How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents [Paperback]

Zac Bissonnette (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 24, 2012

Striking out on your own for the first time is exhilarating. But in a culture full of bad advice, predatory banks, and splurge-now-pay-later temptations, it can also be extremely dangerous--leading you to make financial decisions that could hurt you for years to come. Combine this with a slumped economy, mounds of student loans, and dubious examples from reality TV stars to politicians to your own parents, and it’s no wonder so many twenty-somethings are struggling.

Twenty-three-year-old Zac Bissonnette--the author of Debt-Free U--knows exactly what you’re going through. He demystifies the many traps young people fall victim to in their post-college years. He offers fresh insights on everything from job hunting to buying a car to saving for retirement that will give you a foundation for a secure, stable, and happy life. In the process, he reveals why FICO scores are overrated, online job applications are a waste of time, car loans are for suckers, and credit card rewards are a scam.

With detours to discuss wine connoisseurs, Really Broke Housewives, and Lenny Dykstra, Zac shows you how to make better choices today so you can be richer, smarter (and better-looking!) for years to come.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Trade; 1 edition (April 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591845440
• ISBN-13: 978-1591845447
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Retirement Planning
  • #91 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Budgeting & Money Management

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

“Are you there, Zac? It’s me, Chelsea. I loved your book. Plus, I’m only half-Jew so your financial wisdom really balanced out my Mormon side.” --Chelsea Handler

“Our four daughters learned ‘Waste not, want not’ before they knew their ABCs, but Zac Bissonnette says it better and more credibly than a mere father could. His enjoyable romp through the basics of debt-free personal finance will be in their next Christmas stockings.” --Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana

“Zac Bissonnette puts the ‘smart’ in smart-aleck with his irreverent, hilarious, and eminently sensible financial advice. This may be the one personal finance book that actually delivers on its title. Parents, give it to your kids. Kids, leave a copy on the kitchen table--maybe your parents will pick it up and learn something.” --Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

Review

 “Are you there, Zac? It’s me, Chelsea. I loved your book. Plus, I’m only half-Jew so your financial wisdom really balanced out my Mormon side.”
—Chelsea Handler


"Though only a third of 2012 has passed, Zac Bissonnette is already a strong contender for the cheekiest author of the year award."
—The New York Times

“Our four daughters learned ‘Waste not, want not’ before they knew their ABCs, but Zac Bissonnette says it better and more credibly than a mere father could. His enjoyable romp through the basics of debt-free personal finance will be in their next Christmas stockings.”
—Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana

“Zac Bissonnette puts the ‘smart’ in smart-aleck with his irreverent, hilarious, and eminently sensible financial advice. This may be the one personal finance book that actually delivers on its title. Parents, give it to your kids. Kids, leave a copy on the kitchen table—maybe your parents will pick it up and learn something."
—Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Trade; 1 edition (April 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591845440
• ISBN-13: 978-1591845447
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Retirement Planning
  • #91 in Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Budgeting & Money Management

More About the Author

Zac Bissonnette is a personal finance writer. His first book, Debt-Free U, landed him on The Today Show, Sean Hannity, The Dave Ramsey Show, The 700 Club, and the Fox News Channel. The Washington Post called Debt-Free U "the best and most troubling book ever about the college admissions process."

It has been featured by The BBC, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Suze Orman Show, The Boston Globe, ABC News, and many others.

His second book "How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents" was a New York Times Bestseller. He was also the editor of the Warman's Guide to Antiques & Collectibles and he is a contributing editor with Antique Trader.

He has written for various media outlets including GLAMOUR, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Online, The Boston Globe, and The Daily Beast. His is currently working on his next book, the story of the Beanie Babies bubble of the 1990s.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my Top 5 favorite financial books of all-time! April 24, 2012

By MoneyPlan SOS

Format:Paperback

Length: 1:55 Mins

This is a book for young people and answers the simple question:
What should young people do with their money in order to have the best possible life today AND for the rest of their life?

Zac Bissonnette gives great tips on:

How to select the best bank
How TV will make you fat and poor (with all the studies to prove it)
How starting to save now in a simple, boring, Index fund will make you richer than your parents.
And what finance book wouldn't be complete without 8 pages talking about Credit?

The subject matter in this book is well researched and insanely in-depth.

The information he gives about student loan debt is spelled out in a way that anyone can understand and Zac even gives real-life examples of how student loans could KEEP YOU FROM pursuing the very career you spent 4 years and $50,000 to get!

If you take one thing from this book and apply it to your life I can promise you that it will save you 5.7 times the amount of money you spent to buy a copy. OK, so that was made up. But learning about how money really works and making the right choices about saving, spending, investing, and avoiding the traps of debt WILL save you TONS of money over your lifetime.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars He does it once again.... April 30, 2012

By FredCouples

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As someone who bought 15 of the Zac Bissonnette's Debt Free U books, I am biased. I bought the books for my graduating high school seniors to check out and it has paid huge dividends with the choices they made in going to college. Completely changed the way the looked at college and how to go about paying for it. The economic truth hit them hard and now they are much better off for it.

His new book, How to be Richer, Smarter and better looking than your Parents, again tells the truth to the next generation regarding investing, saving, buying a car, job interviews and wide range of subjects that college graduates want to know about.

I deal with 18 year olds everyday and I am shocked at the lack of financial literacy that is being taught by parents. Why? Because their parents have no FREAKIN idea what they are doing. They bought into the myths in our society that have been sponsored by Bank of America, Visa, Citi Group, Sallie Mae, etc..... Wake up America, the entities we thought were trying to "help" are actually robbing us blind.

Its about time that we get people like Zac to stand up and scream about this insanity. His sometimes, "unconventional adivce breaks the mold of our normal society.

As I said with Debt Free U, this should be required reading for college students. I've already bought a book for my niece and will again buy another 15 books to send to my former students in college.

Highly recommend this to twenty somethings and their parents.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read, and great advice too! April 30, 2012

By Tracy Coenen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Zac Bissonnette has another winner on his hands with How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better Looking Than Your Parents. His self-deprecating humor is on display in one of the most useful personal finance books you will ever read. Whether you are young or old, in debt or financially solvent, you can learn how to get your financial house in (even better) order with this quick, interesting read.

The book starts by reminding readers what financial freedom is. It is not the fantasy of being rich and living a life of leisure. It is being able to live life the way you choose: being able to take a lesser paying job because it's what you love to do, being able to start a family because your debts aren't eating up all of your paycheck, and simply having more choices in your daily life.

Bissonnette lays the foundation by discussing research which shows that the more materialistic they are, the less happy they ultimately are with life. Having nice things won't make you happy, especially if you're going into debt to get them or you're sacrificing meaningful belongings (like a modest house, for example) in favor of expensive labels on consumer goods.

The meat of this book is in Bissonnette's ability to debunk many myths surrounding personal finance issues, and succinctly explaining how you can make better financial choices. He starts with the financial services industry, pointing out how these people are there to help themselves, not you. Readers are educated on how to use financial services (credit cards, insurance, loans) in ways that will help keep them available and protect your financial well-being, without overpaying....

A discussion of investing and mutual funds will help you understand what the average consumer doesn't: the type of fund you should pick, fees to avoid, and the long-term results you will get from keeping your money in an inexpensive mutual fund.

Bissonnette spends little time on budgets. Why? Because most people won't follow them for the long term anyway, and making true changes in your lifestyle is the real way to becoming more financially secure. The author discusses topics including wine, clothing, getting in shape, technology, and food, pointing out many obvious ways to change your spending and still feel good about yourself. Yet as obvious as these are, too many consumers aren't following the rules and are ending up broke because of it, so they need to hear it again.

A whole chapter is devoted to automobiles, probably because this is one area in which people universally waste a lot of money. People buy new cars because they think they will make them feel better about themselves, but scientific studies debunk this myth. The concepts of leasing, buying new, avoiding auto loans, and how to buy a used car are covered briefly, but thoroughly.

The chapter on home ownership is one of the most useful in the book. Bissonnette talks about how to compare renting versus buying, and provides valuable tips on purchasing . The book closes with chapters on relationships and careers, which are definitely geared toward the younger reader. (So if you're an older reader, buy the book and read it, give it to your kid to read, and you've just doubled the return on your investment.)

This book is geared toward the younger generation, particularly with Bissonnette's brand of humor. However, nearly all of the information is applicable to older people (myself included) as well, so if you can get past the tasteless (but still quite funny) jokes, you will learn a lot from the book.

How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better Looking Than Your Parents may not present any new personal finance topics (Are there any that haven't been discussed to death?) but Bissonnette has built a better mousetrap. The explanations and logic are clear and easy to follow, the information is right on point, and it is summarized well. My biggest disappointments were that I wasn't mentioned in the book, and that Zac's editor failed to change "OK" to "okay" numerous times throughout the book. If these are my most pressing complaints, I think it's clear that the book is a winner. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book April 1, 2013

By jessbuck

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I work as a financial advisor and will give this book to young people looking to learn more about their financial future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, but for not exactly beginners. January 19, 2013

By Edwkoch

Format:Paperback

I picked up this book after reading Zac Bissonette's first book, "Debt Free U." Since this book seemed like it was targeted at young people I assumed it would define more clearly certain terms (such as the differences between a Roth and a 401k). However, I still enjoyed this book a lot despite the fact that there were some things I did not entirely understand. I definitely lead my life differently after reading it. Zac is a smart and inspiring young man. I especially like that he emphasizes that the smallest of changes can make such a big difference in your life. I often find myself preaching lessons I learned from the book to my young friends. Like "if we save $5,000 right now, by the time we retire and with enough compound interest, it can grow to become $300,000 by the time we reach 65!"

The only thing I wish this booked contained was a step by step way to invest. He does offer a lot of advice on the subject. Then again though, I guess everyone invests in a different way, so Zac isn't really entirely to blame, but I think investing is a huge topic that the author hasn't fully hit yet. I hope his next book (if there is a next one) contains more of Zac's words of wisdom on how to invest when young!

Overall, though----AMAZING!