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dfree: Breaking Free from Financial Slavery
dfree™. No debt, no deficits, and no delinquencies. Drawing on his years of experience as a pastor, public policy maker, and community leader, DeForest "Buster" Soaries, Jr. shares the four vital keys to debt-free living in this groundbreaking, life-changing new approach.
"The idea that we would be voluntary slaves is offensive to all of our sensibilities," says Soaries. "But when we continue to spend what we don't have, charge what we don't need, and borrow more than we can repay, then we must call the problem what it slavery."
This is not another financial literacy program assuming that all people need is information. Soaries believes living in debt is an emotional, spiritual, and psychological problem as much as it is an educational and informational one. Here, Soaries shares the four vital keys to debt-free living that have helped hundreds of families in his church get out of debt.
By replacing the "get more money" mentality with a "get out of debt" approach to financial freedom, not only were hundreds of people able to go debt free, his church's offerings increased by $1 million dollars--during the recession. Find out how you can leave a financial legacy of your own by saying yes to no debt. Says "There may be no greater need than to understand the value and joy of debt-free living. There may be no greater legacy we can leave our children."
"The idea that we would be voluntary slaves is offensive to all of our sensibilities," says Soaries. "But when we continue to spend what we don't have, charge what we don't need, and borrow more than we can repay, then we must call the problem what it slavery."
This is not another financial literacy program assuming that all people need is information. Soaries believes living in debt is an emotional, spiritual, and psychological problem as much as it is an educational and informational one. Here, Soaries shares the four vital keys to debt-free living that have helped hundreds of families in his church get out of debt.
By replacing the "get more money" mentality with a "get out of debt" approach to financial freedom, not only were hundreds of people able to go debt free, his church's offerings increased by $1 million dollars--during the recession. Find out how you can leave a financial legacy of your own by saying yes to no debt. Says "There may be no greater need than to understand the value and joy of debt-free living. There may be no greater legacy we can leave our children."
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 14, 2011
34 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 28, 2023
I’m not a fan of books that waste precious papers until it’s authors get to the point. The book is so repetitive that it bored me occasionally. When I stopped for a week or 2, I don’t need to read 3 paragraphs prior to my bookmark as the author is a master of word salad.
Don’t expect a new scheme that was tried before as the author promotes a method similar to the approach alcoholic anonymous use.
Also, The book didn’t age well as its 15th publication anniversary is approaching in a couple of years.
Don’t expect a new scheme that was tried before as the author promotes a method similar to the approach alcoholic anonymous use.
Also, The book didn’t age well as its 15th publication anniversary is approaching in a couple of years.
February 12, 2011
dfree™ is not just another “how to get out of debt” book. While it does offer practical advice on how to break free from the shackles of debt, it also gets straight to the heart of the matter and addresses why consumers put themselves into financial pits.
According to the author and his research, the average household in 2008 carried nearly $8,700 in credit card debt. While our nation seems to accept that debt is normal (after all our national debt is astounding!), DeForest Soaries, troubled by these statistics, has been on a mission helping those in bondage who want to get out.
One of the things I liked best about this book is that Soaries practices what he preaches and writes about. He also doesn’t make it seem like a magical equation – he points out very clearly that financial freedom doesn’t happen overnight. One of the first steps in the dfree™ program is admitting your problem and coming to your senses. The author addresses debt, delinquency and deficit living, the three “d’s” that we want to be free from.
In the back of the book he offers many resources online, books and various curricula that readers can use to jump start their dfree™ plan. I really liked the basic budget template he includes to give readers an idea of what they should be saving, and what they should be living on.
Written from a Christian perspective, the author also devotes several pages on tithing, but readers may be surprised at his viewpoint as a pastor.
While the information presented in this book isn’t astounding, new or deeply revealing, it’s good basic common sense and I wish I would’ve had a book like this when I was younger, and learning to manage money. This book will help readers apply biblical principles to managing their money and put their personal finances back in order.
According to the author and his research, the average household in 2008 carried nearly $8,700 in credit card debt. While our nation seems to accept that debt is normal (after all our national debt is astounding!), DeForest Soaries, troubled by these statistics, has been on a mission helping those in bondage who want to get out.
One of the things I liked best about this book is that Soaries practices what he preaches and writes about. He also doesn’t make it seem like a magical equation – he points out very clearly that financial freedom doesn’t happen overnight. One of the first steps in the dfree™ program is admitting your problem and coming to your senses. The author addresses debt, delinquency and deficit living, the three “d’s” that we want to be free from.
In the back of the book he offers many resources online, books and various curricula that readers can use to jump start their dfree™ plan. I really liked the basic budget template he includes to give readers an idea of what they should be saving, and what they should be living on.
Written from a Christian perspective, the author also devotes several pages on tithing, but readers may be surprised at his viewpoint as a pastor.
While the information presented in this book isn’t astounding, new or deeply revealing, it’s good basic common sense and I wish I would’ve had a book like this when I was younger, and learning to manage money. This book will help readers apply biblical principles to managing their money and put their personal finances back in order.
June 12, 2015
Soaries shares his past financial struggles with readers. That jumped out to me right away because that a lot of authors give financial advice without opening up about their own experiences, though they allude to learning from it. He speaks in detail about his struggles with debt and his ignorance of its ramifications.
Soaries identifies people as being one of their own biggest problems when it comes to financial woes. We are no longer attempting to keep up with the Joneses. We are too busy attempting to keep up with ourselves and the definitions we’ve set for success. I think it’s a valid point. How often do you ask yourself why before making a purchase?
Dfree approaches debt freedom with a new attitude. Younger generations do not know what a layaway plan is. One of the key components of making it successfully through the dfree program is an attitude adjustment to shift away from the 'take now pay later' mentality.
Something else that this book points out is that the difficulty with controlling our financial situation is not informational. There are tons of resources where we can get free information on money management. Dfree identifies the causes of financial strain as emotional, psychological, and spiritual.
As this book walks us through the dfree plan, we get a few words of scripture from Pastor Soaries along with a few laughs due to his charismatic personality. This book includes a well written plan on how to start a dfree program in your community along with numerous dfree resources.
I read this book some time ago and I don't think I've referred back to it. It's a fair read but there are a few other books I'd go to before this one.
Soaries identifies people as being one of their own biggest problems when it comes to financial woes. We are no longer attempting to keep up with the Joneses. We are too busy attempting to keep up with ourselves and the definitions we’ve set for success. I think it’s a valid point. How often do you ask yourself why before making a purchase?
Dfree approaches debt freedom with a new attitude. Younger generations do not know what a layaway plan is. One of the key components of making it successfully through the dfree program is an attitude adjustment to shift away from the 'take now pay later' mentality.
Something else that this book points out is that the difficulty with controlling our financial situation is not informational. There are tons of resources where we can get free information on money management. Dfree identifies the causes of financial strain as emotional, psychological, and spiritual.
As this book walks us through the dfree plan, we get a few words of scripture from Pastor Soaries along with a few laughs due to his charismatic personality. This book includes a well written plan on how to start a dfree program in your community along with numerous dfree resources.
I read this book some time ago and I don't think I've referred back to it. It's a fair read but there are a few other books I'd go to before this one.
June 17, 2014
As mentioned at the beginning of the book, the strategies to become dfree are not new. If you've read books on this topic before you will not gain new insight. However, you will gain from a religious perspective the benefits or the why and how to work towards being dfree. Don't be afraid either that the book is overly preachy or too heavy with biblical quotes. It is not. The 4 pillars mentioned in the book are helpful no matter what stage you are at with your debt or knowledge of financial matters. I encourage you to read it!
September 29, 2011
Excellent book for people in debt!
August 25, 2013
I've read a few of these. They can tend to be the same information--that's ok. This biblical and practical principle were refreshing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews