How to Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any (Second Edition) Kindle Edition

I have been reading this book over the past week, and it has really helped me to begin thinking differently about my approach to budgeting. I have kept a detailed budget for years, all color-coded and balanced to the penny. What really changed throughout my reading of this book was my awareness that my spending is a reflection of my values. Ouch. That was hard to take in, especially when I reviewed my budget for the past few months. Much of my spending is on debt payments, and I've really felt okay, as long as I could make all of my payments. If I truly value stability for my family, I need to think differently and set new priorities. This book provided practical and simple steps to get me started. I feel empowered and encouraged that I can begin to pay off the debt and become more purposeful in my saving and spending.

Anyone living paycheck to paycheck or spending much of their income on payments needs to read this book!

I've watched pledge-drive specials on PBS, where financial gurus offer "sure-fire" steps promising to take me from the depths of debt to the lap of luxury, but never could connect with the message. I'm not looking for investment advice, and I don't want five vacation homes to retire in. I just want some help keeping my head above water. Wecks offers more practical advice than those specials, with a more plausible goal: avoiding the traps laid by a system and culture that seems to accept debt as a simple part of everyday existence. This is a nice, simple plan that anyone, at any income level, can both comprehend and follow.

This guide gets to the point. It's certainly not the most glamorous get rich quick or the get out of debt quick book. This book is realistic, and lists the precautions/actions you can take to avoid and get out of financial disasters.

One of the major points in this book is avoiding expenses, even if you have a high income. The dentist vs. the dentist's clerk story really nailed the point down. If you want to find out why a dentist making six figure salary can be poorer than the dentist's clerk making meager salary, read this book.

This book talks about debts and emergency funds a lot. It really nails down the importance of being debt free, and establishing an emergency fund.

This book will also stress the importance of needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and family.

As an 18 year old who used to spend all my income on CD's and iPods, this book really enlightened me. I'm now saving up for the future, and have 550$ in my emergency fund. I'm also managing my expenses vs income, and working a lot harder than usual. This book was a real eye-opener for someone who's lived 18 years of his life without having to make any financial decisions.

I have read a lot of books about how to handle your money, but they all seemed to be aimed at people that already had or were making a lot, telling them how to invest & retire wealthy. This book is for those of us that don't make a lot or have found ourselves in a mess. I especially like how he talks about people trying to maintain their high end style of living when their income has become low end, I know a few folks like that and can just see the hole they are digging getting deeper. I also like that he tells it like it is and uses his own mistakes as examples. I like his honesty, he doesn't sugar coat anything, it is just a really good book for getting your financial life back on track, written in a way that anyone can understand.

In the interest of full disclosure, I happen to know Erik personally, and I also know that the advice in his book is born of experience. Erik's had tremendously bad luck in the job market, but in spite of that he and his family have kept paying their mortgage and haven't gone hungry. Here's a finance book that isn't so much about building wealth as it is about learning to create stability, less "get rich quick" and more "don't go broke," which may be a lot more relevant today.

Aside from the more obvious lessons that you're familiar with (don't accumulate credit card debt), Erik gives practical steps toward getting out of debt and building your safety net, and steps you should take to keep yourself from falling into the same traps in the future. I really liked his boat analogy: you have to determine whether your boat is just full of water (you have debt) or actually sinking (you spend more than your income). If it's just full of water, at least you don't need to patch the boat and you can work on bailing yourself out. If it's sinking, though, then scooping out buckets of water isn't going to cut it. Either way, you need to know what situation you're in before you attempt to fix it.

The explanation of zero-balance budgeting is also easy to understand, and it lets you set your own values. Erik doesn't tell you where to spend your money--he just helps you figure out how much money you have for spending. While his writing isn't perfect, his advice is solid. If you're tired of personal finance books that assume you have a lot of money lying around to invest, then this book may be a perfect fit. (And it's cheap!)

This book doesn't beat around the bush and it is a quick read. The author doesn't hesitate in sharing his story and being honest about his mistakes and what he values, which is refreshing and makes the book entertaining.

I enjoyed the practical examples and metaphors that show just how much debt can eat away at the things we care about. The book shows how you can prioritize your money so that you can have financial stability even in the rough times.

I find the author's critique of Dave Ramsey a little strong, but I understand that it can be disheartening to hear about "wealth building" and investing when it is hard to even make the bills. That is exactly what this book is for. With this book and a willingness to change, you can turn $3, some time and a spreadsheet program (or pen and paper) into a world of a difference for your finances.