Financial Peace is the "why" book -
Total Money Makeover is the "how-to" book.
Real short version:
1 - Decide to never borrow money again
2 - Ever. For anything. (The sole exception - you may take out a 15-yr fixed rate mortgage with a payment of no more than 25% of your take-home pay)
3 - No, really - you're never borrowing another dollar for as long as you live. No more car payments, boat payments - well, the word "payment" needs to be eliminated from your vocabulary.
4 - Seriously - no more borrowing. And cut up and cancel all of your credit cards. All set? OK, good.
5 - Save $1000 for a mini-emergency fund
6 - Pay off all of your debts from smallest balance to largest balance, regardless of interest rate
7 - Save 6-9 months of household expenses for a fully-funded emergency fund
7a - Save 20% of a down payment for a house
8 - Save 15% of income for retirement in good mutual funds
9 - Save for your kids' college (if applicable)
10 - Pay off your house
11 - Build wealth and give a lot of it away to your favorite causes
There - just saved you $20. Apply that to your first debt payoff.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Now, to be fair - this program is not easy. It's tough and it takes time. Hell, it's tough even if you make a six-figure living, let alone a $30k/yr job. But it does work. It's about planning, management and sacrifice, and if you can do those things, the plan does work if you have the discipline to see it through to the end.