Most Helpful Customer Reviews
119 of 124 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is THE guide for REAL people who worry about money!, March 6, 2005
Maybe you work full-time and barely have enough left after all of your bills are paid each month. Or, maybe you're eyebrows-deep in debt and have no idea how to get the balances paid down. The majority of "financial guides" in existence aren't for you - why waste money on a book that tells you how to play the stock market to your advantage when you don't even have a savings account? Why waste your time reading about IRAs and CDs when they're not part of your vocabulary?
"All Your Worth" is the first "money matters" book that gets it right - it speaks to the many individuals and families who struggle to stretch every paycheck. The idiotproof worksheets force you to get honest about your spending habits. The authors' advice is thoughtful, practical and above all, it makes sense. By guiding you through the financial exercises, the authors help you see how your money is divided into three areas - things you must spend money on each month (mortgage, groceries, etc), things you want to spend money on (such as karate lessons, trips to a pricey salon, etc) and a savings portion. By separating your monthly expenses into these areas, the authors help you see how your money is - or isn't - working to its advantage for you.
The authors are speaking to a real audience - people for whom mutual funds and stock options aren't part of the daily vernacular. Warren and Tyagi are providing real advice for real people. They aren't promising to make you a millionaire - rather, they are providing solid advice to get you back on track, to stop worrying about whether a $35 haircut will cause your utility check to bounce and to get in charge of your finances.
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90 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No more worrying about money, March 6, 2005
I'll admit it. This book changed my life. Corny, I know. But it's true. I used to be horrible about paying my bills. I make decent money, but I was always late on every payment. My problem was that I was never quite sure what I could afford. If I pay the cable bill now, will I still have enough money to go out this weekend? Will my next paycheck clear before my rent check is cashed? I'm 28 years old, how much should I put into my 401(k)? Do I even need a 401(k)?
Warren and Tyagi's book changed all that in a weekend. Their core idea is so simple, but when you put it into action, it is incredibly powerful. Basically, they say that in order to address all of your financial worries, you just need to put your money in balance. They have just three categories, Must-Haves, Wants, and Savings, and every dollar you make goes into one of these categories. For me, that means that I just take my paycheck to the ATM and spilt it up as I make my deposit. I put half into my checking account. Transfer 20% into my savings account. And the rest I take out in cash.
What's so cool about dividing my money this way is that I never have to worry about bouncing a check. I know that there is always enough money to cover my bills because I only use my checking account to pay my bills. As for going out on the weekend, I have cash in my wallet and I just use that.
Getting used to their system is a little awkward. I found myself going through a lot of my expenses asking is this a Want or a Must-Have? And the authors spend a long time blasting the credit card companies and credit card debt in general. They make Citicorp seem worse than Big Tobacco and Microsoft combined. But once I got my money into balance and started using cash to buy dvd's and go out to dinner, my day-to-day life got a lot less complicated. For the first time in my life I don't know to the penny how much I have in my checking account. I don't know which checks have cleared and which haven't. And I don't care. Thanks to Warren and Tyagi's book, I do know that there will always be enough money in my account to cover bills. And that's all that matters.
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46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Every College Graduate Needs, March 6, 2005
So I guess you could call me the typical just out of college person. I have my first "real" job, don't make much money, and was completely suckered by offers of free credit cards in college. I had pretty much given up on ever getting out of debt until I was ready to retire or hit the lottery. Then I got this book, desperate for ANY advice that would help me get rid of those ridiculous credit cards. And it has!!! Not only do I have a plan to be out of debt by the summer (COMPLETELY out of debt, I have to add), but I still have enough money every month to go out with my friends, go to the movies, or splurge on a few books. I never had much financial advice before and math is not my strong suit, but this book was so easy to follow, fun to read, and took so little time to set up my finances according to their plan. I can say with utter confidence that I know exactly where I stand financially at every moment of the day, and it's an unbelievable feeling. I've already started making plans to start saving for a house and a retirement plan! Every twenty-something starting out NEEDS this book!!
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