Debt Cures: "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau (2008, Hardcover)

I purchased this book because my husband wanted me to. He and I are living week-to-week and have racked up $150,000.00 in debt. I read it, and there is information which could be helpful to many people, but it's nothing I didn't already know.
To be fair, I read another book, "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey for comparison. One big difference between the two is that author Kevin Trudeau ("Debt Cures..."2009) puts all the blame for our debt on the banks and credit card companies; Ramsey tells us it's our own fault for getting ourselves into the mess we're in. Another difference is Trudeau gives advice on how to re-build credit; Ramsey says we don't need credit and should live debt-free. A third difference is that Trudeau advises negotiation with creditors to lower debt and to not acknlowledge older debt (according to your state's laws); Ramsey lays out a step-by-step program using a "debt snowball" to pay back your debt, not try to abandon it. Both authors advise avoiding bankruptcy whenever possible. If you have a lot of older debt and don't mind haggling with your creditors, go with Trudeau's book. Personally, I thought it was a lot of hype to get you good and angry with the government and creditors. If you want a solid, proven, and in my opinion more sensible solution, check out Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover".
One more thing; I actually did try to negotiate a lower interest rate on one of my credit cards, and it didn't work. I'm sure if I hounded them about it, they would eventually give in (the squeaky wheel gets the oil!), but Trudeau's methods are not appealing to me personally. Check out Dave Ramsey first!

I read the book "Debt Cures" by Kevin Trudeau, and learned many things about outstanding debt. It really helped me to deal with debt collection agencies who used unfair or even illegal methods to collect on debts. Some debts are so old that the collection agency can't legally even call about them. But if a debtor makes any offer of repayment, it starts the clock ticking again.

Trudeau also mentioned that the agencies who harass debtors can be stopped simply by telling them not to call anymore and that you will send a letter backing up your request. Excellent information that can be used by anyone hounded with debt collection agencies.

He also informs in the book that filing for bankruptcy usually isn't a good option for most people and that filing probably won't stop some debt collectors from calling anyway.

I thought that he got a bit verbose at times, and found that I could merely browse and skip through some parts of the book, but even so, gleaning what I did from his book was very valuable information and worth the cost of the book.

One of the most important pieces of information he gave was information on how long each state holds debtors liable for repayment. After the time period each state specifies, the debt is no longer collectible. If a buyer has purchased an item with a credit card, chances are that the buyer paid well more than the item cost in fees and if unable to repay an entire credit card balance, they can be assured that the remaining debt is not valid after the state legislated period of time.

It is a book worth your time if you worry about debt or know someone who does. The information is valuable and useful and the cost of the book can be easily recouped if the reader has debt problems which can be solved using Kevin Trudeau's suggestions.

I have bought 3 of his books, including this one. The book is written for the WalMart crowd. If you have a college degree, a simple 10 page phamphlet would have sufficed.<p>
That said, it is a well-written book. Most people do not understand how the credit market works. All they know is - I get credits, use them, and make monthly payments. They trust the banks to treat them fairly, which is not the case. You should question every fee on your monthly statement. Did you know about universal default? Now you do, so you will know better next time and have a term to use when you complain to your politicians. NO MORE UNIVERSAL DEFAULT!!! Thanks Kevin!<p>
The information about governments grants is very heplful. Most people have no idea that there are so many government handouts available (did you say federal budget deficit and hyperinflation?). Yes, it is hard to find specific programs on these websites, but this is a design flaw of these websites, not a falure of Mr. Trudeau to tell you where to look.<p>
Buy the book, and then pass it around to your friends. Knowledge is POWER! 5-stars for the book and 5-stars for the author.

The following is my opinion and nothing more:

I saw his infomercial on the TV and heard him talk about how we can cut off years on our mortage loans. How we can have our credit card debt eliminated or reduced significantly and how there is free money out there for us. I have read more than 250 pages in this book and I could not find a really effective and practicle advice in there. Moreover, he kept on saying how bad the banks & these financial institutions are and how much they love people with bad credit. Maybe it is true, but we dont want to read 250 pages to get that. Just make your point and move on. To reduce debt, he talks about asking for help from our "friend" Lawyers and Accountants, but common how many of us have these expensive professionals as our "friends" who will do things for us for "free"? He talks about free money... let me see,if you didn't know about collecting unemployment (if unemployes) or SSI (if disabled) checks than that might be a little helpful. This was a total waste of my money and time.

I found the book had a few good bits of information. However after, reading other books over the past years, such as Life After Debt, I found that Keven Trudeau's Debt Cures seemed to contain previously written content. It seemed that most everything I read in the book, I had already read in different books, so I questioned if the few good points I found in Kevin's book that I had not read before was perhaps only because I had not already purchased the book those tips came from. If in the past you have read other books that provide debt cure information, you may want to save your money and not purchase this book. If this is your first book on how to get out of debt you will find something that will help you in Kevin Trudeau's Debt Cures.