You're Broke Because You Want to Be

Amazon Product Description. More than 40 percent of families today are feeling financial pressure: spending more than they earn, and worrying about retiring and being dependent on the government, family, or charity. Larry Winget knows. He grew up poor, then made and lost a fortune when a business in which he’d invested went bankrupt. But he worked his way back from rock bottom to become a multimillionaire.

In You’re Broke Because You Want to Be, Winget expands on the ideas that have made his popular television show Big Spender a hit and offers straightforward talk about coming to grips with your finances, such as:

· Feel bad. Have remorse. You need to feel deep emotion to take action. So start crying and take responsibility.

· Figure out who you owe and how much you owe. It’ll be a scary number to face, but you need to know where you are and what you have.

· “People are stupid, lazy, or they don’t give a damn.” You already know you need to do something; Larry will help you finally do something.

· Are you more interested in looking cool and being cute or providing a financially secure future for your family? How you spend your money will tell you that. With a boot-camp regimen that is steeped in personal accountability, Winget cuts through the double-talk contained in most finance books and presents a simple, guided program that is sure to motivate anyone out of their money problems.

Review. These days a lot of folks (and big banks!) can use some good financial advice. Stepping into that void is Larry Winget with You’re Broke Because You Want to Be. For the unfamiliar, Winget bills himself as the pit bull of personal finance because he utilizes the in your face approach to finance reform.

As Winget lectures:

Books don’t make you rich. Sooner or later, like it or not, it always comes down to work. Sadly, most people won’t put in the time or the effort to get what they want. I don’t make many guarantees in life or in my book. But I will make this one: If you stick with me . . . fill out the forms, and dare to do what I ask, then you will be better financially.

Well, ok that seems reasonable. Winget largely preaches the meat and potatoes of personal finance reform: cut expenses and create more income. These methods, while not easy, do work! However, almost none of Winget’s book contains new information. Rather it is akin to “old wine in new bottles.” Moreover, not everyone is in debt due to spendaholic ways. If you’re looking for novel approaches to reducing your debt or a sympathetic ear you won’t find it here.

Still Winget is an talented motivational writer. And if what you need is some tough love to jump start your paying down debt strategy Winget will supply the swift kick in the pants!




Publisher: Gotham; Reprint edition (December 30, 2008), 224 pages.
Review based on personal copy.