Liam Croke - I Am Going to Be Debt Free: Dont just change your financial life — transform it

Do you find it hard to sleep at night, worried that you wont be able to repay your mortgage this month or that you dont have enough money to heat your home again? It is an awful feeling and so frustrating that no matter what you do to cut back on your spending, or how hard you work, you never seem to have enough money to live on each month; there is too much month at the end of the money.

So what are you going to do about this situation? What do you have to do to get on top of your finances? What steps do you have to take to figure a way out of the mess you are in?

Well, first things first: you are not alone. This is probably of little comfort to you, but I meet people every day who tell me before we get to speak about their finances that you have never met anyone as bad as me before. You know what? I have. I have met so many people who think that their situation is so bad, so unmanageable, that they dont see any point in even talking about their finances. What I find sad about cases like this is that the people involved seem to have given up on themselves rather than on their finances.

These people are amazed when I tell them that I have seen worse, or when I ask them: Is that all the debt you have? Some people have a mental block, believing that their debt is worse than anybody elses, and they are resigned to being permanently in debt, with no escape, ever!

Let me give you a quick example of this. (By the way, I am going to be giving you real-life examples throughout this book that you will be able to relate to, and be inspired by.) Recently, I met a man called John, who came to me looking for help because he was about to lose his job. John was probably one of the smartest guys I have ever met, but before he even sat down to speak with me, he said: I dont know why I am even here. Nobody can help me; Im just wasting your time.

Thats fine, I replied. If you want to leave without telling me your story, thats up to you, and then you are absolutely right neither I nor anybody else will ever be able to help you, thats for sure.

He was taken aback by my reply. Im sure he thought he was going to get the sympathy hearing from me, but if he thought this he was sadly mistaken. Tell me whats wrong, John, I continued, and lets see if I can help you. Its up to you.

John explained that he was losing his job not because he couldnt do it properly he could do it with his eyes closed and not because his employer was laying off people, but because his work was suffering very badly because he could only give it 20 percent of his concentration, time and effort. The other 80 percent was spent worrying about his finances. He was paralysed by his debt and what the future held for him. He had two young children, he hadnt put oil in the tank for twelve months, and his relationship with his wife was at breaking point. He was in a very dark place and saw only one escape route that would put everyone at peace. You know what he was thinking of doing, so lets not even go there for the moment.

John thought that his debt was insurmountable. Im sure you are thinking it must have been enormous. Well, to John it was: it was 12,000. Yes, you read it right: twelve thousand euro.

To cut a long story short, after many sessions with John, and after putting a plan in place for him that would eliminate this debt once and for all, he did it in January of this year. John and his family are now debt-free apart from a small mortgage, which is very manageable. He is employed again and is one of his new employers most valuable employees. He is enjoying life again and is a completely different person. His relationship with his wife has changed for the better, and in August of this year John and his family are going on a family holiday together for the first time in years, all paid for in cash from their savings.

Two years ago, he was broke: he had no prospect of a job and was 12,000 in debt, and his mortgage was two months in arrears. Now he is debt-free and has 5,000 in savings in his bank account.

How John solved his problems was not down to me, it was down to him. You, and only you, can get yourself out of debt and live the life you want. The great thing is that I have met many thousands of Johns over the past twenty years, and what I show them, and what I am going to tell you now in this book, works, its a proven fact.

If you follow what I am going to show you, I guarantee that your financial well-being will improve dramatically: it simply cant but improve. However, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say: OK, I hear what Liam has said and I am going to follow his plan, and if I do, I am going to be debt-free. Say it again: I am going to be debt-free.

As you read each chapter in this book, you are going to learn very quickly where your problems lie, and how you got to this point in the first place. But the most important thing is that I am going to show you a way out of debt, and how never to return there again. As Lynsey Buckingham says: Been down one time, been down two times, never going back again.

Let me tell you one more thing which is very important to know about me, the person giving you this advice. I am debt-free apart from a very small mortgage which I could clear at any time. I am not beholden to anyone, and I made a conscious decision to become this way a number of years ago. I have never been in debt and have never been in arrears. You are not getting advice from someone who has made loads of money and then lost all of it again. You are not getting advice from someone who is telling people how to get rid of their debt but is up to their own eyes in debt.

I always find it strange why people would take advice from someone who is in debt themselves or someone who made millions in the Celtic Tiger era, only to have lost it all. Why would you take advice from someone who has failed at managing their own money? If you were on a diet, would you take advice from someone whose weight was going up and down along with yours? Of course you wouldnt. The same applies to your finances: you mimic and copy the people who lived prudently and have successfully managed their own finances, and have never made mistakes. These are the people you need to take advice from, and I am happy to say that I am one of them.

Over the course of this book, I am going to show you how to avoid the debt traps that people fall into, and how to create a realistic spending plan that works for you. I guarantee that you will find the answers you have been looking for. You will see that my proven plan for a debt-free life will alter your life dramatically for the better and allow you to pursue what you really want from your life, finding out what your passion really is and pursuing it, free from debt and the consequences that debt brings.

I am reminded of a quote I heard recently which goes something like this: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. So make a commitment now not to remain one of those people who struggle throughout their lives, living unfulfilled and never reaching even 10 percent of their potential because they were strangled by debt that dragged them down year in, year out. You are not going to let that happen to you. I want you to say this sentence out loud once more: I am going to be debt-free.

I like quotes, and will use many of them throughout this book to amuse and inspire you. One that I came across recently (the author was unknown) I think is very apt in relation to what I have just been talking about: Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass its about learning how to dance in the rain.

So, your storm (debt) is going to pass, but rather than waiting for that to happen, lets do something about it now, and lets get on top of your finances so you can get on with the rest of your life. By reading this book, you are taking the first steps to achieving this.