NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Reserve announced on Monday
that consumer debt has reached more than $2.1 trillion. "The average
household now owes more than $7,000 in credit card debt," pointed out
Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law professor and co-author of ALL YOUR WORTH: The
Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press; March 7, 2005; $24.95). "To put
that in perspective, a typical family now owes six hundred times more than
their parents did. Today's families are choking on debt. Today's
announcement from the Cambridge Consumer Debt Index that 45 percent of
Americans are making minimum or no payments on their credit card balances
shows how very deeply the problem runs," Warren points out.
Amelia Warren Tyagi, financial consultant and co-author of All Your Worth,
argues that the new rules of money have led to so much debt. "Hard work and
good intentions are no longer enough. In today's world, everyone needs a
crash course in the new rules of money."
Warren & Tyagi leverage more than twenty years research to show Americans
how to build a lifetime money plan that fits with today's rules. ALL YOUR
WORTH includes specific steps to get out of debt and take control over money,
including four keys to creating a personal debt repayment plan:
-- Find out why you are sinking into debt. Are you spending too much on
the Must-Haves (rent, car payment, insurance) or too much on the Wants
(eating out, new clothes)? It doesn't matter which purchases you
charged on your credit card; focus on the real reason behind your debt
problem so you can work toward debt-free living.
-- Start repaying the debt that bothers you the most. Are you staying
away from family picnics because you're embarrassed about the money you
borrowed from your mother-in-law? Then pay all you can on that debt
first. Pay off your debts one at a time, starting with whichever debt
will give you the most satisfaction when it's gone.
-- Throw everything at it. Drain your savings account, empty out your
piggy bank, and sell stuff on eBay. Put everything you can toward
jump-starting your debt payment, so you can see some fast progress.
-- Avoid back-sliding: Take the temptation out of your wallet. Cut up the
credit cards and use cash instead.
"Many people know they need to get out of debt, but they feel overwhelmed,
unsure of where to start. It is amazing what just a few strong steps toward
debt repayment can do," notes Tyagi. "Getting out of debt is like losing ten
pounds, only better. It feels terrific."
Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi are available for interviews to
discuss Americans' rising debt and how to build a plan to get out of it.
ALL YOUR WORTH: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan By Elizabeth Warren and
Amelia Warren Tyagi
Published by Free Press/March 8, 2005/ ISBN: 0-7432-6987-X; PRICE: $24.95
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SOURCE Professor Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law School
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Related links:
http://www.simonsays.com
CONTACT:
Professor Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law
School, +1-617-495-3101; or Michele Jacob, Free Press,
+1-212-698-7528
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