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Debt Is Slavery: And 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me about Money
Get Out of Debt, Gain Control Of Your Finances, and Reclaim Your Freedom and Your Life! Do you control your money of does money control you? Do you ever wake up in the morning and groan, "I don't want to go to work today?" Then you think about all the bills you have to pay, drag yourself out of a warm bed and go to work anyway. Does it seem like you never get ahead financially? Does debt cause you worry and anxiety? Do you want to gain control of you money and your life? This book will teach you how to: *Change the way you think about money *Release yourself from the slavery of debt *Gain Control of your finances *Buy back your life and freedom *Recognize and resist the constant attempts to separate you from your money *Find a job that fulfills you *Produce income without trading away your time *Achieve your financial goals Nobody should be a slave to their finances. Read this book and transform your life!
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
7 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 3, 2008
Rule #1 for getting out of debt - don't buy books on getting out of debt, check them out from the library! I read this book in less than 3 hours, it's very simple to follow and he makes some great points that we all know but sometimes we need to hear them again....basically, be happy with what you have, don't let our society tell you that if you buy these clothes or a certain car you will be a better, happier person - possessions can weigh you down after a while and they aren't the "good stuff" in life. I am learning that life is not about what I can buy or have - in fact, after reading this book, I am inspired to continue to get rid of all of this stuff we have accumulated in our home! I am tired of stuff!! I am confident that the only way we can live in peace is to drop the lifestyle of trying to keep up with others, trying to have the newest, coolest things - because I am much happier now after being on a strict budget for two years than I ever was when I was charging away on my credit card.
December 18, 2011
Good, short (120 pages) presentation on why and how you should change your relationship with money.
I have one bone to pick: he lists college education debt as "good debt" without any caveats. This is a very bad omission and the cause of many young people's debt problems. PLEASE, if you read this book, do much more research on the value of college education debt before you accept his throw-away statement on the subject.
I have one bone to pick: he lists college education debt as "good debt" without any caveats. This is a very bad omission and the cause of many young people's debt problems. PLEASE, if you read this book, do much more research on the value of college education debt before you accept his throw-away statement on the subject.
January 7, 2023
I was very impressed with this book. Short and simple, at under 125 pages with appendix. It has great advice and tips, for gaining control of your spending, your finances and in doing so, your time. The biggest lesson I took from the book is that money is time. If you make 20$ a hour and you want a Blue Ray player that is $200 then it is about 10 hours of your life for you to buy it. As a father of young children I already do this. For example, there are guys at work that go out and eat almost every day for lunch. When I only go every few weeks, they bug me. But depending on where they are going I say lunch is a box of diapers or two cans of formula. But I had never considered applying it to all spending. Every time you spend money it comes down to how much do you need to work for that item or expense. Every expense therefore has a time value not just a dollar value.
The book is clear and concise; it has tips and tricks at the end of each chapter to help you apply it. No matter where you are at, it can help you start on the road to financial recovery. I only wish the worksheets and checklists it uses were available for download from the website, as excel workbooks that can progress from month to month or as PDF to be printed and used. But other than that it is an excellent resource especially for students or new grads, to develop the good habits early.
The book is clear and concise; it has tips and tricks at the end of each chapter to help you apply it. No matter where you are at, it can help you start on the road to financial recovery. I only wish the worksheets and checklists it uses were available for download from the website, as excel workbooks that can progress from month to month or as PDF to be printed and used. But other than that it is an excellent resource especially for students or new grads, to develop the good habits early.
July 31, 2021
I was talking with my dad about finance and credit, since i am now an adult, and he closed the conversation by recommending this book. After reading it I can see the influence it had over his perspective on finance and the advice he was giving me. I found the contents of the book to be mostly sorta common sense, at least for me. I found the last chapter where he outlines his approach to saving money to be the most beneficial. I understand that "Debt is Slavery" is the title and the main point of the book, but at times being beat over the head with it made me feel a little uncomfortable. I appreciate that it was short and to the point, as my main issue with many non-fiction books is that they are far too long (the ones that are like 300 pages for a what could have been a blog post). The writing was also super accessible.
August 14, 2019
Three stars because it can be useful and straight to the point for someone who has never even considered the idea of being financially secure but in the end it's just a distilled mashup of Your Money or Your Life, Early Retirement Extreme and Dave Ramsey all of which have better written books on the subject.
April 9, 2023
Basic level. Which is good and obviously as advertised, but not entertaining. I feel like all the punctuation should have been exclamations, urgently telling you that if you didn’t shape up and plan your income and expenses you would spiral into consumer debt.
March 8, 2017
Basic and simple, at times simplistic.
His time is money but money is time paradigm is good to think about in terms of measuring the value of a purchase.
His time is money but money is time paradigm is good to think about in terms of measuring the value of a purchase.
February 16, 2008
Michael Mihalik was inspired to write this little book because of his own struggles with debt after college.
Mihalik, an aerospace engineer when not penning books, proudly mentions several times throughout “Debt is Slavery” that he has overcome his early credit card debt and is so financially savvy now he was able to take six whole weeks off in order to write his book. Six whole weeks.
This is where I think to myself that I or pretty much anyone who can put pen to paper might be able to come up with 128 pages on any topic if given a month and a half.
When it comes down to it, I don’t think Mihalik’s experience overcoming his debt is anything remarkable. He overextended himself with credit cards while in college and it took a while for him to bail himself out. Well done, Mr. Mihalik, but I also learned that “easy credit” lesson the hard way. So did a few others I know.
While sound, Mihalik’s pointers to overcome your debt are far too general, to the tune of: Don’t buy things you don’t need. Um, OK.
“I came up with 10 basic ideas and rules about money that allowed me to gain control of my finances and pay off my debt,” Mihalik states. “They literally transformed my life.”
Mihalik was 13 when his father died, and the premise of the book is that Mihalik had to come up with his own rules for money because his dad never had the chance to teach him.
“That’s not the easiest way to learn. I wish someone had just taught me the rules, but fate had other plans for me,” he writes. “If you’re drowning in debt, if it seems like you’ll never get ahead financially, or if you’re forced to work at a job you dislike to pay the bills, this book has something for you.”
Something, yes. Something in the way of very general advice.
(Specific financial advice, let it be noted, should come from a financial services professional).
The author says that when he got out of college, armed with his engineering degree and several pre-approved credit cards, he soon found himself in roughly $20,000 of debt and living beyond his means. At the time, Mihalik said he searched for a self-help book but could find none that were short and to the point. There, his idea for this book was born.
“After I eliminated my debt and gained control of my finances, I wanted to help other people do the same, so I decided to write the book I wish had been available to me,” he writes.
It took Mihalik one “hellish year” to get out of debt, he says.
The core lessons of the book are sound: Debt is bad. Try not to get into it. Possessions won’t bring you happiness, so stop buying them. Find work you enjoy, and you’ll be happier. Don’t just save, invest in “income-producing assets.” Spend less than you earn.
Are these suggestions bad advice? Not at all. Did I need to read this book to learn them? Not at all.
The one piece of advice that piqued my interest was the chapter — I mean the three whole pages — on how to save 50 percent of your salary.
“If you save 50 percent of your salary, for every month you work, you will save enough to take a month off — without changing your lifestyle,” Mihalik writes.
Hmmm. Saving half my salary. I don’t think that’s even possible.
But Mihalik anticipates this reaction, and advises trying for a 33 or 25 percent total savings — over and above the maximum 401k plan contributions you can make at work, that is.
To save this quarter of your salary, you have to make a budget, he says.
I agree — making a budget is a great idea for anyone who has any debt at all. It helps you see where your money goes.
Additionally, Mihalik advises, you should budget for savings, trips and special purchases. Yes, all good ideas, but still super-simplified and general.
My advice is to save the money you would spend on this book and add it to your savings.
Mihalik, an aerospace engineer when not penning books, proudly mentions several times throughout “Debt is Slavery” that he has overcome his early credit card debt and is so financially savvy now he was able to take six whole weeks off in order to write his book. Six whole weeks.
This is where I think to myself that I or pretty much anyone who can put pen to paper might be able to come up with 128 pages on any topic if given a month and a half.
When it comes down to it, I don’t think Mihalik’s experience overcoming his debt is anything remarkable. He overextended himself with credit cards while in college and it took a while for him to bail himself out. Well done, Mr. Mihalik, but I also learned that “easy credit” lesson the hard way. So did a few others I know.
While sound, Mihalik’s pointers to overcome your debt are far too general, to the tune of: Don’t buy things you don’t need. Um, OK.
“I came up with 10 basic ideas and rules about money that allowed me to gain control of my finances and pay off my debt,” Mihalik states. “They literally transformed my life.”
Mihalik was 13 when his father died, and the premise of the book is that Mihalik had to come up with his own rules for money because his dad never had the chance to teach him.
“That’s not the easiest way to learn. I wish someone had just taught me the rules, but fate had other plans for me,” he writes. “If you’re drowning in debt, if it seems like you’ll never get ahead financially, or if you’re forced to work at a job you dislike to pay the bills, this book has something for you.”
Something, yes. Something in the way of very general advice.
(Specific financial advice, let it be noted, should come from a financial services professional).
The author says that when he got out of college, armed with his engineering degree and several pre-approved credit cards, he soon found himself in roughly $20,000 of debt and living beyond his means. At the time, Mihalik said he searched for a self-help book but could find none that were short and to the point. There, his idea for this book was born.
“After I eliminated my debt and gained control of my finances, I wanted to help other people do the same, so I decided to write the book I wish had been available to me,” he writes.
It took Mihalik one “hellish year” to get out of debt, he says.
The core lessons of the book are sound: Debt is bad. Try not to get into it. Possessions won’t bring you happiness, so stop buying them. Find work you enjoy, and you’ll be happier. Don’t just save, invest in “income-producing assets.” Spend less than you earn.
Are these suggestions bad advice? Not at all. Did I need to read this book to learn them? Not at all.
The one piece of advice that piqued my interest was the chapter — I mean the three whole pages — on how to save 50 percent of your salary.
“If you save 50 percent of your salary, for every month you work, you will save enough to take a month off — without changing your lifestyle,” Mihalik writes.
Hmmm. Saving half my salary. I don’t think that’s even possible.
But Mihalik anticipates this reaction, and advises trying for a 33 or 25 percent total savings — over and above the maximum 401k plan contributions you can make at work, that is.
To save this quarter of your salary, you have to make a budget, he says.
I agree — making a budget is a great idea for anyone who has any debt at all. It helps you see where your money goes.
Additionally, Mihalik advises, you should budget for savings, trips and special purchases. Yes, all good ideas, but still super-simplified and general.
My advice is to save the money you would spend on this book and add it to your savings.
November 17, 2015
Well, I really wanted to like this book. I got it on the basis that JD Roth of GetRichSlowly.org mentioned it in a review of I Will Teach You to Be Rich as being one of only two books he recommends to students (the other one is The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke which I haven't read yet). As I was looking for a book to help introduce my two stepsons (one just finished school, the other just finished his first year of higher study) to some personal finance concepts, this seemed like a good starting point.
The book is a quick read, and the chapter headings are great, but my problem with it is that his writing style is a bit clunky and repetitive and seems to be aimed at high school students, while his examples and content focus seem to be more for young adults post-college, thoughtlessly spending their way through their disposable income and then some.
I also find his examples to be a little disturbing. He seems to think that debt is only caused by buying things you neither want nor need and that people's biggest financial problems are caused by them believing that buying a fancy car will make them like the swanky guy in the commercial. I don't know anybody with a brain over the age of about 16 who has ever thought like that, although no doubt they're out there!
So while I think the concepts are useful, I think the approach is actually offputting for young people. Certainly for my stepsons, they need help to realise that just because they have money doesn't mean they should spend it all - and conversely that just because they want something doesn't mean they should have it right now, they need to learn how to save and they certainly won't be able to relate to examples involving fancy skiing holidays and impulse-buying fog machines for Hallowe'en.
I also find some of the examples either frankly unrealistic (a single 25-35 year old who owns their own flat and has massive debt - what young person who isn't in control of their finances can even consider buying property???) or too black and white.
I've given Debt Is Slavery 2 stars because while I feel the book has many serious deficiencies, it does have the benefit of being short and quick to read, and the fundamental principles are useful, even though I don't care for the way they're presented or the examples used.
I think for people just starting to think about money (young or not!), JD Roth's own Your Money: The Missing Manual is a much better book, even though it's bigger and so perhaps seems a little more challenging. It's separated into clear sections though, so easy to dip into for a specific problem. For those committed to sorting out their finances, not just learning, Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich is excellent.
The book is a quick read, and the chapter headings are great, but my problem with it is that his writing style is a bit clunky and repetitive and seems to be aimed at high school students, while his examples and content focus seem to be more for young adults post-college, thoughtlessly spending their way through their disposable income and then some.
I also find his examples to be a little disturbing. He seems to think that debt is only caused by buying things you neither want nor need and that people's biggest financial problems are caused by them believing that buying a fancy car will make them like the swanky guy in the commercial. I don't know anybody with a brain over the age of about 16 who has ever thought like that, although no doubt they're out there!
So while I think the concepts are useful, I think the approach is actually offputting for young people. Certainly for my stepsons, they need help to realise that just because they have money doesn't mean they should spend it all - and conversely that just because they want something doesn't mean they should have it right now, they need to learn how to save and they certainly won't be able to relate to examples involving fancy skiing holidays and impulse-buying fog machines for Hallowe'en.
I also find some of the examples either frankly unrealistic (a single 25-35 year old who owns their own flat and has massive debt - what young person who isn't in control of their finances can even consider buying property???) or too black and white.
I've given Debt Is Slavery 2 stars because while I feel the book has many serious deficiencies, it does have the benefit of being short and quick to read, and the fundamental principles are useful, even though I don't care for the way they're presented or the examples used.
I think for people just starting to think about money (young or not!), JD Roth's own Your Money: The Missing Manual is a much better book, even though it's bigger and so perhaps seems a little more challenging. It's separated into clear sections though, so easy to dip into for a specific problem. For those committed to sorting out their finances, not just learning, Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich is excellent.
August 10, 2023
This is quite short, more like a novella than a novel (about the same length as The Time Machine), so it only took me a couple of hours to read it. I think there's some good advice there, although a lot of it is stuff I already knew; I really would have benefitted from reading this a few years earlier. The book is divided up into 10 chapters, where each one has a specific point to make.
The title is a bit overblown, but the basic point is valid: he's saying that you have to work at a job you don't like in order to keep up with your debt repayments. Some of the content is US-specific, e.g. interest on mortgage payments being tax deductible, but most of the principles apply to the UK as well. All in all I'd say that the book is worth reading, even if you're not in debt.
The title is a bit overblown, but the basic point is valid: he's saying that you have to work at a job you don't like in order to keep up with your debt repayments. Some of the content is US-specific, e.g. interest on mortgage payments being tax deductible, but most of the principles apply to the UK as well. All in all I'd say that the book is worth reading, even if you're not in debt.
April 29, 2016
This was another on a book list of must read financial reads you can read in a day. This was a fantastic read. Many of the things I knew, but reading them with the word pictures/examples he gave is motivating me to make changes!!
The info in this book is timeless and this is a book I would want my children to read to have a better understanding of how debt is slavery and possessions can be like jail. This book will start them off with he right mindset about money. The mindset I wish I had started with.
The info in this book is timeless and this is a book I would want my children to read to have a better understanding of how debt is slavery and possessions can be like jail. This book will start them off with he right mindset about money. The mindset I wish I had started with.
September 22, 2016
Nothing new here, but it was a good, very straightforward book explaining a more practical way to view money. Reminded me that things I see as necessary "investments" are truly just expenses and wants when viewed from another angle. I appreciated the author's opening chapter where he mentions that he's not selling anything past this one book (no classes, seminars, etc.) and that the book will be as short as possible to get the point across. Two thumbs up on that because he's right, some of these types of books drag on and on, with useless details.
December 20, 2014
Simple, practical advice. Not good for everyone - it's very clearly geared to the American economic experience (and dates from before the GFC), although that's easy enough to translate. I would recommend it with only one caveat: this book is far too generous in estimating the value of a US college degree vs the cost of student loans. Of course, that won't matter if you're not a US college student :)
July 18, 2012
This is a short, straight to the point book about finances. I read it in library in less than two hours, maybe even under 1 1/2 hours. I've read other finance books, and I still learned something new. The financial plan is simple and easy to follow. I definitely recommend this book for those wanting learn more about finances in concise manner.
March 4, 2014
This is a clear condensed well written shorten version of 'The total money make over'. Author has made a point clear to make the book shorter but manage to give
immense insight in becoming financially independence and spending behavior phsychology .
My favourite quote from the book
We are not what we own, we are what we do
immense insight in becoming financially independence and spending behavior phsychology .
My favourite quote from the book
We are not what we own, we are what we do
March 7, 2008
A fantastic book for those who are in debt as well as anyone interested in controlling their finances. I love the fact that it is such a quick and easy read. He is very concise with his advice. The book can be read in one day.
December 27, 2013
A little overstated in places, but overall I thought it was a good, simple overview of personal finances. It laid out in easy-to-understand terms concepts that I had previously had a somewhat fuzzy understanding of. I've recommended it to many of my college-age friends.
July 26, 2014
This is a very short book; easy to read in an hour and easy to implement over a weekend. Nothing in it is extraordinary except it's very shortness which is an encouragement to begin. Right now! It starts a momentum that is very easy to carry through.
July 3, 2009
Very simple, straightforward, easy to read. Basic tips to live within your means.
April 12, 2012
Profound and brief tome. Has definitely changed the way I think about money. Very helpful.
March 8, 2012
Very economically (ie, concisely) written. Not as bad as the Thakor book but written to that sort of audience, ie, someone who knows nothing or almost nothing whatsoever about personal finance.
August 29, 2017
solid book on debt.
Short, organized and to the point personal finance book. Little fluff and readable in a few hours. Nothing new or controversial.
Short, organized and to the point personal finance book. Little fluff and readable in a few hours. Nothing new or controversial.
May 4, 2010
A short, practical book about personal finances.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews