Today's Chat with Sarah features Jorge Newbery author of Burn Zones, Debt Cleanse, and Stories of the Indebted.
To view the author on the bookshelves which includes official reviews of all his works, click here.
To view the author's page on Amazon, click here.
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1. You have three books that have been reviewed by the Online Bookclub; I'd like to cover them all, so let's just dive right in. You've done quite
a bit in your life according to Burn Zones. Why'd you decide to add author to your list?
I became an author because I needed to tell my side of the story about losing everything after a natural disaster devastated my former business
in 2004. I ended up with bad credit, millions of dollars in judgments, and over $26 million in debt which I could not pay. When the housing crisis started in 2008, I created American Homeowner Preservation to help the millions of homeowners who were in over their heads with debt like I was. My experience as an overwhelmed debtor proved helpful in crafting a system to help thousands of families facing financial collapse. As AHP grew, institutional investors did background checks, and Burn Zones started out as an explanation letter to these investors and then morphed into a much larger project.
I took some writing classes and learned that writing is like vomiting: just get it all out, and don't worry about what comes out. Once I stopped worrying about crafting a masterpiece by getting every single word just right, writing became a lot easier. The masterpiece is crafted in editing, I discovered, but first you need a lot of vomit to edit. I also had a coach and went through two NaNoWriMos, intently churning out words.
By the time I thought that I was done, I had over 500 pages which I turned into the editor. He came back and said that no one would read it because it was too long, and that there were really three books within my opus. He advised that I needed to split into books. Six months later, Burn Zones was published, followed by Debt Cleanse and then Stories of the Indebted.
2. Speaking of different jobs or accomplishments in life, what has been your favorite occupation?
I enjoy my current role the most, in which I head several companies as CEO, and then each company has a President who leads their respective teams and day-to-day operations. For an entrepreneur with a lot of ideas, I now have great collaborators to squash bad ideas, and execute on good ideas.
3. Is there a specific message you want the reader to walk away with? Perhaps to those of us going through a "Burn Zone" now due to Covid-19?
"Stay relaxed. Others around you are hurting just as much as you. Focus on enduring the pain until the pace slows. The effort will get easier soon." -
This is a quote from Burn Zones and was my mantra in bike races. In a challenging situation, such as the burn zones of Covid-19, to prevail one
needs to persevere.
4. Let's move on to Debt Cleanse. There's a fair number of reviews for this book, and not everyone agrees with your methods. Can you speak to that?
Yes, Debt Cleanse is a radical but effective approach to settling unaffordable debts at big discounts and not paying some at all. The primary
knock on the Debt Cleanse system is that people should pay the debts that they take on. In general, I agree with that. However, if someone gets in
over their head due to debt - due to a Covid-19 job loss, for instance - they need a way out and that way out is not being enslaved for the rest of their
lives paying back debt. So, I provide step-by-step instructions to get out of unaffordable debt.
To be clear, these strategies are not meant to help people go out, buy a bunch of stuff on credit, and then not pay for it. They are intended to help those who intended to pay when they took on the debt, but later become unable to pay.
5. Again, what made you decide to share your methods with others?
At AHP, we buy distressed mortgages at big discounts and then share the discounts with struggling homeowners, typically in the form of loan modifications with lower payments, reduced principal, and forgiveness of some of the delinquency. After we help families, their relatives, co-workers and friends would often call and ask if AHP could buy their unaffordable mortgages and provide them a helpful solution. We would share some tips to help, which evolved into Debt Cleanse, which provides step-by-step instructions to resolve mortgages and all types of debts, including credit cards, student loans, vehicle loans, payday loans, medical bills, and business loans.
6. Last, let's discuss Stories of the Indebted. This book seems similar to Debt Cleanse. What makes it unique?
Stories of the Indebted shares short stories of families who are dealing with unaffordable debts and weaves in some of the strategies from Debt Cleanse, which is a step-by-step how-to book.
7. In the book, you speak with various people dealing with massive debt. What's the most that you've seen settled?
I settled a debt of almost $8 milllion for $500,000 and a debt of over $6 million for $225,000. And many debts of mine and others, including some in the millions of dollars, have not been paid at all.
8. Is three books it for you or is there another in your future?
At this point, three is enough for me. The writing process demands a significant amount of time and effort. Maybe another at some point in the
future.
How about a few fun questions.
9. Do you have a favorite movie?
Bend It Like Beckham - I have watched well over 50 times. The familiarity and upbeat story are a stress-reliever for me.
10. What meal do you have most often?
Oatmeal - for breakfast and as a frequent snack.
11. Tell us about one item on your bucket list.
Both my wife and I are in our 50s and we were married later in life. We want to have children and, thanks to the help of a surrogate, are expecting twin boys in October. We are hopeful for the health of the boys, eager to be parents, and are looking forward to this next phase of life.
12. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
I'd be a stuffed bear. I would bring happiness to a child.
