The 10 Commandments of Money: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy [Hardcover]

Liz Weston (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 20, 2011

From the #1 personal finance columnist on the Internet (Nielsen/NetRatings)-a clear prescription for financial health in the 2010s and beyond.

For previous generations, living within your means was a simple formula. Now, with the staggering rise in education, health care, and housing costs, millions of people find themselves skating from paycheck to paycheck with no idea how to move forward.

As the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet, Liz Weston has heard the questions and has the answers. Her 10 Commandments of Money will help readers avoid critical mistakes, survive the bad times, and thrive in the good ones. Just a few of Weston's invaluable pointers include how to:

• Balance Your Budget
• Pay Down Toxic Debt
• Get the Right Mortgage
• Pay for College
• Save for Retirement
• Maximize Your Financial Flexibility

Liz Weston's goal is to provide THE practical guide to the brave new world of money. What Sylvia Porter's Money Book was to the 1970s, The 10 Commandments of Money will be for the 2010s.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The financial crash and subsequent recession have exploded many people's ideas of how money was supposed to work: micro and macro financial behaviors that precipitated the stock and real estate bubbles have now been shown to be ill-conceived, dangerous, and unsustainable. Financial columnist Weston provides a workable happy medium between fear and fecklessness, guiding readers to create a budget that works in the real world, create a survival plan with cash and credit, pay off debt the smart way, embrace risk sensibly, plan for retirement, and maintain communication about spending in a marriage and a family. Loaded with tips and ideas and illustrated with plenty of examples, this book hits all the major themes for total financial literacy in a conversational, digestible tone, backed up with clear "action steps" at the end of each chapter. A godsend for the financially befuddled, bewildered, or just plain anxious. (Jan.) (c)
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Review

''Financial columnist Weston provides a workable happy medium between fear and fecklessness. . . Loaded with tips and ideas and illustrated with plenty of examples, this book hits all the major themes for total financial literacy in a conversational, digestible tone. . . A godsend for the financially befuddled, bewildered, or just plain anxious.'' --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hudson Street Press (January 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781594630743
• ISBN-13: 978-1594630743
• ASIN: 1594630747
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Liz Pulliam Weston is the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. She's also an award-winning, nationally-syndicated personal finance columnist who can make the most complex money topics understandable to the average reader.

Her first book, "Your Credit Score," is the best-selling book on credit scoring and was recently published in a fourth edition. Her other recent books include "The 10 Commandments of Money" and the ebook "There Are No Dumb Questions About Money."

Liz's columns run twice a week on MSN Money, which reaches more than 12 million readers each month. Millions more read her question-and-answer column 'Money Talk,' which appears in newspapers throughout the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the Portland Oregonian, Stars & Stripes and others.

Liz has appeared on "The Dr. Phil Show," "The Today Show" and "CBS Evening News with Brian Williams" and is frequently featured on American Public Media's "Marketplace Money" and NPR's 'Talk of the Nation' and "All Things Considered." She was for several years a weekly commentator on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

Weston is a graduate of the certified financial planner training program at University of California, Irvine. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. She can be reached via her Web site, AskLizWeston.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 133 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Real answers to real problems from a financial expert January 21, 2011

By Susanna Hutcheson TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found this to be one of the better personal finance books available at this time. It's written strictly for the new normal, an economy that's badly wounded and not healing quickly.

Weston, unlike Suze Orman and many others, understands that cash strapped, debt-ridden people can't build a large emergency fund and pay off debt and do it all. There has to be a real, workable way to get ones debts and financial life under control.

Her book is based on the realistic, the possible, the doable. When you've finished reading this book, you'll have hope. You can begin to take control of your financial life and dig out.

Now, not all chapters will concern all readers. But there's something here for everyone. Here's what you'll find.

1ST COMMANDMENT - Create a Budget That Works in the Real World
2ND COMMANDMENT - Create a Survival Plan with Cash and Credit
3RD COMMANDMENT - Pay Off Debt the Smart Way
4TH COMMANDMENT - Don't Avoid Risk . . . Embrace It--but Sensibly
5TH COMMANDMENT - Your Home Is Not a Piggy Bank--Preserve Its Equity
6TH COMMANDMENT - Saving for Retirement Must Come First
7TH COMMANDMENT - Get a College Education You Can Afford
8TH COMMANDMENT - Reserve Insurance for the Big Losses
9TH COMMANDMENT - Treat Your Marriage Like a Business
10TH COMMANDMENT - Defend Yourself in the War on Consumers
CONCLUSION
RESOURCES

Many personal finance gurus today are telling readers to call their credit card companies and ask for lower rates. Guess what? BIG MISTAKE.

"Until the credit crunch, the standard advice was to "call your issuer and ask for a lower rate." After all, the worst your issuer could do was say no, right? That tactic often worked before the financial crisis. Once the recession hit, though, some issuers apparently decided that merely asking for a lower rate was a sign the caller was in financial trouble. Instead of considering the requests, these issuers responded to such calls by jacking up people's rates, lowering their credit limits and even closing their accounts."

And what about investing? The author discusses that at length too.

In talking about previous downturns she says, "Others swore off stock market investing, missing the subsequent recovery and a lifetime of potential gains. (Investors who jumped in during the depths of the Depression, 1932- 1939, saw some of the best long-term gains: average annual returns of 12 to 13 percent. Even after inflation, these investors saw a real 9 to 10 percent return on their money.)" She favors a degree of risk over so-called "safety."

When should you borrow money. The author says, "The only time it makes sense to borrow money is when you're buying an asset that stands a chance of gaining value over time."

And what should you know about insurance? She tells us, "Once you understand the nature of insurance, you'll know why it's important to
* keep your deductibles high,
* max out your liability protection,
* drop unnecessary coverage and
* avoid making claims whenever possible."

About homeowner's insurance she says, "Get replacement cost, not actual cash value."

Should you follow Orman's advice and save up a large emergency fund and just pay the minimum on your credit cards? The answer that makes sense to me is in this book. In fact, I immediately put a number of these "commandments" to work and what a great feeling! All of a sudden you can take control of your life in this world of financial sickness that has hit us all so hard.

If you're having a rough go of it and need some realistic help, buy this book. It even tells you when bankruptcy should be considered and when to stop paying bills and what bills to stop paying.

These are real answers for real problems.

Highly recommended.

-- Susanna K. Hutcheson

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for those lacking Fiscal Common Sense February 24, 2011

By tvbambi

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As one whose intellectual acuity diametrically opposed to her fiscal common sense, I found Liz Weston's The Ten Commandments of Money to be a wonderful resource for smart people who tend to do dumb things with money. Weston's book is like a great teacher's lecture: she never talks down to you, she shows diligence in making sure that you understand the key concepts and she gives you the tools to utilize what you've learned. I have already begun to put some of the commandments to work and I no longer feel that getting financially healthy is for other folks and not for me. Thank you, Ms. Weston!

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Stuff January 30, 2011

By Zachary H. Bissonnette

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're familiar with Liz Weston's stuff from her columns, you know what she offers: a depth of research that is unparalleled in the personal finance world -- and a very high level of attention to changes in laws and policies and how they effect your bottom line.

In The 10 Commandments of Money, she shows how the old rules about money led people into the financial outhouse -- and how they can get out.

Her approach is nuanced and intellectual: You never have to believe Liz Weston's opinion about anything; it's always backed up and she's the guide who puts it all together.

If you're looking for a personal finance guide that will change your life, you can't do much better than this one.

Zac Bissonnette
Author of Debt-Free U.