Author Description

The "The Wealthy Barber Returns" is written in a relaxed, humorous, conversational style that I found very appealing. It begins with some sage advice on the pitfalls of over-borrowing, describing the forces that draw us into debt traps and the basic human weaknesses that drive us to keep up with others in the quest to accumulate things that, in the end, are of little enduring value. I agree that the false sense of security provided by an abundance of available credit forms a dangerous mindset that can lead to disaster, especially when that credit line is represented by a mortgage on the home. For most people the concept of a Home Equity Line of Credit is too much of a temptation, leading to the illusion of short term gain followed by the reality of long term pain. Dave even takes a couple of refreshing swings at the banks for their tendency to want to lend us up to our rooftops. He recounts one story where a woman he sent to the bank to get a very modest secured line of credit was immediately up sold to the max despite her history of debt accumulation. I'm sorry to report that this is not uncommon. I was a consumer lender for 25 years and it was my job to maximize profit within a consumer loan portfolio. I was paid to lend as much as possible at the highest possible rate without causing losses and not to share that philosophy with my customers. My paycheque depended on it.