Customer Reviews

The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Living on a Budget Budget

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am horrid at managing my money, and I found this book very helpful. First of all, it is very short and to the point, which is great for those of us with a limited attention span when it comes to financial issues! Second, I like that they recommended budgeting a lump sum for personal "pocket" money and other similar categories, rather that suggesting I track every soda or pack of gum I buy during the month.

The book is great! The first chapter just really opens your eyes to how much money you are waisting or Frittering, is what they call it. There is a lot of tips and savvy saver tips, as well resources. There concept of budgeting is great. It has everything that you need learn and to budget your living with out being deprived. I will recommend this book anyone who is thinking or just wants to know more about beig on a budget.

This books sets out very simple ideas, strategies and help for any person interested in watching their money. It is a simple planning book for budgeting that any [body] could use. Humor and straight-forwardness are the backbone of the book's help in money problem areas. It is a MUST READ!

I have read several budgeting books, and have even taken a class at my bank about budgeting. All of them left me with the message "you want more money? save some!" without giving me real guidelines on how to do it. I had a financial epiphany when I read this book. I now have a savings account with automatic payroll deduction. This account is for emergencies, fun things like travel, and what I call "sporadic predictables" like car insurance and bills I pay every 10 weeks that often catch me off guard. Then the rest of the money from my paycheck is carefully but flexibly divided into obligations (like mortgage and student loans), controllable necessities (like the electric bill and phone bill), and then spendable money. The confidence I feel now after reading this book is well worth the affordable price. I highly recommend it.

I read this short book in just a couple hours and by the end I had a working budget that is doable for my family's lifestyle. I really like the idea of having separate monthly monetary limits on personal pocket money, family allowance and personal allowance. I definitely had the Starbucks syndrome, where I spend so much money on lunches, coffee and snacks that I was frittering away thousands a year. Having only a certain amount in cash each week in my pocket for all of these little expenses has been really helpful, and I don't have write down everytime I buy a coffee. I also really like the separate savings accounts - for the must fund, rainy day fund, want fund, and other contingencies like insurance and taxes. I just put a certain amount away in a separate account each month and then just pay it when some it comes due. Perfect if you just want a quick guide to making a helpful and uncomplicated budget.

I have used financial program such as Quicken to keep track of my spending for quite a while, but after reading this book, I don't use it anymore...just using MS Excel will do. The book simplifies the complexity on setting goals, budgeting and keeping track of those. One unique feature the book has is the one-liner category for budgeting.

Overall, this book is very suitable for newbs and having zero knowledge about accounting and stuff.

i am terrible with money and my wife is worse. this book is really friendly and we have been reading it individually and discussing it together. it is a really good handbook for getting the spending in order and not painful at all. i reccomend it.

I consider myself a saver that has no problem with my spending habits so this book served as a real wake up call that i could be saving even more! It provides a nifty worksheet that shows how your finances can be broken down into so that your money is not all in one place. It makes so much more sense to me to have money allocated for different purposes than just putting everything in savings and pulling from there without rhyme or reason. I would recommend this book for newly working adults just out of college, kids going into college, teens and anybody who wishes their money could be stretched further. it's an easy and simple read and even if you're not a fan of reading, this book is practical and relatable that you'll get into it without even thinking about it.

Simply put, this book is a great way to get on the road to budgeting. It makes it easy for both the beginner and the hesitant. Alos, it's an easy read. I recommend it for those reasons.

This book is great if you don't know anything about budgets at all. It's a short quick read that doesn't really go in depth, very basic