The Total Money Makeover

Three of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of The Total Money Makeover pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.

1. Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge - you don't have a math problem, you have a discipline problem, so the plan is built to change what you do, not just what you know.
2. Start with a $1,000 starter emergency fund (Baby Step 1) before anything else, so the next flat tire or ER visit doesn't push you back onto credit cards.
3. Attack debt with the Debt Snowball: list every non-mortgage debt smallest balance to largest, pay minimums on all but the smallest, and throw everything extra at that one - the quick wins build momentum that keeps you going.

The other 4 — and the full 10-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 9 chapters

The whole summary runs about 10 minutes, read or listened to.

1. You Don't Have a Money Problem - You Have a Behavior Problem
2. Denial and the Myth of 'Normal'
3. Debunking the Debt Myths
4. Debunking the Money Myths
5. Baby Step 1 - Save a $1,000 Starter Emergency Fund
6. Baby Step 2 - Crush Your Debt with the Debt Snowball
7. Baby Step 3 - Build a Full Emergency Fund
8. Baby Steps 4-6 - Invest, Fund College, Kill the Mortgage
9. Baby Step 7 - Build Wealth and Give It Away