The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams

Chapter 1. Prison Made of Plastic

I sat at the kitchen table flipping through the mail, seeing bill after bill after bill. I tore open a couple of them immediately, wanting to see the terrible news in its full glory. I began to calculate what I could afford to pay and what I could not, I began to quickly realize that the pile of bills I just received not only wouldn’t be covered by the current balance of my checking account, but that my next paycheck would not cover them either—and that was if I spent absolutely nothing on food, gasoline, or anything else. I sat there completely stunned for a moment; then I got up and went into my son’s room, closed the door behind me, and sat down in the rocking chair across from his crib. He was so tiny ...