As part of my journey towards becoming debt free, I am making it a priority to educate myself about money. I want to have a better understanding of handling finances, financial mindsets and many other useful topics. My favourite way of doing this is reading. This is a part of my journey that I’m particularly keen to share with you as I believe you could get a lot of value from it. Here is my finance book of the month.

Finance book of the month – The Total Money Makeover

This week I would like to begin by sharing a book I have mentioned many times before already. A lot of you may have already read this, especially if you are also on a debt free journey, but I want to share it none the less.

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey is what I would describe as the most effective and most sensible approach to debt payment. The book provides you with a straightforward method to handle your money. It is easy to read and to understand. When you are already in stressful situation, possibly even a full on panic about your finances, the last thing you need is the confusion of unfamiliar words and complicated guides.

Dave’s money makeover system is made up of several baby steps, set in a specific order, that help you handle and control your money. He begins with building your emergency fund. I spoke about this here earlier in the month. He then progresses through debt payment, further saving, preparing for retirement and so on.

The Total Money Makeover is not the sort of book you read once and forget about. You will find yourself referencing it again and again. It will be relevant even once you are in the habit of handling your money well. I have just read it for the third time myself. As the title suggests, Dave’s intention is not to help you find a quick fix for your money. The steps guide you into healthy money habits that you will keep for life.

You can find The Total Money Makeover here on Amazon. (This is an affiliate link. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to use it. Thank you!)

I absolutely encourage you to begin reading (or listening to audiobooks) as part of your debt free journey. Not only do you learn something as a result, but it also allows you some time to switch off from all the other goings on in life and just focus on the book in hand, literally.

Claire from The Money Freak reflects on her own experience of discovering Dave Ramsey and his method in her blog post here.