Customer Reviews

The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times

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I found this author from Oprah's web site and read this book. What I love about Jean Chatzky's book The Difference is that she gets to the point in a very calming way.

Money is often times linked to survival and fear in the modern society. I know many of us are raised to have this love-hate relationship with money. For instance, we love to have more money (e.g. one way to get there is to save and invest) but then we spend them instead of keeping them. In Jean's book, she started off describing the research she has done on the individuals who are classified in the following categories:
1. Wealthy
2. Financially Comfortable
3. Paycheck to Paycheck
4. Further In Debtors
Instead of being judgmental to any group of individuals, she simply pointed out "The Difference" wealthy people & financially comfortable people have (traits, the things they do, their beliefs, etc) versus individuals who are in the paycheck to paycheck & further in-debtors categories. Jean never for once went down the path to portray the "wealthy greedy" nor did she judge the "further-in-debtors" as financially irresponsible in her book. Instead, she mentioned many things wealthy and financially comfortable do are things paycheck to paycheck & further in debtors can learn to do to improve financially and our overall happiness (you can find her detailed suggestions in this book). She inspired all of us that to become financially comfortable and/or wealthy is not unrealistic goal in this life time through the research, her findings in the research and her interviews

I love these interviews. I used to have a gut feeling the not all wealthy and/or financially comfortable people are evil/greedy but I had no solid proof of such. Furthermore, if one has watched the news lately, it really does shaken some of my faith about this gut feeling I had all along (especially those news I hear about Wall Street big wigs cashing bonuses, etc). However, Jean's interviews in each chapter helps re-assuring us that pursuing financial goals does not automatically turn us into wealthy greedy categories. In fact, if we read through these interviews, one might realize the inner strengths many of the wealthy & financially comfortable individuals have and is something to admire and follow some of their paths.

Excellent book to get inspired to get our finances together. I highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed reading this book. At first I was skeptical about the content, but after I started I got hooked. The author analyzes different habits, thoughts, and traits that the wealthy and financially comfortable possess in comparison to those who are not financially well off. But what I really liked about this is that the author helps readers develop these characteristics so that they can become more successful financially. I also liked how she points out that failure is necessary to success. Many times, as adults, we are punished for mistakes. Few books mention failure, but I believe it very much. If you don't know how to survive failure, you will not know how to succeed.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

I couldn't put this book down. Not certain which group I belong to put definitely was able to identify characteristics that I have, tactics that I could employ and new strategies for looking at and responding to the world. The values exercise was especially useful for me as well as using Plan A to get to Plan B.

In many instances, the author reminded me of Suze Orman and that's a shame because it is 100% better than any of Orman's works.
Well written. A professional and comprehensive book.

I bought this book for my 25 year old niece. When discussing finances with her I realized she had a fairly good sense of how to handle money but could use some guidance. She loves the book and has says it has helped her think realistically about money.

Have you ever wondered how some folks have "IT" and others don't? If you fall into this category, I highly recommend selecting this book. It's an easy read and maybe commonplace for some but if you are a bootstrapper wondering how to push yourself forward, then pick up this book, read and apply.

This book helped me organize my financial data and set me on the right track for financial success!

This book reminds me of a better, more focused, less judgemental version of The Millionaire Next Door. Chatzky really hones in on the most essential habits and personality characteristics that work to create wealth for people. And she shows you how to develop those traits and habits that you may be lacking if you so desire. Not surprisingly, readers will find that many of the habits and traits that lead to financial success lead to satisfaction in other areas of life as well.

This is a must read. I found it at Borders and got on line to look for it specifically in the Amazon Kindle store.

I enjoyed Ms. Chatzky's approach to achieving financial security. As an author myself The New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life, I appreciate and enjoy her clear explanations and anecdotes. Well done!

I liked the book I ordered. It was in good condition. It seemed to take a long time to arrive. I ordered it July 3rd and received it around July 28.