David Bach

Debt Free for Life is by David Bach and is just one more in the long line of books that he's written. If you learn nothing else from this book it will be that. He never stops talking about his other books. Over and over and over. He includes a lot of content from them in this book, as a matter of fact. You know the joke about the hundred word essay? Where the kid just writes "word" one hundred times? It reminds me of that.

I’ve read some of David’s other books (The Automatic Millionaire, show more Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, others) over the years and enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to reading his new book. It was just so off-putting how often he mentions said “other books”. Oh, and did he mention that they're bestsellers? YES, over and over and over. He mentions the titles of his other books so frequently at the beginning of this book that I was annoyed and almost stopped reading (it felt like a commercial disguised as a book!). I soldiered on, however, lured by catchy phrases such as: “Pay down your debt; buy back your life.” Always asking, “Is this purchase really necessary?” before buying anything. The “Minimum Payment Scam” perpetuated by credit card companies. “All debt is bad debt”.

Soon thereafter, though, I was further annoyed. In addition to singing the praises ad nauseum of his prior books (taking the idea of “tooting your own horn” to new, heretofore unimaginable heights), he hawks the “Debt Wise” program (which, after an initial free trial period, will cost ya), powered by Equifax, but in which he also has a vested interest.
Hello? Does this seem like a conflict of interest to anyone besides me?

It kind of smacks of smarm.

Debt Wise isn’t free. It isn’t even cheap. What is worrisome about this to me is the way the author presents the cost. He says that it’s less than fifty cents per day when he first introduces the program. This reminded me immediately of how car salespeople will tell you the monthly payment instead of the actual cost of the car to make it sound cheaper and make the sale. Later in the chapter he says it’s $14.95 per month, plus a joining fee of an unnamed amount, but hey, here’s a coupon code to use online for the first month free, so you still don’t know how much it’s going to be costing you in the end. I was also confused about who actually created the program. Sometimes I heard him say that he did, and at other times he says that Equifax actually created it in 2009, and he partnered with them in 2010. I guess that I would feel better about him endorsing Debt Wise as a tool to get out of debt if either a) he didn’t charge for it or b) he didn’t profit from it.

As a matter of fact, the entire 6th chapter is all about selling this program Debt Wise to you, dear reader. Combined with the fact that he spends lots of time in every chapter talking about how great his other books (did he mention that they're bestsellers?) are, it gives this book the feel of a commercial. The writing is very redundant, and at first I thought that maybe he was trying to use this as a learning tool (repetition helps you remember, right?) but ultimately I decided that in this case, repetition was being used as filler.

I was also wondering why he didn’t read the audiobook to his readers himself (it's read by Erik Davies); David Bach is a public speaker, after all!

Bottom line: mostly a rehashing of material in his prior books plus a sales pitch for “his” new Debt Wise online venture with Equifax. You would probably do better to go back and read The Automatic Millionaire again. And cheaper. And less annoying. show less

A little book of sound financial advice that is disguised as a story. Zoe is a 27-year old features editor who is struggling with controlling her finances and paying back her loans. She meets a mentor who puts her on the right track to living the life of her dreams by controlling her spending.

The advice is a bit dated, and is heavily geared towards capitalist viewpoint, and the US in particular. I would never invest in the stock market for example, although I know that my retirement fund is show more possibly linked to US stocks, so it might all go bust in the end.

I now lean more towards a DIY sort of retirement plan, that does not rely as heavily on stocks or financial markets. show less

The Latte Factor is the latest book by David Bach. It’s a story about a young professional woman and her realization of the real cost of money and its potential to make one rich. The themes in this book are well documented in David’s other books, but this book presents it in an easy to read, engaging manner that anyone can relate to and understand. I think this is probably one of his best books so far. It is definitely the most enjoyable to read. His idea that we are already richer than show more we know will resonate well with his audience. For Millennials this should be required reading, because they are the ones that will most benefit from it, because of their age and the time it takes to “get rich.” In fact, I plan on giving my copy to a young millennial I am mentoring. Well done, David Bach. show less

One might think that a book about making millions in the real estate market that was written in 2005 would be hopelessly irrelevant today. However, that is decidedly not true about The Millionaire Homeowner. David Bach turns out to have been remarkably prescient about the housing and lending crash of these past few years. In fact, in this book, he describes the causes and effects of the crash in detail, before they happen, and advises against each of them.

I'd highly recommend this book to show more anyone for several reasons. First, it is short and an easy read. Second, it is an excellent primer for basic real estate and finance terms and concepts. Lastly, I firmly believe in his path to wealth and that he has grasped a measured, sober way to build wealth and value that is pretty approachable. He has lots of gems like "It isn't timing the market, it is time *in* the market."

If you are renting, or if you own your own home, you should read this so that you can better understand your next step. This book is great even for those who think that buying their own home would be impossible. And shockingly, it is probably even good for those who have been bit by the downturn and need to know what went wrong, or what to do differently next time. show less