Debt-Free by 30 by Jason Anthony

I think that one of the reasons I like personal finance books is because they make me feel smart. First, I feel smart because I am actually reading them. Second, the case stories are always so extreme that any financial trouble I've gotten myself into seems itty bitty, teeny weeny. This was kind of one of those books. There were even tests that I aced most of the time. I have a great relationship with money, apparently.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I finished it about a week ago. There were things that I really liked about it. It was easy to read and understand, key in dealing with a bunch of 20-somethings. Some of the advice was pretty sound, too. I really liked the chapter on insurance. It broke down what you REALLY need. For instance, they suggest only buying comprehensive if a car is under 8 years old, advice that sounds great but that I had never heard before.

Then, there was the crap. Because this book is aimed at 20-somethings, the authors pepper it with humor that sometimes falls flat and other times is just obnoxious. There are a lot of pop culture references that dated the book. Also, one of the tips for paying off debt is to credit card surf. Take out a card with a low introductory rate, use it to pay off an account, and transfer the balance to a new low intro rate card when the intro period is done. Basically, they are suggesting that a bunch of 20-somethings open a bunch of cards and either keep them open, thus allowing for temptation, or close them, thus harming their credit score.

Like I said, I'm just not sure about this one. It was a nice refresher and I felt a little better motivated after reading it but I'd rather stick with Dave Ramsey.