The Simple Life Guide to Financial Freedom: Free Yourself from the Chains of Debt and Find Financial Peace

I liked the use of basic math & English skills to clarify both simple & complex $$ subjects in this book about getting &/or staying free of debt. The author is straightforward (“Stop buying crap!”), engaging & clear. It’s superb to begin a debt discussion with poor health & dining out: you can’t be free with either one, but most won’t make the connection on their own (or read about it in any other self-help, finance book.) Also he shows how herd habits such as: carrying credit card balances, 30-yr mortgages, going into debt for college & to get married (let alone to get out!) all hinder financial freedom. I would go further. What is not mentioned are the $$ spent on personal & home products, entertainment, insurance, pets, cars, & gym memberships. I spend $0 on all these categories due to energy choices made 30 years ago like: to bike, walk, or bus to get places, less & air-dried washing, cloth not paper, no tv/pets/kids, 2 cars/62 yrs, etc. Radical ideas back then & still to some. I live in a 1925, 1100 sq ft, pre-owned, 3 bdr house on the grid & my power co says I use 50% of the most efficient, same age & size homes. This book will move readers farther forward to $$ freedom than most books of its ilk.

If you are looking for a soft and nice approach to the basic financial status quo of the current generation, you should look for another book. Gary quickly and effectively shows the wastefulness we are living in with real life comparisons and calculations.The book is straight to the point with a buildup of calculations on the financial state of the average citizen. Gary gives examples of what the average person currently spends versus and how much more we could do with that money instead.I really enjoyed reading this and highly recommend.

I like Gary's direct style. He has some very good points about asking why anyone is spending big bucks on cars, college, marriages, etc. There might be legit reasons for some, but these expenses all need to be thought through very carefully, with some simple math. And an amortization table.Some of the math is a little too simplistic. I think it's unrealistic to include utilities as a cost of home ownership -- renting an apartment or RV come with those, too. Similarly, I don't think anyone is going to stop eating out based on the compounded return on their lifetime savings from never eating out. Fun to see the numbers, but hyperbolic for most.

Most of us have been on the hamster wheel at some point in our lives--working to exhaustion but never getting ahead very far, if at all. This book tells you how to get off that wheel and start being happier. I wish someone had given me this book when I was just starting out in life; instead I had the example of older relatives who believed in the "Anglo-Saxon work ethic" and were too worn out by it to enjoy their golden years. Don't let that be you.

Gary's book relies on common sense, hard won experience and some rare common sense. You'll find the numbers that explain why you're broke and miserable in spite of what the media and the Gridmasters are trying to sell you and your family 24\7. Do the math, do the hard thing and experience freedom as it can be.

The author wrote that many times. I had to put the book down. But I got used to it and made it through. He provided a lot of info that may help.I realize that I am the only one looking out for me now. Pretty good read.

While it's not the definitive financial bible we all should follow, it offers an interesting view of how many Americans exist financially. It may inspire you to take a second look at how you have been doing things and possibly encourage you to make some positive changes. I will be recommending this book to my young adult children.

There were some good points in this book. I appreciate the directness of the author, but he does seem to go on tangents. This book is an easy read and worth it, in my opinion.