financial papers. If they're scattered all over the place, the internal resistance and effort is multiplied. Then figure out where you really are with your finances, and start on cleaning up your credit and debit cards. Each additional step builds on that base and works up through the final step. Many of the later steps are ones that you can implement at any time (like implementing a financial security program, backing up financial records, etc.), but it all follows in a logical order. The author also doesn't offer any quick fixes to your problems. It's work to get out from under the pile, but if you structure your approach to doing so, it may not be quite as bad as you thought. And it's definitely not as bad as continuing to go down the same path and finding yourself unable to get credit due to bankruptcies or such...

Degunking Your Personal Finances is a well-written book that's personable and enjoyable to read. The author's personality shines through, and it's easy to follow her steps and suggestions to start cleaning up your life. And even if you think you have everything under control, you'll probably find some things in there that you can implement that will make your good situation even better. A highly recommended read...

I love this book! It is set up so that anyone can understand it, and the information is for real people. I especially liked the examples of different situations that the author shared. That made it easy to relate to my own life choices.
It seemed that every scenario that a person could think of was covered, and in a consice style that is so appreciated, since I don't have tons of time to "study" a book.
I found this to be a book that I could live by, from starting out to retiring. Thanks for such a great resource. Tracie Pratt Owosso, Michigan

In reading this book it seems to have a personal voice instead of dry boring facts. It has even been very handy to use as a reference book. Not only has it provided me with very useful financial advice and idea's, but has also helped me better understand my credit history (and how to improve my credit future) and further my investment knowledge.

Degunking Your Personal Finances is good advice from someone who clearly has seen a lot of different financial situations with her clients. It's an easy read with stories and tips that keep in moving along. I had the pleasure of interviewing Shannon Plate about her book on my Internet radio show, wsradio.com/everydaywealth and found her to exude the same "want to help" approach that her book takes.