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“Like
thousands of small business entrepreneurs, I went to my local bank for a start-up loan
when I decided to become an independent publisher. Like many of those same entrepreneurs,
I got the cold shoulder when it came to financing an enterprise that had passion rather
than profit as a central motivation. So I turned to credit cards—and Fearless Books
(not to mention the public service known as the Fearless Reviews) would not exist today
without them.
Yet when tiny businesspeople like myself seek practical advice on
the management of credit card debt, what we often hear from financial experts is nothing
more than “Pay ’em off and cut ’em up!” Carrying a sizeable credit
card debt often feels like the monetary equivalent of sin, and there has been no saving
grace for us sinners but confession and going “cold turkey” on the devil’s
temptation of plastic money.
Until now, that is. With a concise and blessedly unmoralistic
tone, electrical engineer and credit researcher Scott Bilker sets forth a realistic and
comprehensive approach to keeping your credit card debts in hand. If you want math and
interest tables, he’s got plenty of both — along with Model Solutions, a Payment
Schedule Worksheet, and other rational approaches to debt management. My favorite part of
this useful manual is the summary of Bad Advice, such as: Home equity loans
are always better than credit cards (not necessarily so, as Bilker explains
in detail); or Create an emergency fund even if you have debt
(which Bilker challenges by asking: What’s more accessible in a real emergency: your
savings account or a credit card?)
There are other surprises and reverses of conventional wisdom in
this timely book, which could be the best investment you could ever make in reining in
those sinful credit card balances. And hey, you can always charge it! ”
--End--
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