It seems as if Frank had every advantage over Tom that you could think of. 

 

Frank graduated from a very prestigious college.  Tom went to work as a tradesman right out of high school.

 

Frank had a great job with a top ranked company.  Tom labored for years earning hourly wages.

 

The difference is, and the lesson that this book will attempt to reinforce, is that Tom handled his finances intelligently.  Frank didn’t. And remember that Frank had the higher education level, “book smarts”.  It seems Tom had more of the “street smarts” or common sense.

 

No matter how well or poorly educated someone is, if they understand and follow the basics of credit and debt management, their later years will be greatly improved.  It is my goal that by providing access to many different types of credit and debt related topics in this book; you’ll more likely wind up like Tom than like Frank.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that two universal laws exist:

 

1.  Credit is a four letter word!

 

2.  Money cannot buy happiness, but lack of debt can!

 

One of the lessons you’ll learn from this book is that more money does not mean less debt.  No matter how much someone earns, they can be tempted to live beyond their earnings, and use a credit, oops use a debt card as an extension of income.  That will never work.  If you earn $30,000 and spend $25,000, you’re rich.  If you earn $50,000 and spend $60,000, you’re poor.  Period.  End of conversation.

 

Now for the meat, and enough of the preaching.

 

The goal that I had when I started conceiving this book was to research, edit, and present approximately 50 short chapters, each organized as a “top 10 or so” list on a specific topic concerning methods to understand or improve a specific credit or debt situation, from student loans through bankruptcy.

 

The more I researched and the more I wrote, the more I realized that 50 chapters, though challenging and valuable enough, could easily be expanded to many more.

 

In the beginning, I decided that “Credit is a Four Letter Word Volume 2” would be appropriate, but as you now know, I’ve decided to add value by expanding the scope of the original book at no extra cost, even with the extra time it’s taken to bring it to fruition.  I hope you enjoy this final result.

 

So we begin.  The following chapters are presented not necessarily in an order that should be read from beginning to end, though they could be as a first reading.  They are presented in a subjectively chronological order based on a timeline that many people follow.