John Cummuta's system... "Debt to Wealth" is probably similar to his old system from 15 years ago called "Debt Free and Prosperous Living"

John outlines three steps:

1) Pay off ALL debt, including your mortgage
2) Operate 100% on cash and Debit... NO credit cards and NO loans
3) Build Wealth.


David Bach's systems are different... I think... in that they focus on cutting spending and investing it instead. David Bach has not focused as much on eliminating debt as I would have liked.

However.. that said.. all financial writers have some key similarities as well as differences of opinion on how to reach financial freedom.

Follow the person, writer, guru, that resonates most with you.

If you like the "Tough Love" approach.. Dave Ramsey is your guy...
If you want to "manage" your credit... Listen to Suze Orman....

John Cummuta was a big name 15 years ago.. and I still follow his advice today. I've also incorporated a little Dave Ramsey in my financial plans as well.

Thanks for sharing!

__________________
"If nothing changes...NOTHING CHANGES! But if something changes...SOMETHING CHANGES!" - Mark Balmer

www.debtfreemarriage.org

I have been practicing John Commuta Transforming Debt into Wealth for at least 7 years with astonishing results.

He's is #1 in debt management education.

Amazing !!

10 +

Yes, I have had experience. He charges WAY too much money for an obvious debt reduction plan: pay off your debt (debt snowball) and start investing the money you were putting toward your debt. No magic and nothing new. They will also try to up-sell you to take their counseling program, which is equally worthless.

If you want to spend money then go to Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. There is a class near you and it is much, much cheaper. Last I checked the multi-week class was $99 and came with a lifetime guarantee--take the classes again as many times as you want for free.

If you don't want to spend money then do this:

1) Stop putting purchases on credit cards
2) Cut back on your lifestyle until you are spending less each month than you make. Stop eating out, going to movies, taking vacations you can't afford, and buying clothing you don't need.
3) Sell everything you don't absolutely need.
4) Pay the minimum amount on each loan/credit card debt you have except the one with the highest interest rate--pay as much on that as you possibly can. When that debt is paid off put everything you were paying on that debt on the next highest interest rate. Keep doing that until you are debt free.
5) Once you are debt free take the entire amount you were paying on debt and invest in a good mutual fund.

Good luck! It just take self-discipline and simple math.

I have had been practicing the transforming debt into wealth system for 6 yrs. It's great.It works.It educates you in the art of spending. You get the basics. I have seen nothing similar. It's worth buying.The system comes with Cd's and A written binder. I found the CD's boring and the written binder essential. I read that binder thoroughly once or twice per year to measure my progress. After reading his recommendations I came up with some my own options that are working for me just fine.

The system makes you aware that you only own what you pay for and that buying on credit can make us slaves for life needlessly. It works.

My wife and I needed 2 thousands dollars extra each month to be out of debt living in New York City. Our exit strategy was to relocate. We moved to Charlotte and her pension money is worth at least 40% more in NC. Houses are cheap here.

John Commuta makes that recommendation. We did not move after we read his suggestion instead I found that out after recapitulating the binder.

So I strongly recommend John Commuta's system to anyone serious about being debt free. The information is simple but not easy because it takes time to fix our past financial mistakes.

@boloulu

The way I would handle your situation is by selling my property as soon as possible and buying another property where you pay 20% of the total house income. There is no way you will be out of debt if you spend above your means.

Be creative with your 2,500.00 dollars per month. Do not underestimate the power of your money. Just live under your means. Take your time to look for great deals starting by your home. Save 50 dollars monthly.

You will notice how powerful that little money is when it accumulates monthly.

To me there is no little money. Let me give you a brief example.

If you buy $4,000.00 worth of stock at .04 cents each you wind up with 20,000 shares. For every one cent change in price you save or pay 200 dollars more depending in you pay one penny more or less. So a pennies difference matters when you buy in volume.

We must learn to value our money more than the objects and services we purchase with it.

Is very important that you develop the habit of paying with cash instead of credit cards in that way we can control our spending.

Most of what I written here I have learned in these 6 years of trying to get rid of my debt. We started by saving 10% of our income and right now we save close to 40%. We send that money proportionally towards debt and savings and investing in the stock market.

Take it one step at a time.

Start by thinking if this is for you and then make a commitment. You will come up with solutions particular to your wants and needs.

Excuse me I made an error.

If you buy 4 thousand dollars worth of shares at .04 you will end up with 100,000 thousand shares. If that share goes up one cent to .05 and you want to buy 100,000 thousand shares, you will have to pay 5000 dollars .

One penny less or more makes a difference in big volume deals. If you make 2,500 per month that's 30,000.00 per year. If you save 50 dollars per month every year you will save 600. If you do that for 15 years you will end up with 9,000 dollars. By that time I am sure you will have accumulated more.

Talk to your spouse and make a commitment. It's freaking ugly to live indebted.

Does anyone have or can share any spreadsheets or itmes that they have created to help in setting up these types of programs on your own? I think I am smart enough to understand what to do without going crazy with buy/reading all these programs. Just need some tracking tools to set things up.
Thanks

I think it has nothing to with how big or small your debts are, but how you handle them properly. The guy is just giving us a tip on how we CAN do the right thing.