Master Your Debt: Slash Your Monthly Payments and Become Debt Free -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Master or Victim? You Decide -- I Hear What You Are Saying -- You Have Power -- There Are New Answers for a New Era -- A Word about My Favorite Secret -- How to Approach This Book -- Chapter 1: How Did We Get Here? And Where Are We? -- A Long Time Coming -- A New Era -- Other Kinds of Loans -- Chapter 2: Find Out Where You Stand -- First, Determine Your Net Worth -- Analyze Your Cash Flow -- Do a Risk Test -- Analyze Your Debts -- Are You in Trouble? -- Chapter 3: Other People Are Grading You, Too -- How Credit Reports Work -- Check Your Credit Reports -- What to Look For -- It's Your Score That Really Counts -- How to See Your Scores -- Do You Have a Good Grade? -- You Can Improve Your Credit Score -- Chapter 4: Avoiding a Modern-Day Identity Crisis -- Learn the Basics -- Then What? -- Prevention Is Easier Than Cleaning Up Later -- About Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes -- You May Already Be a Victim -- Chapter 5: Win the New Mortgage Game -- How to Shop for a Mortgage -- The ArcLoan-One Variable-Rate Loan That I Like -- Should You Refinance? -- Home Equity Lines -- Reverse Mortgages -- Shared Equity Arrangements -- Paying Off Your Mortgage Early -- Chapter 6: Mortgage Free in Five to Seven Years -- Why It Works -- It's Not for Everyone -- Do It Right -- Broaden Your Scope -- Chapter 7: Credit Cards: Just Because It's Called MasterCard Doesn't Mean It's the Boss of You -- A Look at the Landscape -- Finding the Best Card(s) for You -- How Many Cards Should You Have? -- A Debit Card Is Not a Substitute for a Credit Card -- All That Fine Print -- The List of Shame -- And Now, On to the Good Stuff -- How to Wipe Out Your Balances Once and for All -- Chapter 8: Car Deals: Making Sure You're in the Driver's Seat.

But First, Do You Really Need a Car? -- Shop Before You Shop -- Make the Most of Incentives -- Should You Use a Buyer's Agent, Broker, or Buying Service? -- How to Pay for Your Car -- Getting the Best Loan -- Fixing the Loan You've Got -- Chapter 9: An Education in College Costs -- Baby Steps: Save, Save, Save -- High School: Learn How the Financial Aid Game Works -- Senior Year of High School: Tough Decisions -- After College: The Bills Come Due -- New Options from Uncle Sam -- Chapter 10: Don't Let Bad Luck Derail Your Finances -- Doing Debt Triage: How Much Trouble Are You In? -- Prioritizing Your Bills -- Finding Cash: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures -- Working with Creditors -- Student Loan Troubles -- Call-In Credit Counseling -- How to Choose a Credit Counseling Agency -- The Debt Management Plan -- Those Pesky (or Worse) Collection Agents -- Saving Your Home by Fixing Your Loan -- Get the Right Kind of Help -- Foreclosure: The Last Resort -- Staying Healthy without Making Your Bank Account Sick -- Chapter 11: Surviving Bankruptcy -- There Are Two Forms of Consumer Bankruptcy -- The Chapter 7 Means Test -- Get Help -- Before You File -- What about Your House? -- What Happens When You File -- Life after Bankruptcy -- Rebuilding Your Credit Score -- Chapter 12: Debt Strategies for Every Age -- In Your Teens and 20s: Clean Living -- The 30s and 40s: Building Wealth, Getting Squeezed -- In Your 50s: Countdown to Retirement -- The 60s and Beyond: Early Retirement -- Over 75: The Second Half of Retirement -- Chapter 13: Permanent Mastery, Going Forward -- Attitude Is All -- Polish Your Skills -- Guiding Principles -- Appendix: Resources -- General Resources -- Topical Resources -- About the Author -- Index.