Millions of people suffer financial hardship due to job loss and a variety of other factors. What you need to do in order to take control of your financial destiny includes changing the way you confront and deal with everyday pressures related to shopping, advertising, credit cards, keeping up with the Joneses, and spending money.

In Power Up, Howard Dvorkin—founder of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services—draws on his years of experience helping thousands of people overcome devastating financial hardship. He provides you with time-tested strategies and powerful tools to rebuild your financial life on a solid and enduring foundation. Besides discussing guidelines for creating a realistic budget and sticking to it, Dvorkin also shares tips on how to learn to live without credit cards—and love doing it—as well as puts you in a better position to understand the difference between what you want and what you need.

• Filled with effective budgeting tools, worksheets, and other valuable forms
• Provides a look at the tricks that lenders and credit card companies use to make you a slave to debt
• Offers ideas on how to redirect your urge to shop into activities that satisfy your deeper needs and methods to improve your fiscal psychology
• Contains priceless advice on how to educate your kids about money and personal finance

Do you want a chance to start over again with a clean slate? Do you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you're in charge of your financial destiny? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it's time to Power Up!

HOWARD S. DVORKIN, CPA, is the founder of Consolidated Credit, an organization that has helped more than 5 million people over the last twenty years. He has helped thousands of individuals face and overcome devastating financial hardships and avoid personal bankruptcy. Mr. Dvorkin also is a personal finance columnist for Fox Business News online, and he has been interviewed about debt and personal finance by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune, Entrepreneur, American Banker, Investor's Business Daily, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, and more. He has also been a guest on countless national and local television and radio outlets, including CBS Evening News, The Early Show, ABC World News, and CNN.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Path that Led You Here

Who the Heck Are the Joneses and Why Are You Trying to Keep Up With Them?

Adding to the Cart

Emotional Buying

Buying What You Can’t Maintain

The Influence of Advertising

Chapter 2: Start to Become Empowered

Crafting a Budget

Examples of Budget Sheets

Worksheets for Expenses

Fixed Expenses

Flexible Expenses

Discretionary Expenses

Time to Calculate

The Frugal Philosophy

Chapter 3: Discovering a New Outlook on Life and Money

Identify Your Values: Work, Friends, and Family

The Value of Money

The Value of Living for Tomorrow

Chapter 4: Staying on the Right Path

Find a Hobby

A Life without Credit Cards

Differentiating Needs from Wants

Chapter 5: Teach Your Children Well

Talk to Your Kids about Money

Kids and Values

Prepare Your Teenagers

Intro to Banking

Chapter 6: Continuing on Your Freedom Quest

Find your Green

It’s Time to Step Out on Your Own

About the Author

Index