Money Drunk/Money Sober: 90 Days to Financial Freedom [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The focus of this book regarding debts is various addictions people have and how they relate to money. Now, I've never had a drink of alcohol in my life, and I've never had any drugs, so I can't relate to addictions in general, but I must admit, when I read this book and the various levels of addictions people have regarding money, I could see a little bit of myself in each description. If you want a rundown of these, click on "editorial reviews" right above "customer reviews" over to the left.

Having paid off thousands and thousands of dollars in debt over the last 2 1/2 years so far and still working on it, I can say with confidence that debt payment is worth the effort. This book does an excellent job of describing those various personalities of money addicts. The one I identified with the most was the "Big Deal Chaser." I always thought if I bought the right stock at the right time I would make a killing and pay off all my debts. Some people buy lottery tickets while other people are waiting for that big pay raise. Don't waste your time chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The pot of gold is right at your feet. Cut up those worthless credit cards and start paying cash for everything. Pay off your debt with your current income. It's not the difficult. Been there done that.

After describing the various levels of money addiction, the authors go over their 90 day plan for getting back on your feet financially. This was a bit of a letdown for me. Some people may find their plan very workable. I basically ignored it. Maybe that's because I'm almost out of debt, I really don't know. I found it kind of incoherent, but there were some things that I liked. One was finding a "money buddy" which is basically someone who you can relate to and openly discuss your money situation with and your debt payment progress. I suppose you could almost call it a mentor in a way. I never had one and I still don't have one, but after experiencing all I have experienced and triumphed over a huge pile of debt, I find myself acting as a mentor to others to help them along the pathway. If you find yourself in debt and need a little coaching, drop me an email. I'll be your "money buddy." Seriously. I love sharing it with others.

I'm giving this book 3 stars. I found the descriptions of the various types of money addictions to be enlightening, but the plan to get out of debt was pretty incoherent. Everybody's different, so perhaps you the reader will find it more useful than I. I do recommend this however: buy this book and "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis. Read them both. If you're in over your head in consumer debt, it can't hurt to check out all of your options. If you buy both at the same time, you'll even save money on the shipping. Email me with your experiences. I always enjoy sharing my triumphs, mistakes and lessons from the battlefield of the real world.

One of the many valuable insights that I took away from this book was that money addictions are often associated with other addictions like alcoholism and excessive gambling. Many people will solve those addictions with great difficulty, but still find their lives missing something due to their money addictions.

One of the strengths of this book is found in the many diagnostic lists that can help you assess whether you are having or have had problems with money addiction. I certainly found myself in several chapters, and that provided useful insights to me.

Here are some of the categories to watch out for: Compulsive spending (getting an emotional rush from buying things); Big deal chasing (fantasies providing encouragement for irresponsible use of time and financial resources, and the related problems of workaholism to get more money and avoid intimacy with one's family and friends); Maintenance money focus (doing work just for the money); Poverty addiction (seeing sainthood in having little money and less spending); and Co-dependency (where your relationships are based on providing money for someone with a money addiction).

The 13 week recovery program is marvelous. I was very impressed. It starts with undoing your stalled thinking about money, and bit by bit helps you establish new and better habits about money.

The program builds a lot on measuring how you are spending and getting money, focuses you on stopping the worst of your bad habits (like taking on more debt), and gradually refocuses you on important human issues like self-esteem, compassion, peace, spirituality, and reintroducing hope into your life. This stallbusting approach is one that should work for anyone who has hit bottom and truly wants to reform. This is a book that everyone should read and use to evaluate themselves. It should also be shared with children. Money addiction is often passed down from parents to children through sharing bad habits learned in the home. If a friend shares with you that they are in a bad way financially and need help, give them a copy of the book. It will probably do them more good than giving them money that they won't be able to repay.

Live a higher quality of life from learning the lessons of this book!

Donald Mitchell

Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution

(donmitch@fastforward400.com)