Review of “Good Debt, Bad Debt” by Jon Hanson

July 7th, 2006 by Bill Perry in Interviews

I recently (today) finished reading a book titled Good Debt, Bad Debt by Jon Hanson.
In his book, Mr. Hanson defines the difference between Good Debt, and Bad Debt. He offers some clear-cut examples of each as well.
Mr. Hanson shows how, through careful analysis of our spending and savings habits, we are fall into one of two consumer classes: the Consumerati and the Econowise.
The Consumerati are the consumers who live hand to mouth, spending all they make, and sometimes even more. They have little to no understanding of the power of compount interest and delayed gratification. As a result, even if presented with a “one in a lifetime” investment opportunity, they lack the capital it takes to take advantage.
The Econowise, on the other hand, reside on the far extreme of the consumer spectrum. By daily practicing of habits such as frugality, spending less than they earn, and delaying gratification, they are able to amass personal fortunes on just about any income level.
Hanson uses his unique style of humour as well as personal anecdotes to illustrate the points he makes, including a story about temporary loss of emotional control, regarding an automobile purchase.
In a nutshell, I found this book to be very informative, funny and engaging. I have immense respect for Jon Hanson for being willing to share what some would consider to be very personal information. I learned a lot from a Personal Finance perspective. Before I had even finished reading the book, I began to rethink and review my spending and saving habits.

If I were giving this book a stars rating, definitely it would get 5/5.

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