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If bad credit has happened to you, there is something you can do about it

Feeling broke and battered? We know the feeling—heck, everyone knows it. According to the Wall Street Journal, 110 million Americans have bad credit—almost 50% of the adult population. But we don't have to be depressed or discouraged about it. There is life after bad credit. In fact, there's even life during bad credit.

Living Well with Bad Credit is the right help at the right time. If you're bravely soldiering on despite your finances going south, this informative book is for you. It puts the emphasis on living with bad credit—and living well. Veteran journalist Geoff Williams (AOL' s personal finance blog WalletPop, CNNMoney.com, Bankrate.com) and media powerhouse Chris Balish, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist and author (Living Well Without a Car), have teamed up to bring readers:

• Usable tips on how to embrace, and even benefit from, a low credit score
• Invaluable advice for dealing with 'lifestyle' events such as how to buy a car or qualify for a credit card with bad credit
• Interviews with dozens of experts and successful professionals who share ideas on how to live with the negative effects of bad credit
• Practical discussion on topics that go beyond finance, such as healing self-esteem and building relationships in spite of bad credit

While bad credit can be a setback, it doesn't have to be a roadblock. This expert guide is just the ticket to a better life once again

Price: $10.36

User Reviews about Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House - Start a Business - and Even Take a VacationNo Matter How Low Your Credit Score

I really appreciated this book so much. The authors -- one of whom went through his own bad credit saga and ultimately a bankruptcy -- are down to earth and write in a highly accessible manner. I had always been pretty good with my credit and money, until a serious medical event (brain tumor). Then the proverbial you-know-what hit the fan. I had medical insurance, I had savings, and still ended up with a pile of debt that was crushing me. The authors helped me see the errors of my ways -- in hindsight, my reserves were insufficient -- and also to see that even the best of us can mismanage our budgets, make bad forecasts, or just pull the short straw.

My own debt crisis began just as the Wall Street crisis unfolded. I had always just assumed it was a good thing to have credit cards, and before my medical saga, I generally kept my balances low or at zero. AND paid on time. But when the recession hit, some of my cards were cancelled, some lowered the limits, and the rates were jacked way up. Watching the melt-down from a hospital bed, I had some time to reflect on the whole set of assumptions we've been living with as a culture about money, credit, debt and risk. And self-employed (as the authors are), I saw my income plummet by two thirds. I found myself in a virtual 21st century debtors prison of the body, mind and soul.

What was so helpful about this book, for me, were the tales about how I'm not alone, and how you really can live, and live well -- I dare say, live better! -- without a great credit score. My credit score will eventually recover, but perhaps even more important, I no longer care so much about it. The whole "your credit score is your life you have to have a good one to do anything" conversation, I'm beginning to suspect, is part of a whole way we have been trained, like lab rats, to relate to our money. I've made payment plans for some of my debt, and have offered settlements to the credit card companies (20 cents on the dollar, which they were happy to take, since my only alternative was bankruptcy).

I don't really see the need to have a bunch of credit cards ever again in my life, and I no longer define my value as a human being by my credit score. I use a debit card for things that require a card (ex. hotel when traveling), and keep one credit card for dire emergencies. I'm replenishing my financial cushion. I'm rebuilding my business. But I'm relating differently to money, and to the whole machine that is the financial industry. I don't hate them, but I don't really need a lot of what they have to offer, either. A mortgage? Yes. Buying anything at 25% interest? No thanks! Life is simpler, and more importantly, easier to live. I have this book to thank for it. -- Thank God I'm Not Alone

I bought this book thinking I wanted to buy a house. This book really puts viewing your financial "life" as your life into perspective. I definitely have done many of the tips in this book (by default of having no other choice). They give great advice how to get around credit checks and how to handle having bad credit in different situations. Its written thoughtfully and with wit and humor. I would definitely recommend this book. -- Great Advice