PROTECT · VOLUME 1 OF 3 · FOUNDATIONSDebt shelf
Understanding Your Debt
The first book to read on debt. It explains why debt is easy to take on and slow to clear, how the main kinds of debt differ, what interest, fees and minimum payments really cost, how to choose a payoff order or a consolidation option, how to negotiate with lenders and collectors, and how medical, student and tax debt each come with their own rules.
Chapters8
Reading time45 min
Worked examples26
Updated2026-10-01
What you will be able to do
- List every debt with its type, rate and risk, and decide which bills come first when money is short.
- Read an APR, a minimum payment warning and a loan's fees, and work out what a debt really costs.
- Choose between the avalanche and snowball methods and set up a payoff plan that runs automatically.
- Judge whether a consolidation loan, balance transfer or debt management plan would lower your cost.
- Ask a lender for a hardship arrangement, use your rights with debt collectors, and use the plans built into medical, student and tax debt.
Contents
8 CHAPTERS · ABOUT 45 MIN- 01Why Debt Is Hard to Escape The habits that make debt easy to take on and slow to clear, from present bias and the painlessness of cards to avoidance and all-or-nothing thinking, and the automatic systems that work better than willpower.6 min2 computed
- 02Types of Debt and What Sets Them Apart Secured and unsecured debt, revolving and installment debt, federal and private student loans, which bills to protect first when money is short, and how debt shows up in your credit reports.6 min2 computed
- 03What Debt Really Costs: APR, Minimums and Fees The difference between an interest rate and an APR, why minimum payments keep card balances alive for years, how loan fees and penalty rates raise the cost, and the federal rules that protect card holders.5 min5 computed
- 04Good Debt and Bad Debt: Judging What a Loan Buys Four questions that replace the good-debt and bad-debt labels, worked examples of how the term changes the cost of a car loan and a mortgage, how to judge education debt, and when interest deductions actually help.6 min4 computed
- 05Avalanche or Snowball: Choosing a Payoff Order Why paying the highest rate first saves the most interest, when paying the smallest balance first is worth its cost, what the research says about motivation, and how to set up either method so it runs on its own.5 min3 computed
- 06Debt Consolidation: When It Lowers the Cost How to find the rate a consolidation must beat, a side-by-side of a personal loan, a balance transfer, home equity and a debt management plan on the same balance, and the situations where consolidating makes things worse.5 min4 computed
- 07Negotiating with Lenders and Debt Collectors How to ask for a hardship arrangement before you fall behind, your federal rights when a debt collector calls, how settlements work and what they cost in credit and tax, and how to spot debt relief offers that leave people worse off.7 min2 computed
- 08Medical Bills, Student Loans and Tax Debt The protections and plans built into three special kinds of debt: checking and negotiating medical bills, hospital financial assistance, federal student loan repayment plans as of 2026, and IRS payment plans, penalties and relief.7 min4 computed
CALCULATORS USED IN THIS BOOK