Does anyone have suggestions for money management/debt reduction books? I don't want something that requires a CPA to decipher, just something to help me budget/save/pay bills better.
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
I love Mary Hunt's website and her books. I subscribe to her daily emails, and she has a great blog. She has a sound method for reducing debt, but is not as extreme as Ramsey is. She uses her reader's ideas and tips, and she has a great sense of humor to go with it. Highly recommended!
Robin
Formerly "Robinbebe"
Posts: 420 | Location: SE Michigan | Registered: August 19, 2004
Originally posted by jillybean: I didn't get to see it but maybe I can get some info from Oprah's website.
She tends to be very good about having information from the show put up on the website. I'd bet that you would get some good stuff if you go check it out today.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Originally posted by SheriaVa: I thought today's show with Suze Orman was FANTASTIC...I found it SO helpful. She talked about mortgages and credit cards and 401ks and Roth IRAs...all kinds of helpful topics...and gave loads of great tips.
I didn't get to see it but maybe I can get some info from Oprah's website.
Thanks for posting Sheri!
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
I thought today's show with Suze Orman was FANTASTIC...I found it SO helpful. She talked about mortgages and credit cards and 401ks and Roth IRAs...all kinds of helpful topics...and gave loads of great tips.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
For Jill and anyone else interested, Suze Orman is going to be on Oprah again tomorrow answering financial questions from the audience.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Originally posted by isabel: i do enjoy Suze. However her TV show is something i often canot relate to. for instance, one woman wanted help on whether she could afford a $500 handbag given her income and financial situation. WHAT? i guess even thinking about buying some expensive handbag is so far away from my reality that i usually just turn the channel.
Yea, mine too! But that's the deal with this woman who was on yesterday. She was in charge of bills so her poor husband, the bacon bringer, didn't even know that he was close to bankruptcy due to his wife's spending. There was video of her walking through her closet and pointing out all the shoes and handbags and how much they cost. Yoikes!!!
I don't even own a handbag that cost $100 much less $500. Nor a pair of shoes...though some of my Easy Spirit shoes do come close to $100.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
i do enjoy Suze. However her TV show is something i often canot relate to. for instance, one woman wanted help on whether she could afford a $500 handbag given her income and financial situation. WHAT? i guess even thinking about buying some expensive handbag is so far away from my reality that i usually just turn the channel. but i know Suze has a nice "get real" approach that i respond to.
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
Originally posted by jillybean: Sheri-Usually when I see a show w/people in debt on it, like Oprah or Dr. Phil or whatever, it blows me away.
Well this one would have definitely blown you away--there were only 2 families profiled and the first one was just heart-breaking. This gorgeous woman, a stay-at-home mom, has all but bankrupted her family with her spending habits. A lot of people live above their means, but this woman wrote the book on that. Everything was done for image--thousands of dollars in hair extensions, manis/pedis, tanning, clothing, etc.
Her SIX children have no medical insurance. She and her husband have no life insurance and her husband is the only wage earner in the 8-person family. Her kids had practically empty closets because every 2 months she goes through their closets and sells their clothes at garage sales so she can buy more.
It was one of the most sad and, frankly, disgusting things I have ever seen.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Sheri-Usually when I see a show w/people in debt on it, like Oprah or Dr. Phil or whatever, it blows me away. I have debt but nothing compared to a lot of people. I wonder how they ever get out from under all that debt.
I am going to check out Oprah's website and see if I can find the info on that book.
Thanks!!
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
I watched it on tape last night when I got home. It was quite shocking how deep in debt (and how deep into an over-spending habit) people let themselves get. Suze was definitely taking no prisoners yesterday.
FYI, Suze has a new book out that is specifically targeted to women. You should be able to go to Oprah.com and find highlights from yesterday's show and the title of the book.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Originally posted by SheriaVa: Jill: Did you watch Oprah? How was it? Did you find it helpful? I will be leaving work in about 45 minutes and will hopefully be watching it on tape when I get home if all went well.
I missed it!!!! Had to take dd for school project stuff and got home a lot later than I wanted! DArn it!
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
Jill: Did you watch Oprah? How was it? Did you find it helpful? I will be leaving work in about 45 minutes and will hopefully be watching it on tape when I get home if all went well.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
Suze Orman is appearing on Oprah on Thursday (tomorrow or today depending on when you're reading this) to discuss debt reduction interventions. These are situations where she takes real families in debt and tells them what to do to get out of it.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7105 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
I'm on a debt reduction board that feels a lot like this one. Good information, nice people, excellent support. Here are some of the authors that are regularly recommended:
Dave Ramsey: He has what he calls "gazelle intensity" for paying off debt. I don't agree with everything he says but he does have a straightforward, easy to understand strategy for paying off debt and money management. He is militantly anti-debt so it sort of depends on what your thoughts are in terms of carrying debt (like he really would advocate against taking a mortgage so pretty extreme) as to how applicable his stuff is for the long run but his debt elimination stuff is solid, if intense. If you want to get a sense of his philosophy, this guy at this blog www.ncnblog.com follows his stuff and explains it really well.
David Bach: Author of the book that Mary Jo recommended and I do think he has a pretty balanced approach. He advises to get rid of consumer debt while still encouraging real estate ownership and what not. I like his stuff a lot.
Suze Orman: I don't find her debt management stuff to be all that in depth or realistic per se but I do like her explanations of financial stuff and she does an excellent job explaining things like insurance, estate planning and investments. I really liked The Road to Wealth because it was like a reference book. I need to get a copy of my own at some point.
There are also a wealth of personal finance blogs if the internet is appealing to you. The one I mentioned above has an extensive blogroll that you can spend literally days winding your way around the PFBlog world. There is also a brand new (days old) women's PF blog group that one of my favorite bloggers started and you can see it at http://www.wpersonalfinance.com/. I'm excited to see how this comes along.
Paying off consumer debt was my "Best Year of Your Life" goal in 2006 and I did really well. It's not all gone but it is down to hundreds of dollars vs. $15k+. I still have big student loans though so I will be at this debt reduction stuff for a while yet. Good luck!
Originally posted by D in St Pete: We've been cutting back on our spending (not the same as debt reduction) using the Beck book. No, really!
I thought about that. I figured losing weight is about discipline and so is saving money and paying debts. I figure I can make a response card to use when I'm thinking about buying dinner out or buying new shoes, or whatever. I think that reminder will be just like "these are the reasons I want to lose weight" but instead "these are the reasons I want to be debt free".
I have watched Suze Orman on tv and liked her. I'll check out all the recommended books though and see what would suit me best. I am going to the library for the books(see, I'm already thinking I will save money by borrowing rather than buying a book!!)
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
