By Loyd Eskildson

"Debt is this country's silent financial crisis, and the amount held by the public has increased 48% over the past seven years." Bob Brooks' book provides an excellent summary of the pitfalls involved in credit card debt and programs that claim to ease the pain of digging back out, as well as a detailed approach to money management. Examples provided throughout Deceptive Money make the material credible and meaningful for readers.
 
Red flags to look for in an undesirable credit card offering include first, a Universal Default Clause that gives the company the ability to change the conditions anytime for any reason (eg. being late on any payments). Balance Transfer offers are one of the biggest traps because new purchases are charged a high rate, while payments go towards the 0% balance transfer (which can be changed at a moment's notice). Brooks then goes on to provide examples of deceptive ads and gimmicks, especially for the supposedly self-disciplining debit card genre.
 
Deceptive Money's second section addresses problems dealing with the get-out-of-debt industry. Brooks says there are two types:

1) Companies that negotiate on your behalf to reduce the overall amount of debt.

2) Companies that consolidate your debt and provide the opportunity to make one payment. Reality is that these offers mostly turn out to be misrepresentations plus more fees, with little or nothing done for the debtor. Brooks reports having studied many of these programs through the years without finding any worth using.
 
Brooks then moves on to getting oneself financially organized and documenting all actions regarding existing debts, as well as providing considerable detail on how to control expenditures in a more effective manner than most budgeting programs. Surprisingly, he prefers the use of credit cards over cash - because of their automatic documentation of how the money was spent.
 
The book's final section addresses debt collector threats and how to fight back, followed by debt management strategies tailored to readers' general level of indebtedness. Sample letters to overly aggressive collection agencies are also provided and explained.
 
Overall, Deceptive Money (Springboard Pub/ 2009) is an excellent tool for those wanting to relieve the stresses caused by credit cards and to improve their financial management. My two suggestions are that in a next edition Brooks expand the material to also include a chapter warning of the traps in common mortgages, and material emphasizing the need for a solid savings program in today's weak economy.
 

Loyd Eskildson is retired from a life of computer programming, teaching economics and finance, education and health care administration, and cross-country truck driving.  He's now a reviewer for Basil & Spice.

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