These Books Helped Me To Clear My Credit Card Debt

I know I'm always banging on about these 'self-help' books. I know that they get a lot of stick and ridicule. I know that it's not the coolest thing to be seen reading. However, I know that they work!

My first encounter with a self help book was probably Rich Dad Poor Dad. I'd read The Secret and found it great for motivational purposes but felt it a little gimmicky and didn't really give me the steps I needed to make a go of getting out of a bad financial place and making some real money.

Passed onto my husband and I by a close friend, Rich Dad Poor Dad had sat on our shelves for at least a couple of years without either of us ever paying much attention to it. I don't remember what sparked the sudden enthusiasm or need to read it, but I picked it up and got through it in about 2 days. I literally couldn't put it down. I felt as though a veil had been lifted and I suddenly saw finances in a whole different light. The book is written by Robert Kiyoasaki, and ultimately tells the story of his own father (poor dad) and his friends wealthy father (rich dad). It shows how he went against his fathers word and changed his financial outlook, to go on and earn a passive income and become pretty damn rich.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Once you have read this book it's definitely worth moving onto the second in the series, the more in depth I would say, and goes into the different ways of earning, working for someone, being self employed, being an investor etc..

Rich Dad Poor Dad Part II - Rich Dad's Cash Flow Quadrant (Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom)

I've passed the books onto my younger brother as he's at the age of 19 where this stuff can really make a difference - BEFORE he gets into debt!

The second, and this is not so much of a book as an audio book was T Harv Eker's 'Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind'. Sounds cheesy right?! Well... IT IS! You are encouraged to make statements aloud to yourself like 'I have a Millionaire Mind!' but do you know what... who cares?! It's fun, It's silly, and if you're that concerned about how you come accross or how stupid you look you probably won't make much money. We all know that to really start making dough we have to cheese up a little. Don't be so serious!

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind CD: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind CD

On the real though, this audio book literally changed my life. Well, it changed my beliefs about life anyway. It shows you how you inherit beliefs around money from your parents. I always knew my parents to have credit cards, and to have lots of money on them. I was always shown that it was ok to have debt as long as you paid it off. I was always shown that it didn't matter how much debt I had because there were people out there who had thousands of pounds more. URRRRGH! Now I can see what a bloody stupid way of thinking this is. No-one wants debt, but I was happy to ride along with it. Not any more, I am the warrior and debt is my enemy! Within 2 months of listening to this audio book I have paid off my credit card. It wasn't a huge amount, less than £1500, but considering before this I was paying £40 each month and thinking it would eventually go away this is a HUUUUUGE breakthrough! Now I have a budget that I stick to every month, I know what percentage of my income I can blow on clothes and going out, I know what percentage I should be saving for investments etc.. You may have seen me do a detailed post on it a few weeks back. No? Well check it out here!

There are a few more books that I credit to my growing success and changed mindframe, but these ones are where to start. I could go on and on about how great these books are but seriously, just buy them. I think both are on Amazon (you can click the pics to go through to buy) for less than £15 each. It's really a tiny tiny amount for what it will do for you, I promise.

Sarah x

P.S If anyone reads these books, or has already read them, leave comments and let us know how it helped you.