Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever [Paperback]

Jean Chatzky (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 11, 2008

Get Rich, Don't Bitch

Today, more than ever before, wealth is something every woman has the power to create. Yet Jean Chatzky constantly hears all the excuses why women can’t and don’t master their money. Now, she reveals the secrets and the strategies she created to take control of her own money–strategies through which she gained her “money confidence.” It’s time for you to find yours!

In Make Money, Not Excuses Jean shares these valuable lessons:

• Where to start
• How to get over your “I’m not smart enough to deal with money” feelings
• Why being a “good-enough investor” will make more money for you in
the long-term (while trying to be a “great investor” will drive you crazy)
• How (and where) to save your money
• Why women make better investors––and higher returns––than men
• How to track where you’re overspending
• How to pay off your debt

Jean is unsurpassed in her ability to explain money and investing in simple, straightforward ways. Here she breaks down the scariest parts of dealing with money–from investing in stocks to saving for your retirement–and makes them practical, easy, empowering, and, yes, even enjoyable. This is your road map to real wealth.


“Chatzky writes like the smart, candid best friend you wish you had.”
–Newsweek

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Jean's Work:

“Simply brilliant.” —Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad


From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jean Chatzky is the editor at large for Money magazine and is the financial editor for NBC’s Today show. She is a columnist for Time magazine, the Daily News, and Travel + Leisure. She is also the host of an upcoming PBS weekly series, Jean Chatzky’s Your Money, and the author of four books, including the bestseller Pay It Down!


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business; Reprint edition (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307341534
• ISBN-13: 978-0307341532
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another straightforward financial book by Chatzky October 6, 2006

By K. Corn TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Jean Chatzby has a special knack for reaching the average consumer and clarifying seemingly complex, frightening or confusing financial topics. Much of what she covers SHOULD be taught at home or in school but, if consumer spending patterns are any indication, people aren't picking up the information before adulthood...for whatever reason.

This book, as the title implies, will help those who feel overwhelmed and fearful of handling their money. I've watched her on television and read her online columns as well as other books and I really like her newest book.

The book addresses these topics and more:

1. The importance of saving regularly, no matter how little.

2. How even small changes in spending patterns can make a HUGE difference.

3. Getting on top of debt, including credit card debt.

4. Retirement planning.

5. Taking the fear out of investing and showing that one does not have to be a stock market whiz to accumulate savings through investing. Even an amateur with the right portfolio balance can achieve nice, steady gains.

6. The basics of home finance and financial literacy, broken down into a few simple steps.

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Guide to financial security for women. April 7, 2007

By Steve Burns TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The author wrote this book to be directed to women. If you enjoy shopping and hate dealing with finances, then this book is for you. Jean Chatzky will gently guide you with a little prodding to quit whining and get your finances in order.
She believes if you want to get rich, if you want to be wealthier than you are today, you really need to do only four things.
1)You need to make a decent living.
2)You need to spend less than you make.
3)You need to invest the money you don't spend so that it can work as hard for you as you are working for yourself.
4)And you need to protect yourself and this financial world you've built so that a disaster-big or small-doesn't take it all away from you.
This is outstanding advice and I completely agree with her, these have been the keys to building my personal 6 figure net worth.
She also has sprinkled through out "Map to a Million" which shows you what saving and investing a certain amount of money will grow to in 20 or 30 years. Some of the amounts are really shocking. For example start investing 10% of a $35,000 income at 30 years old and you will have $457,254 at retirement, if the employer gives a 5% match it will be $685,881 at 65 years old.(This does not even include raises, and the money gets about 8% a year in stock index funds).
If you are a beginner in personal finance reade this book, it will be a tremendous help. Also read Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey for a book from a male perspective.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary book for the beginner money manager! March 8, 2007

By Jen Baker

Format:Hardcover

If you like Jean Chatzky's approach to handling money on The Today Show, then you'll like having this book as part of an introduction to managing money. She walks the reader through the process of understanding money and how to make it work for you. She also gets to the basics of understanding math (calculating interest, percentages, decimals, etc)in general which is great for the person who suffers from math anxiety. Jean Chatzky demystifies the abstract, the fear of money, the idea that if you haven't taken courses in economics, business or finance, you won't ever figure any of this "money stuff" out. She makes women "get" what many people may not want us to "get". It is empowering.

Thank you, Jean.