Books by Mary Hunt
Debt-Proof Living: How to Get Out of Debt & Stay That Way
There are plenty of heavily pedigreed personal-finance experts dishing out good advice, but not many who know what it’s like to have to eat ramen all month to make a car payment. On the other hand, there’s Mary Hunt, a recovered credit card addict whose free-spending ways landed her family in the middle of $100,000 of unsecured debt in the early 1980s.
Although Hunt’s “been there, spent that” zeal and warmth have turned her into the Ann Landers of personal finance, she’s not just an agony aunt for spendthrifts—business experts will find her a savvy marketer who’s using her name and story to build, somewhat ironically, a very effective brand. That doesn’t negate her sincerity, however, or the fact that her advice is sound, her formulas work, and her Rapid Debt Repayment Plan has kept increasing numbers of families out of bankruptcy. And finally, Mary Hunt’s Debt-Proof Living is just a joy to read—its clarity and lack of condescension make it a perfect gift for anyone just starting to understand the basics of money. Barrie Trinkle, Amazon.com Review
Debt-Proof Your Marriage: How to Manage Your Money Together
While financial disharmony can blow a marriage apart, financial harmony can bind it together. In this highly practical book, Mary Hunt shares her moving story then helps couples bring the principles of intimacy—the foundation for harmony and debt-free living-into management of their money. Not a lecture, this is an easy read with a plan that is practical and totally doable.
The Smart Woman’s Guide to Planning for Retirement: How to Save for Your Future Today
What does a woman want to do when she retires? Travel? Pursue hobbies? Spend time with friends and family? According to one survey, 92 percent of women of all ages in this country don’t feel they’re educated enough to reach their retirement savings goals. For the woman who doesn’t know where to start or would like a knowledgeable guide who speaks her language, financial expert Mary Hunt offers a comprehensive but approachable resource for saving and planning for retirement.
With her signature no-nonsense, energetic style, Hunt assures women that it’s only too late if they don’t start now. She clearly covers every aspect of retirement planning during every season of a woman’s life, giving women the confidence they need to shape their futures.
Cheaper, Better, Faster: Over 2,000 Tips and Tricks to Save You Time and Money Every Day
What if there were one book that could help you do nearly everything in life cheaper, better, and faster? Show you how to remove hairspray baked onto a curling iron. How to make white shoes look like new. How to make gourmet coffee without the gourmet price. How to keep your cat out of your houseplants. And hundreds of other things.
Cheaper, Better, Faster is all the best advice you’ve ever heard, collected into one handy volume. Every tip is short, to the point, and helps you make the most of your money and your time, making everyday life less hectic and more enjoyable.
7 Money Rules for Life: How to Take Control of Your Financial Future
Americans young and old are flunking their finances. A shocking 77 percent live paycheck to paycheck with no savings. And 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, while 49 percent could cover less than one month’s expenses if they lost their income. In the face of this bleak financial picture, Mary offers 7 Money Rules for Life. This no-nonsense and encouraging book will give you the key to get your money under control and get prepared financially for the rest of your life.
Money mastery isn’t really that hard. 7 Money Rules for Life can help you change your future from uncertain to rock-solid with principles you can apply right away.
Raising Financially Confident Kids
It’s natural to want your kids to have a secure future. But when it comes to teaching the next generation how to handle money, parents are failing. Still there is hope! Financial expert Mary Hunt shows parents how to raise kids who have a healthy relationship with money.
Drawing from solid statistics and her own hard-won knowledge and experience, Hunt helps parents protect their children from the financial pitfalls of easy credit, an attitude of entitlement, and our culture’s chummy relationship with debt. From preschool through the teen years, every stage of a child’s development is covered, including how to talk to them about money, how to help them start save, give, and manage money wisely.
Debt-Proof Your Christmas: Celebrating the Holidays without Breaking the Bank
Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also one of the most stressful–and most expensive. Expectations run high and it’s tempting to whip out the credit cards to create the perfect Christmas for your family, with lavish meals, new decorations, and the latest, greatest gadgets and fashions for everyone on your Christmas gift list. But you don’t have to overspend or go into debt to have a fabulous holiday.
Financial expert Mary Hunt shows readers how. She helps readers assess their financial situation, commit to no new debt, and think creatively about their gift list. With Mary’s guidance, readers will identify what has caused them to overspend in the past and approach this Christmas with a plan and a new attitude toward holiday spending. This just might be the best gift you can give yourself and your family.
Live Your Life for Half the Price
From the Introduction: Over the years I’ve had many media interviews and I’m grateful for every one. One interview, however, stands out in my mind because of an unfortunate case of host laryngitis. It was the first time I’d ever been asked to interview Myself. Seriously.
I can’t say it was unpleasant. In fact, I rather enjoyed Myself. I responded candidly to each of My questions; I knew all the answers and didn’t stump Myself even once.
Now I find Myself in a similar situation. There you are and here I am. I know you have questions, but alas your voice is silent. So as I did that day for a radio audience, I’ve decided to do here for you: I will interview Myself.
Me: Why did you write this book? There are plenty of books out there on personal finances already.
Myself: I know this looks like a personal finance book, and it is in a way, but not really. This book focuses on just one segment of the art of managing your money—
Me: You’re going to make me ask?
Myself: I wasn’t finished (now, don’t start interrupting)…the part about limiting your spending so that it does not exceed 80 percent of your income.
Me: Oh, so this is a budget book!
Myself: No, not really.
Me: A bargain guide?
Myself: No, not that either. This is a book about how to live below your means—how to spend less than you earn. Living below your means is a decision, an attitude—it’s a way of life.
Me: Forgive me, but I don’t understand the difference between living below your means and finding great bargains.
Myself: If you are committed to maintaining a healthy margin between what you earn and what you spend you’re going to be a deal hunter. But the bargain isn’t the issue—the bargain simply is the means to the end. The real issue is achieving a lifestyle where you buy what you need and want what you have—a consistent way of life where you live below your means.
Me: Who did you write this book for?
Myself: Since 1992 I’ve devoted my life to helping people make the shift from spender to saver—showing them how to stop spending all they have, how to get out of debt and how to live below their means. Millions have taken me up on my offer and proven that my simple debt-proof living plan works!
I can’t tell you how many people have gotten out of debt and gone on to do amazing things with their lives and their money. I really can’t. I know—and this breaks my heart—that for every success there are ten thousand more who don’t get it or if they do, procrastinate. They make good money, they’re not horribly in debt but they spend all of their money—all the time. These are the people who need this book.
Me: Who would not benefit from this book?
Myself: I’d like to think that I’m such an entertaining writer anyone would find this a real page-turner (I once knew a girl, Paige Turner), but those who never spend beyond their means; who give, save and are building wealth will probably not find much inspiration. They are already doing what I’m talking about here. While I’d be honored if they flipped a few pages, I did not write this for those who are seasoned LBYMers (live below your means) looking for ways to go lower and lower. And lower.
Me: So what can we expect in the pages that follow?
Myself: You may have noticed this is a single volume, not a ninety-six-volume matched set. That’s why you are not going to find every possible consumer product and service together with details on how and where to buy it for 50-percent off. This is not Mary Hunt’s Guide to Bargains. I hope to empower my readers to action by teaching them the principles of living below their means and showing them how to reduce the cost of some of their major expenses.
Me: Thanks for being My guest today. Where can our readers find you if they have questions?
Myself: It was my pleasure! These days I spend most of my time hanging out at my website DebtProofLiving.com and blog, EverydayCheapskate.com
Last update on 2026-07-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API