Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom »

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach, is a personal finance expert, television and radio personality, and the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom. Lynnette has appeared on such national TV programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, The Tyra Banks Show and Good Morning America

Everyone wants to slash their debt, save more, and become financially secure.

Regardless of your situation, you can get on the road to financial freedom - and you can do it yourself in the next 30 days!

Whether you're on the verge of filing for bankruptcy or you're a high wage earner who still frets over money, this book is for you. You can be free from financial worries, rest at night knowing your bills are paid, and have peace of mind when it comes to money matters.

It all starts by eliminating excessive debt, and learning simple strategies to save your hard-earned cash.

If you want to be debt-free and achieve financial freedom, you need an action plan to guide you. This book is your step-by-step plan. It's simple. It's easy to understand. And it works.

Zero Debt will also help you put a financial fortress around yourself - offering tips on budgeting, the importance of having insurance, low-cost strategies for creating an updated will, creative ways to instantly put dollars in your pocket, and more.

Other Books Lynnette Khalfani-Cox 12

Acknowledgments 13

Introduction 15

Living the Bling Bling Life 16

I Went From $100,000 in Debt to Zero Debt 18

Shift from Over-Spending to a Debt-Free Life 21

Rising Credit Card, Mortgage and Student Loan Debt 22

Consumer Debt on the Rise Internationally 23

Keeping Up With the Joneses 24

The Threat Debt Poses to Your Relationship 25

Two Groups of People Who Are Deep in Debt 26

Watch Out for The Dreaded Ds 26

Are You in The Debt Danger Zone? 27

The Zero Debt 30-Day Program 28

Making Smart Financial Choices 29

Day 1 Stop the flood of credit card offers 33

Five Reasons to Opt Out of Credit Card Offers 34

One Easy Phone Call Can Help 35

Opting Out Using the Internet 36

What If You Change Your Mind? 37

Opting Out By Mail 38

The Limitations to Opting Out of Card Offers 38

Put an End to Most Junk Mail 39

How to Stop Pesky Telemarketers from Calling You 40

Trends in Credit Card Marketing 41

A Sweeter Offer? 42

The Truth About Credit Card Companies 43

Are You Playing The Blame Game? 43

The Low-Down on Credit Card Solicitations Via Email 44

Turn Your Credit Card Offers Into Cash 45

Day 2 Make a resolution to "stop digging" 47

Why We Spend 48

Wage War on Your Debt 51

Diagnosis: You're Suffering From the Debt Disease 52

Day 3 Put all your debts in writing 55

Why Torture Yourself Listing All Your Bills? 55

A Wake-Up Call: How Much Do You Owe? 56

I Debticate Myself to Being Debt-Free 56

Day 4 Order your credit report and FICO score 59

What is a FICO Score? 59

Fact Vs. Fiction About Credit Scores 62

What a FICO Score Considers 64

Is Credit Scoring Fair To Minorities?64

Little-Known Ways Your Credit Impacts You 65

The "Big Three" Credit Bureaus 66

What You Must Know About the New VantageScore 67

How and When to Turn to the Credit Bureaus for Help 71

The Credit Report You've Probably Never Heard Of 72

Day 5 Call your creditors & negotiate 76

You Have Leverage 76

Six Things To Ask For 77

The Biggest Myth About Credit Card Companies 77

Getting Your Creditors To Work With You 77

What's The Impact of a 16.9% Interest Rate? 78

But What If You Had A 5.9% Interest Rate? 79

What's The Best Time To Negotiate With Creditors? 80

13 Negotiating Strategies 82

Day 6 Switch cards if necessary 86

The Benefit of Comparison Shopping 86

Warnings About Obtaining New Credit 87

Day 7 Always exceed the minimum payment due 89

Minimum Payments Really Equal Maximum Payments 90

A Guaranteed Investment Return 91

But I Don't Have the Money! 91

Day 8 Dispute any inaccuracies in your credit file 95

How Accurate Are Credit Reports? 95

How Do Mistakes In Your Credit File Occur? 96

Credit Errors Can Cost You Money And More 97

Fixing Errors & Cleaning Up Your Credit File 97

Raising Your FICO Score 98

Improve Your Credit Score in 3 Days - Legally 99

Day 9 Educate yourself about your legal rights 100

10 Rights Protecting Consumers 101

Day 10 Stop collection agency harassment 108

"Cease Contact" or "Cease and Desist" Letter 108

Using the U.S. Post Office 109

Day 11 Prevent identity theft to protect your credit 110

Tips To Avoid Identity Theft 111

Identity Theft In The Workplace 111

Scams Affect Workers And Those Looking For Work 113

Identity Theft Insurance 114

What to Do if Your Identity is Stolen 116

Day 12 Set up a good filing system 118

Being Organized Helps Your Finances 118

Creating An Effective Filing System 118

What To Keep - And What To Throw Away 119

Maintaining Your Filing System 120

Day 13 Face the truth about your situation 123

Your Finances & The Laws of Cause and Effect 123

In What Condition Is Your Financial House? 124

Your Financially Fit Check-up 127

How Does Your Score Compare To Others? 130

Day 14 Create SMART financial goals 131

The Importance of Written Goals 131

Consider Your Short, Medium and Long-Range Goals 131

Your Retirement Aspirations 132

Retirees and Debt 135

Day 15 Figure out the $69,000 question 139

Day 16 Scrutinize your spending 140

How I Got Out of $100,000 in Credit Card Debt 140

Being In Debt Denial 141

Downsizing Hits Home 142

Don't Be Ashamed of Mistakes - Just Fix Them 143

Gaining Perspective on Your Spending 144

Day 17 Make a realistic budget 146

Causes Of Cash Flow Problems 146

4 Simple Steps To Stop Blowing Your Budget 147

Day 18 Find 10 ways to cut your spending 151

Saving Money Doesn't Have To Be A Big Hassle 151

Day 19 Adopt five lifestyle changes to save more money 153

When shopping, never pay full retail price 153

Become a frequent library patron 154

Take advantage of free/low-cost attractions/events 154

Eat out less often 154

Walk, versus driving, to any place in walking distance 154

Look Like a Million Bucks Without Spending a Fortune 155

Day 20 Adjust your W-4 withholdings if you get a refund 160

Refund Checks Show Poor Financial Planning 160

A Quick Fix Via Your Human Resources Department 160

Day 21 Sell or donate stuff you don't want, use or need 162

Holiday Giving All Year Round 162

Day 22 Find a way to generate additional income 167

Is a Second Job, or Part-Time Work In Your Future? 167

Turn a Hobby Into Cash 167

The Small-Office Home-Office Solution 168

The Ideal Part-Time Enterprise 168

Leverage The Internet 169

Squeezing Money Out of Where You Live 169

Day 23 Apply for a home equity loan or equity line of credit 171

The Financial Benefits of Owning Real Estate 172

What's the Difference: Loan vs Credit Line 173

Need A Mortgage? Credit Re-Scoring Can Help 174

The Pros and Cons Of Reverse Mortgages 177

Day 24 Refinance your auto loan 179

The Capital One Advantage 180

Online Lenders Dominate Auto Refinancing 181

Beware Of Extending Your Loan Length 181

Day 25 Pick a Proper Debt Payoff strategy 183

Four Enormous (and Wrong) Assumptions 183

Be Glad the 1980s Are Gone 184

What's Really Bugging You? 184

High Dollar Balances 185

True Story: $1 Million in Credit Card Debt 185

The Myth of the Speedier Repayments 186

What About the Cost Savings? 187

Ill-Guided Advice Leads to Frustrated Consumers 188

What This Technique Does & Does Not Accomplish 192

Day 26 Weigh the pros and cons of debt management plans 194

Credit Counselors: Friend or Foe? 194

Traditional Credit Counseling On the Decline 196

How Debt Management Programs Work 198

Do's and Don'ts of Debt Management Plans 198

Day 27 Evaluate your existing insurance coverage 201

Get a Clue - Your CLUE Insurance Score 201

Five Types Of Insurance That You Don't Need 204

Day 28 Draw up a will 206

Get the Will to Draw Up A Will 208

Day 29 Open a "hands off" account & automatic savings plan 211

Day 30 Prepare to become a positive financial role model 212

Day 31 Address other money woes or special circumstances 216

Bankruptcy: Your Last-Ditch Option 216

Delinquent Taxes: What To Do About Them 220

Helping Aging Parents With Their Finances 221

Student Loans: The Other Big Debt Crisis in America 224

Payday Loans: 'Credit' You Must Never Accept 234

Appendix A Credit Bureaus and Debt Counselors 237

Appendix B Sample Settlement Letter 238

Appendix C Sample Cease & Desist Letter 239

Appendix D The 30-Day Zero Debt Challenge! 240

Appendix E Consumer Resources 243

Index 245