Ten Commandments of Debt

The following Ten Commandments of Debt were written by Jon Hanson. A debt management speaker and author. I am in the process of reading his book right now and will be posting a review of it shortly. I will then be having a series of contests to give away three copies of Jon's book graciously supplied by Mr. Hanson. Without further ado, here is
"The 10 Commandments of Debt," by Jon Hanson.

The Ten Commandments of Debt Management


1. Thou shall stretch your financial life time perspective.
If you are forty, planning for forty more years is not excessive. Don't outlive your money.

2. Thou shall not be beguiled by mass media, advertisers, or the merchants of debt.
Work your plan, not others plan for your life. "Remember the past is the past, unless you still owe for it." How many are buying things they don't need, to impress people they don't know, with money they don't have?

3. Thou shall make income run ahead of expenses.
Revenue before spending (RBS). Spend less than you make. Understand the four Debt Effects.

4. Cars are commodities.
Work to position yourself so cars are cash purchases. Buy less car, drive it longer, and set up a sinking fund for the next one. Until they do not affect your long term planning, cars are a very poor investment.

5. Thou shall not allow your Burn Rate to exceed 90 percent.
Your spending determines your ending. Burn Rate determines fate. Live on 90 percent or less of your income. After you dump the debt save at least 10 percent, if you can't, start at 1, 2 or 5 percent, just start. If you cannot save, the seeds of greatness are not within you.

6. Financial Freedom is found in submission to proven fundamentals.
Forget the fads and secrets to wealth. There are no secrets. The universe is already unlocked. Financial success is found in simple math and accumulation. Embrace and remember these three D's: Discipline, Deferral, and Discernment.

7. Thou shall not borrow for consumption.
Wealth is gained through accumulation which is the opposite of consumption. When you borrow for consumption you have nothing left and you still owe for it.

8. The way to financial freedom is delayed gratification.
Truly we should see delayed gratification as a blessing and not a curse. If you will live for ten years like most people are not willing to do, you can eventually live most any way you wish.

9. Most of your happiness will come from relationships with people, not money.
Major relationships with your children, spouse, and close friends will be large factors in your success or failure financially.

10. In general, use Good Debt for: real estate, education, and business.
Not all debt in these three areas is good debt. To be classified as good debt, the real estate, education, or business must return the capital, pay the interest and still have a profit.