I believe knowing how to manage our money is one of the most important life skills for adults — and even more important to pass on to our kids. My newest book is intended to help tackle that tricky topic. Not Your Parents’ Money Book: Making, Spending, and Saving Your Own Money is for the next generation of our nation’s spenders and savers, who need to know where money comes from, how they can earn it, and what they can do with it once it’s in their pocket.
It’s the product of a lot of research, done over the span of a year, with kids across the country. (I have teens of my own, so I know what happens with books that bore them: I find them gathering dust under the bed!) So I conducted a series of informal focus groups, asking middle schoolers what they already know about money and what they want to know — and then wrote the book to meet their needs. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to look at my new book, and then take a few more minutes to sit down and talk to your kids about money (have the National Money Night Talk). It’ll be one of the most rewarding conversations you’ve had with your kids yet.
You have money questions. I know you do, because they pop up in my inbox throughout the day. And I answer many of them, either through my syndicated newspaper column or with a panel of colleagues on our weekly Money 911 segment on NBC’s Today.
But it’s still not good enough, especially in these economic times, when many of your questions have likely become – or are on the verge of becoming – emergencies. So I came up with the idea for a book, also called Money 911, that answers every question I’ve ever been asked, and then some.
This book is a bit different from my others, in that it is intended to be a reference guide, and has been carefully indexed so you can flip to the section you need and absorb the information. Trying to decide whether to refinance your mortgage? Turn to page 184. Want to learn the best way to negotiate the price on that new television? Page 121 has the answer. Looking for life insurance? You’ll find all you need to know to select the best policy for you on page 255. All in all, you’ll find the answers to well over 300 questions, along with resources – other books, organizations, web sites and government agencies – that I’ve carefully vetted, in case you need to learn even more.
Six years ago, during more pleasant financial times, I wrote Pay it Down!, the Rx for getting out of debt. It helped hundreds of thousands of readers, as well as the million people who participated in the Debt Diet on The Oprah Winfrey Show (based largely on the information in the book). But as the economy twisted and turned, some of the rules of the road did too, and this year, I decided to update that go-to guide for paying off your debt. More…
My latest book, The Difference, answers one burning question: Why is it that some people seem to move relatively easily from paycheck-to-paycheck into comfort or wealth, while others get stuck or – worse – fall back?
Not to toot my own horn, but this book couldn’t have come at a better time. These days, more than ever, you need to know how to make your own luck, how to zero in on the things you’re doing everyday – right and wrong – that have an affect on your bottom line. I’ll show you how to develop your intuition so you can recognize when to take a risk, help you increase your resilience in this bad economy, and tell you why it’s important to pinpoint your passion and make it your career (believe me, the money will follow). More…
A few years ago – after reporting on money for fifteen years – I finally cracked the code. If you want to get rich, you need only do four things:
1. Make a decent living
2. Spend less than you make
3. Invest the money you don’t spend
4. Protect the financial world you build so that a disaster doesn’t take it all away from you
Sounds easy, I know. So why, then, is it so hard, particularly for women?
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This was the first book where I used survey results to help people get a grip on their personal finances. In The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness (which was published in hardcover as You Don’t Have to Be Rich), I analyzed the results of a unique survey in which we questioned 1,500 Americans about their financial attitudes and behaviors.
The goal was to see how much money people actually do need to guarantee a happy, comfortable life. We got down to the nitty-gritty, looking for specific behaviors that – if you really adopt them – can significantly improve a life. The results of this proprietary survey – conducted with the help of the Roper Center – were pretty remarkable. More…
In Talking Money, I offered a detailed guide on how to get personal finances in order.
I already knew firsthand that, once minor money problems are under control, the big picture falls quickly into place.
The idea was to talk frankly and clearly about the need to take control – and offer clear and doable ways of actually getting there.
Some bits of practical advice included: More…
