Customer Reviews

Money Drunk

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was given this book by my mother when I said at one point that no matter how much I made I seemed to owe even more. My husband and I owed so many thousands of dollars on high-interest credit cards that I thought 25 years would pass and we would still not be out of debt. It is now three years later and not only are we out of debt, but we have a good start on retirement savings, an emergency cushion in the bank, and we are about to buy our first house -- all things that I never thought we'd be able to do. This book first describes different types of money "addictions" (you will absolutely see yourself here), and then gives you an easy-to-follow step-by-step program to get you started on your way to being fiscally responsible. I followed the program diligently and found the exercises very helpful in keeping focused, not just on my spending but on how to use our money to make Life Changes....not just home improvements. I really can't recommend this book highly enough -- it truly saved my life.

This book is based on a seminar series designed to work with those who have obsessions and addictions about money that are harmful. Unlike most books that address the psychological roots of money problems, this one develops a detailed recovery plan over 13 weeks that builds on programs for overcoming other addictions like alcoholism. Even if you don't have a full-scale addiction to money, you can use this program to diagnose and improve the places where you are misfocused in your thinking about and use of money.

One of the many valuable insights that I took away from this book was that money addictions are often associated with other addictions like alcoholism and excessive gambling. Many people will solve those addictions with great difficulty, but still find their lives missing something due to their money addictions.

One of the strengths of this book is found in the many diagnostic lists that can help you assess whether you are having or have had problems with money addiction. I certainly found myself in several chapters, and that provided useful insights to me.

Here are some of the categories to watch out for: Compulsive spending (getting an emotional rush from buying things); Big deal chasing (fantasies providing encouragement for irresponsible use of time and financial resources, and the related problems of workaholism to get more money and avoid intimacy with one's family and friends); Maintenance money focus (doing work just for the money); Poverty addiction (seeing sainthood in having little money and less spending); and Co-dependency (where your relationships are based on providing money for someone with a money addiction).

The 13 week recovery program is marvelous. I was very impressed. It starts with undoing your stalled thinking about money, and bit by bit helps you establish new and better habits about money.

The program builds a lot on measuring how you are spending and getting money, focuses you on stopping the worst of your bad habits (like taking on more debt), and gradually refocuses you on important human issues like self-esteem, compassion, peace, spirituality, and reintroducing hope into your life. This stallbusting approach is one that should work for anyone who has hit bottom and truly wants to reform. This is a book that everyone should read and use to evaluate themselves. It should also be shared with children. Money addiction is often passed down from parents to children through sharing bad habits learned in the home. If a friend shares with you that they are in a bad way financially and need help, give them a copy of the book. It will probably do them more good than giving them money that they won't be able to repay.

Live a higher quality of life from learning the lessons of this book!

There are many books that will help you become financially stable. This book is different from the rest. Money Drunk gives you an overview of the addictive personalities that money can bring out even if you have not taken a drink. It is a step by step process that over the years has worked for many people.

Relating the step by step process to money speaks only to the format of the book. The Solution is a 90-day program that will bring you on your feet in no time.

A strategy discussed in the book for balancing the budget is to divide your income into 3 parts, 1/3 for the past, 1/3 for the present, and 1/3 for the future. This is a strategy that I am still evaluating and experimenting with.

Julia Cameron's approach is gentle and reassuring. A great book for jumping into financial management with both feet.

Whenever I read books on debt issues, I always compare them to "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis. Buy that book if you are in debt. I also recommend this book, but not as highly, but do buy it and read it. It's got some good material in it.

The focus of this book regarding debts is various addictions people have and how they relate to money. Now, I've never had a drink of alcohol in my life, and I've never had any drugs, so I can't relate to addictions in general, but I must admit, when I read this book and the various levels of addictions people have regarding money, I could see a little bit of myself in each description. If you want a rundown of these, click on "editorial reviews" right above "customer reviews" over to the left.

Having paid off thousands and thousands of dollars in debt over the last 2 1/2 years so far and still working on it, I can say with confidence that debt payment is worth the effort. This book does an excellent job of describing those various personalities of money addicts. The one I identified with the most was the "Big Deal Chaser." I always thought if I bought the right stock at the right time I would make a killing and pay off all my debts. Some people buy lottery tickets while other people are waiting for that big pay raise. Don't waste your time chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The pot of gold is right at your feet. Cut up those worthless credit cards and start paying cash for everything. Pay off your debt with your current income. It's not the difficult. Been there done that.

After describing the various levels of money addiction, the authors go over their 90 day plan for getting back on your feet financially. This was a bit of a letdown for me. Some people may find their plan very workable. I basically ignored it. Maybe that's because I'm almost out of debt, I really don't know. I found it kind of incoherent, but there were some things that I liked. One was finding a "money buddy" which is basically someone who you can relate to and openly discuss your money situation with and your debt payment progress. I suppose you could almost call it a mentor in a way. I never had one and I still don't have one, but after experiencing all I have experienced and triumphed over a huge pile of debt, I find myself acting as a mentor to others to help them along the pathway. If you find yourself in debt and need a little coaching, drop me an email. I'll be your "money buddy." Seriously. I love sharing it with others.

I'm giving this book 3 stars. I found the descriptions of the various types of money addictions to be enlightening, but the plan to get out of debt was pretty incoherent. Everybody's different, so perhaps you the reader will find it more useful than I. I do recommend this however: buy this book and "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis. Read them both. If you're in over your head in consumer debt, it can't hurt to check out all of your options. If you buy both at the same time, you'll even save money on the shipping. Email me with your experiences. I always enjoy sharing my triumphs, mistakes and lessons from the battlefield of the real world.

For me, this book was more useful to explore my spending habits. When do I spend my money? Why? What are ways to circumvent this spending? In terms of the actual plan to get out of debt, I found it less helpful to me than other books on the market today (Of course, I encourage that you read as many books on this subject as you can check out for free from the library).

The way proposed to get out of debt or at least so you stop living off credit cards is good and sound, built up through a week-by-week program. However, some of the activities I don't believe will benefit all people who pick up and read the book. If you're way in over your head, getting calls from collections and STILL debting, definitely check this one out, but if you're like me and are not yet at that point, just read the first half to get into the psychology of your spending behaviour.

It's obvious that Mr. Bryan and Ms. Cameron know what they are talking about from page one, and, thank goodness, they have been able to explain (to me) my own lifelong struggle with money handling!!! Now, with insight into the origins of my money dilemma, I have been able to make my money work with my life for the first time! Whew! What a great relief!!! I understand now that this is a learned behavior, and yes, I used money to "fill in the blanks" that I thought I had. Now I realize I really don't have any "blanks", that I'm really quite marvelous in many ways (why haven't I been able to see that till now?)! I just had this painful and debilitating old habit I'm now glad to be rid of for good. So, BRAVO, Cameron and Bryan...and many, many thanks!!!

This should become a classic for people in financial recovery. It's a lot of fun to read; I found myself on every other page. And it was so helpful. Well written, compassionate, interesting and consciousness-raising about money and how we handle it. Bravo!

This book goes on to describe 5 different money drunks
Among them is the poverty addict, who is addicted to poverty. Usually this kind of person subconsciously feels that in order to be a good person or to be spiritual they must suffer. Then there's the Big Deal Chaser. This person goes from business start up to business start up looking for "THE ONE" to fix it all. They have the subconscious belief of "when I'll get rich I'll show'em all". Then there's the Maintenance money drunk. This person has let go of their dreams to "get a real job" or to get a job that pays the bills. They don't believe in "fairy tales".


I think we have let ourselves have a distorted view of money. Religion doesn't help. Sayings like "money is the root of all evil" or "the rich are getting richer while poor are getting poorer".

Even wealthy and rich people can be poverty addicts, feeding into the thinking that there isn't enough money to go around for everyone.

Most likely you'll find yourself being a little bit of all 5 money drunk types with maybe a concentration in one or two.

Between the poverty addiction and the big deal chasers, I think most of us are afraid to really evaluate our relationship with money and really let ourselves have a spiritual relationship with money. (Spiritual and money ...huh?? does that even exist? YES!)

This book makes you realize that no matter if you win the lottery or get more money coming in, if your inner feelings towards money are not balanced, you will most likely create situations that will suck you dry financially. (Bills, credit, debt, etc)


Cliches such as "money isn't everything" may pop into your mind, but when the topic of family comes up people don't say "family isn't everything" or when the topic of health comes up people don't say "health isn't everything". When the topic of electricity comes up , people don't say "electricity isn't everything".

I think money has gotten a bad wrap due to a variety of things we've been taught including religion teaching that wealth is bad. Money is like electricity. You can use it to warm your home and cook a good meal for your friends and loved one....or you can use it to COOK YOUR FAMILY. That doesn't make electricity good or bad. Electricity just is. Money is the same way - it just IS.

I recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are spiritually inclined. We all owe it to ourselves and to our loved ones to be wealthier! In my opinion we ALL deserve to have the finer things in life!

Julia Cameron, the author of the Artist's Way, Walking in This World, and Vein of Gold, among others, has done it again. She and partner, Mark Bryan, have created an approach to personal money management that takes into account our emotional attitudes and training about money. Many times our patterns interfere with the way we are able to deal with money and their approach helps us to unhook those negative patterns. Clear and concise, this book is well-written and brief, but powerful.

I highly recommend it. You won't regret it.

I am what this book characterizes as a compulsive spender. Reading this book not only helped me get my spending under control but also helped me change my opinion on how I viewed money in my life. It really goes through different types of people such as the compulsive spender (me), to the cash co-dependant--someone who actually assists someone with their money issues (i.e. a woman who is continuously giving a boyfriend her money, when he continuously loses the money and does not do him nor her any good.). This book works on self esteem and an "I can do" attitude towards money. The first half of the book focuses on finding what type of "Money Drunk" you are and identifying with other scenarios with quick stories and examples. The second half is the battle plan, that lasts 90 days and is grouped into different themes; Awarness (Finding out what and how you acquired this problem), Acceptance (Learning to deal with your addiction), and Action (Do something about it and how). It even has a relapse checklist and a section towards the end on spirituality. If you are not into the religion aspect, please note the book does not "steer" you towards counting directly on religion so don't worry. Everyone can enjoy and benefit from this book which is easy to read and flows well... Even loved ones of money drunks can benefit from this book. I get distracted easily and never seem to finish a book but this book was so well written and gave me such continuous hope I couldnt help but keep on reading!