Good Debt, Bad Debt: Knowing the Difference Can Save Your Financial Life [Hardcover]

Jon Hanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2004

Debt is like cholesterol, says author and lecturer Jon Hanson: Some kinds are good and some are bad. Too much bad debt can wreck your financial health, but so can too little good debt. The problem is that many people never learn the difference. Hanson himself barely survived a “near debt experience” a few years ago.

In Good Debt, Bad Debt, Hanson explains how good debt can help readers achieve their dreams, such as buying a house, a car, or a college education. But he’s also tough about diagnosing the symptoms of bad debt. If you’ve ever gotten into trouble with your credit cards, or leased a car that’s way more expensive than you can really afford, or bought a house with only 5 percent down, it’s time for a reality check.

Hanson has been researching this topic relentlessly since pulling himself out of the hole he dug with bad debt. His book blends personal stories, humor, and even twenty original cartoons, making it more fun to read than the typical personal finance tome. It covers topics like income/wealth confusion, emotional spending, and marriage issues—as well as nuts-and-bolts chapters on car buying, home buying, retirement, and more.

Good Debt, Bad Debt is an entertaining and inspirational guide to improving your life so that bad debt can’t rob you of your joy. In the tradition of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it shares the secrets that only a minority of lucky people already know.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

With wit and insight, Hanson offers advice on the pros and cons of debt while helping us develop a philosophy about it as well as one for spending and saving. He explains that good debt increases net worth and includes credit-card debt, leasing a car greater than you can afford, and buying a house with 5 percent down. If what you purchase on credit can easily pay its way by selling it, or hopefully from the cash flow it produces, then such debt is a good idea. When debt reflects greed, impatience, or seeking the appearance of wealth, it has negative consequences. Using personal stories, humor, and cartoons, Hanson explains the principles of debt and money in the first four chapters and then counsels us on the value of developing a mathematical financial plan based on these fundamentals. This is an excellent primer on a very important topic. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Who couldn't use a New Year's makeover? [Hanson's book]... can help you conquer debt... -- People Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (December 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591840732
• ISBN-13: 978-1591840732
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,759,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

About Jon Hanson

Author Speaker Crusader against Debtabetes.

A 24-year veteran and student of the real estate business and now a full-time author and speaker on topics of personal finance, Jon Hanson talks from the heart ' literally; he barely survived his own 'near-debt experience' a few years ago and used the lessons he learned to mine a deeper joy out of the dysfunctional monetary habits and attitudes that nearly cost him his life. Stressed, demoralized, nearly $100,000 in debt to the IRS, and suffering severe chest pains, Hanson imagined his own obituary while hooked to a heart monitor at his local emergency room:



'Jon Hanson (41) of Pickerington, Ohio, died Tuesday from complications stemming from lack of discipline, inability to delay gratification, and lack of discernment in financial matters. He showed great promise early in life. Unfortunately, he expired before much could be made of it.'


Fortunately, there's been no need for the obit. Jon has lived on to write Good Debt, Bad Debt which he hopes will spare others from the trauma he experienced while suffering from extreme "debtabetes, and inspire folks to rise above the financial mistakes made by virtually everybody in today's immediate-gratification consumer culture.

Prior to devoting himself to writing and speaking on the dangers of Debtabetes and other scourges of the land, Jon's full-time business was real estate. Jon has worked almost exclusively with distressed property situations since 1981. In the second half of his real estate career, most of Jon's effort was concentrated on more than 120 foreclosure work-outs, judicial foreclosure of liens, judgments, and disposition of bankruptcy claims.

Jon holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the State University of New York. He lives with his wife and two children, a very small mortgage, and zero consumer debt.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overlong and Overwritten. The message is good., September 7, 2005

By 

Ronald L. Starr (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Debt, Bad Debt: Knowing the Difference Can Save Your Financial Life (Hardcover)

While I strongly agree with the message of this book, I cannot recommend it. The theme of the book is that you need to save part of your income and invest it to create wealth for your old age. This agrees with the research in the book "The Millionaire Next Door," cited by Mr. Hanson. That book, through personal interviews, shows that most self-made multimillionaires lived on part of their income and invested the rest for high return.

The main weaknesses of "Good Debt, Bad Debt" are repetitiveness and overwriting. The author Jon Hanson says he wanted to be an author for many years. When he told this to an English teacher, he says she laughed uproariously. He would have done well to have called her in to help with the volume. The book could be, in my judgment, about one-third as long with judicious editing and still convey most of the information contained. I found it hard to read the last one-third. Also, the author self-consciously and seemingly proudly coins new words and phrase, as well as "10 second lessons."

The writing itself is clear and there are very few typos.

The message is fine: reduce your consuming-being in the "consumerati"-and then invest, with real estate being favored. The author also shares some of his personal history, including his own weakness in following this advice. There are some brief descriptions of people who have good and poor savings patterns. I'd like to see more-detailed case histories of people who changed from poor to good financial management and the results. Because of the repetitions, some readers might find some ways of saying things a little clearer than others.

Overall, while I like the message, I don't recommend reading this book to get it.

Oh, why does my review different from earlier ones? I feel this author got shills to give him excellent reviews which, in my view, are not deserved. Only one of the four other reviewers have reviewed other books than this one. And two of the three apparently shill reviewers are in the same state as the author, suggesting people who know him. So, I recommend you ignore earlier reviews.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, must read for anyone... well Anyone at all., January 22, 2005

By 

Tim the Duke (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Debt, Bad Debt: Knowing the Difference Can Save Your Financial Life (Hardcover)

First of all I don't own this book. I just skimmed through it today at a brick and mortar store. I was very pleased to see some one had written down many of life's lessons that I've been learning the hard way. I make $35k a year and feel like a slave. And that I am, a slave to my past spending habits. Fortunately I am only 29.

Despite the fact that I've already learned the hard way many of the lessons in this book, I still really enjoyed it as it confirmed many of the observations I've made about where my spending habits came from and the criticisms/cynicisms that I've formed of the advertising industry and our consumer culture in general. He uses great imagery, a rare and invaluable talent. Yes, we are very much like cows being milked for all we're worth by greedy executives. However we are not really cows, so we have a choice of whether to be milked or not.

I only regret that the author did not realize these insights 10 years ago (before I had entered the job market). But such is life! There is a lot in here that is central to the pursuit of hapiness, which I gather many people, like me, have backwards. I am defintely one of the people whom he identifies in the book whose possesions own the person instead of the other way around.

Perhaps it is a little too revealing as I put it back on the shelf after skimming it, knowing that it would still be there whenever I decide I want to part with some cash to give it a permanent space on my own personal bookshelf. (I say that toungue in cheek)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Public schools should pass these out before Math texts!, April 23, 2006

By 

M. Smith "NE NY farmer" (Champlain Valley, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Debt, Bad Debt: Knowing the Difference Can Save Your Financial Life (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the library and did take my time over it (renewed once) but that is after reading the first few main chapters. Ane reading other stuff inbetween. It IS easy to become more financially set. To save money, live with a reasonably priced car and house (below your "means") and bank the differences. Short term deferment results in long term gain, don't keep up with the Joneses. Timeless quotes are given from experts through history. Humor makes this a good read.

Basic math classes in our public schools would do us a world of good if they just taught these basic concepts!!! But it took me to age 40 (like the author) to learn this. Do I really need all this junk in my life?

Definitely a good graduation present for any young person -- if they read it. I know in my head that putting a little away each pay will add up, but it is that immediate gratification that can ruin such a plan. Any intelligent person will see the basic, logical reasoning given here. I hope people can be persuaded to put it into practice. Yes, you can cut up your credit cards, or at least pay them off monthly. Thank you for a great book! P.S. Buying this on the gooddebt website will give a donation to childrens' autism research.