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The latest book in David Bach’s Finish Rich series is Debt Free for Life, a book that’s just as much a motivational speech as it is a guide for getting out of debt.

Book Review

Debt Free for Life starts by debunking the notion of good debt vs. bad debt. Because of the tremendous economic changes over the past few years, debts that were formerly good, like student loans, are considered bad debts, especially when you can't afford to pay them.

The best part of Debt Free is David Bach’s Debt Free for Life Plan, a plan that’s accomplished via Bach's DOLP (Done on Last Payment) system of paying debt. Your debts are ranked by the amount of time it would take you to repay them. You’d start by paying off the debt that you can repay fastest.

The book includes a worksheet you can use to calculate your plan or you can use the online DOLP tool at FinishRich.com/DOLP. You can make your plan even simpler by using DebtWise.com, a service powered by Equifax that calculates debt repayment based on data from your credit report.

Chapters 5 and 6, which cover the Debt Free for Life plan, are available for free download on FinishRich.com.

Bach doesn't assume that his DOLP is the ultimate solution for debtors. In fact, he recommends non-profit credit counseling for people that need more hand-holding. There's even a checklist for deciding whether debt settlement is a viable solution. The chapter on bankruptcy is frank, honest, and lets readers know there's nothing wrong with filing bankruptcy if that's the best solution.

Of course, it wouldn't be a David Bach book if there wasn't a chapter on making your Debt Free for Life plan automatic by having your credit card bills paid automatically each month. Even, your additional DOLP payment is automated.

Extra Features

The Action Steps at the end of each chapter and Success Stories throughout the book take Debt Free for Life beyond a get out of debt manual. The goal is truly to inspire you to get out of debt (and maybe even to get you to buy a DebtWise.com subscription).
Other great chapters:

• Chapter 1: Who Put America Into Debt - And How You Can Get Yourself Out
• Chapter 3: The Debt Free for Life Mindset
• Chapter 7: Negotiate Your Debt Down: How to Lower the Interest Rates on Your Credit Cards

Bottom Line

If you’ve read other David Bach books, Debt Free won't present you with much new information. In fact, the meat of the Debt Free for Life Plan (Chapters 5 & 6) is currently available for a free download.
At times, the book feels like a pitch to get you to subscribe to Debt Wise, which is $14.95 a month after a 30-day free trial. The book is US centric, so if you live in another country, it probably won’t help you since there aren’t many details on the psychology of debt.
If you don’t want to buy the book, look for a copy at your local library. I got a version as an ebook download from my local library system.