TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Introduction

• You Don’t Have To Become a Financial Expert to Be Financially Fit
• Forget What You Think You Know About Credit, Debt and Money
• Why You Just Can’t Seem To “Get It Right” When It Comes To Money
• Information Overload and Analysis Paralysis
• Taboo Topics: Money, Sex and the Elephant in the Room
• Shame Plus Blame Does Not Equal Change
• Getting The Most Out Of This Book and Giving Yourself The Credit You Deserve

Chapter 1: You Have the Power to Change Your Life

• The Process of Change
• Obstacles to Change
• Money “Muzak”
• Three Types of Conditioning
• A-S-K to G-E-T
• Mastering The Three C’s
• You…Only Better

Chapter 2: Crisis 911: Facing and Embracing Your Catalyst for Growth

• Bankruptcy, Bailouts, and Rock bottom
• Broke But Not Broken
• Facing Foreclosure
• Dealing with Divorce
• Living with a Layoff
• Surviving Life’s Shipwrecks, Train wrecks, and Head On Collisions 
• The New Normal

Chapter 3: Credit 101: How Credit Really Works

• Caught In The Credit Cycle
• Credit Crunch – Not the Breakfast of Champions
• FICO, GEICO, and What Really Determines How Much You’ll Pay for Car Insurance
• Paper or Plastic – Why Credit Isn’t Evil But Cash Reigns as King
• Preying For Payday and Paying It Down the Right Way
• How to Repair, Reestablish, and Rebound from Credit Catastrophes
• The Truth About Being Credit Conscious, Money Smart, and Debt Free

 Chapter 4: Got Courage?

• What to Say When You Talk to Yourself
• Living Life On the Financial Edge
• Don’t Leave Home Without It
• Stop Being a “Why Baby”
• Quitting Is Not an Option
• False Evidence Appearing Real
• Go Ahead…Give Yourself Credit

Chapter 5: How to Gain the Confidence to Move Forward After a Financial Fall

• Raising Your Financial IQ
• Moving Forward After Making Money Missteps
• Dealing with Social Stigmas, Stares, and Snide Remarks
• How to Eat an Elephant and Work Like an Ant
• Confidently Contacting Creditors, Bill Collectors, and Other Undesirables
• Power, Possessions, and Pointless Pursuits
• Famous Financial Foul Ups That’ll Make You Feel Better About Yourself

Chapter 6: Commitment, Competence, and Common Sense

• How to Start Where You Are, Complete What You Start, and Be the Best You Can Be
• What You Want…Baby I Got It – R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
• Why Budgets Suck, Being Frugal Fails, and Debt Diets Don’t Work
• If It Ain’t Makin’ Money It Don’t Make Sense
• Designing and Refining: Your Five-Part Financial Fitness Formula
• Kids and Money: Paying It Forward
• Focus On Your Financial Future

Conclusion

• The Emperor Has No Clothes
• This Too Shall Pass
• You Are Not Alone…I Am Here With You

About the author
Resources
Index