Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want out of Life (Liz Pulliam Weston) (Paperback)

by Liz Pulliam Weston (Author)
Key Phrases: target maturity funds, auto debit, balance transfer offers, Social Security, Rowe Price, Two Months Ago (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Pulliam Weston (Your Credit Score), columnist for MSN Money and author of the nationally syndicated column Money Talk, provides a practical, easy-to-understand guide to taking control of personal finances and establishing financial security. Like most financial advice books, this collection covers the basics, such as creating a financial toolkit, investing, planning for retirement and saving for college. While Pulliam Weston provides insights into these areas—especially for those without a financial background—she also charts new territory with her 60 Percent Solution and 50/30/20 Plan, both aimed at spending control, as well as getting the most out of your credit cards and what to do if you've overspent on a car purchase. An advocate of online banking, Pulliam Weston maps out the right way to pay bills and advocates account aggregation and consolidation. She also provides a useful resource guide for finding a financial planner, a tax professional and an estate planning attorney. Checklists are included in each chapter, as well as helpful charts and tables that aid in getting and staying organized. This book will be a valuable guide on the path to financial control and security. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description
Pulliam Weston (Your Credit Score), columnist for MSN Money and author of the nationally syndicated column "Money Talk," provides a practical, easy-to-understand guide to taking control of personal finances and establishing financial security. Like most financial advice books, this collection covers the basics, such as creating a financial toolkit, investing, planning for retirement and saving for college. While Pulliam Weston provides insights into these areas-especially for those without a financial background-she also charts new territory with her "60 Percent Solution" and "50/30/20 Plan," both aimed at spending control, as well as getting the most out of your credit cards and what to do if you've overspent on a car purchase. An advocate of online banking, Pulliam Weston maps out the right way to pay bills and advocates account aggregation and consolidation. She also provides a useful resource guide for finding a financial planner, a tax professional and an estate planning attorney. Checklists are included in each chapter, as well as helpful charts and tables that aid in getting and staying organized.This book will be a valuable guide on the path to financial control and security. --Publishers Weekly "If you want to simplify your life and make solid decisions--fast--this book is your answer. It's one more reason Liz remains one of America's most trusted financial columnists. Quick, easy, and empowering!" --Jennifer Openshaw, Author of The Millionaire Zone and CEO, WinningAdvice.com "As usual, Liz cuts to the chase to provide readers with practical, easy to implement tips for living a rich life. If you follow only half of her on-the-money recommendations you'll be exponentially better off tomorrow than you are today." --Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., Author of Nice Girls Don't Get Rich and Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office Simplify your financial life! now and forever! / By the Internet's #1 personal finance expert, MSN's Liz Pulliam Weston / Stop feeling overwhelmed by your finances: take control, the easy way! / Save time, avoid mistakes, and help secure your future Common sense. Easy solutions. Plain English. Best selling author, Liz Pulliam Weston, takes on the problem everyone has, and nobody talks about: the sheer hassle of managing your money!Weston offers practical guidance and easy checklists for every decision: investments, credit cards, insurance, mortgages, retirement, college savings, and more! Discover how to consolidate, delegate, and automate your finances!save time and money!and live a more rewarding, secure life! www.lizweston.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Financial Times; 1 edition (November 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132383837
• ISBN-13: 978-0132383837
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #189,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a single reading's worth, January 28, 2008

By	calmly - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

This is a book to come back to, there's too much to take advantage of from a single reading. Nevertheless, I found I could write down items immediately that I could take advantage of soon. One excellent advice I hadn't seen before was to take my earnings record from my annual Social Security Statement to get my lifetime earnings (to date), add up my total (taxed Medicare) earnings and compare that to my net worth. Liz suggests aiming for my net worth to be 100% of more of my lifetime earnings by the time I am ready to retire. Whoa, trouble! I can see that I am going to have to read this book carefully as I must be in need of Liz's help.

"Easy Money" is well-organized and seems thorough. Each section is succinct and practically oriented. Some of the advice I've learned over time: the value of an alphabetical filing system, the value of index funds , and whether umbrella liability insurance might be, as Liz puts is, "a good idea". Liz places emphasis on the advice of John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Funds and explains her recommendation of index funds. She lists a book by Bogle in the "Resources and Recommendations" section of this book. She also discusses why mortgage prepayment might not be wise. She provides what seems to be excellent advice about use of financial planners and when to use a tax professional (tax software just may not handle your situation as well as a professional might). There's a good section on planning for college, something those with young children might not want to delay for too long.

There are some tips I haven't considered. One is the idea of a "buy-nothing month" during which one only purchases true necessities. The intent is to get a feeling for how many and how often one buys non-essentials. Another idea is having a "pause button", i.e. keeping a list of things to buy and having a some "cooling off" period, say 3 days, before considering whether to really buy something one has placed on that list.

Web sites are suggested for "savvy shoppers". For example, the benefit of the Consumer Reports web site, which is relatively inexpensive for a year's access. I've used this web site for several years and refer to it often enough and for major enough purchases that it has been a great value to me.

I'd suggest keeping this book out, perhaps with your dictionary, so that you are reminded of it and can browse through it periodically to see if there is something you can put into practice. Do I really want to keep track of my spending with personal finance software? I did that once and it helped me find a great deal of needless spending, enough in one year to pay for the personal computer I'd just bought. But it does take commitment to keep track of everything ... and a personal computer that one has ready enough access to!

Look at the price of this book here at Amazon, go to Search Inside and at least look at the Table of Contents to see how much Liz covers and how much would be useful to you anytime soon (it might well be a lot). It's not just the thorough coverage that I recommend this book for (there are other books on personal finances I've seen with that), it's the sharp organization, succinctness and practicality. If you know of a better book on personal finances, let me know. For now, I plan to get what value I can out of this one: Liz's "pause button" idea is something I can implement immediately.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep it simple, keep it real, February 18, 2008

By	Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

I sometimes wish that self-help and money management and business books would take on realistic titles -- that didn't promise something bigger than they can deliver, something that is not so obviously a publisher ploy to attract readers. In the case of this book, though, the title fits -- Ms. Weston has a very simple strategy for dealing with what can seem to be an overwhelming set of considerations. It won't bring in new income but will help make the most of what you've already got, and makes things about as simple as they can be without resorting to unhelpful platitudes.

The basic strategy of the book falls under a few simple headings: (1) develop a system that lets you track exactly where you are and where you need to be; (2) make this system as simple as possible and as automatic as possible -- the book has completely left behind the old check register system and enthusiastically endorses online banking and automatic bill pay as much as and wherever possible (and she reminds us that it is possible with so many banks that you really should just find one that lets you do what you need); (3) get clear about your essentials and priorities, and see where you can shave costs off of ongoing and enduring and essential expenses; (4) after that, there isn't much to say about saving change here and there by substituting cheap coffee for an expensive latte (though she does mention a few opportunities to stockpile small change in order gradually to build a savings buffer), since when you are clear about essentials, and have a system that tells you exactly how much you have and how much you need to take care of your priorities, then frivolous expenses appear as such. It's easier to focus on priorities when you are aware of what it takes to reach them.

I read books like this for the same kind of feeling as I get when I hear a good sermon or a good lecture or see a good movie. It doesn't tell me anything really all that new but puts what I know in a new perspective and serves as a kind of call to action and call to change -- a call to do the things I always like to say and think I ought to do but don't always do as well as I like. Where this adds is offering a clear strategy for going about that change. There is no magic pill in this book, and "easy" may be too strong of a word -- but she does keep things as simple as can be to help you keep things as real as can be.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Those With Trouble Managing Money, February 21, 2008

By	James Skrydlak "mostlymozart" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

I am a Certified Financial Planner® who works for a firm that handles very rich people. I have managed my personal finances well enough that my net worth is far higher than that of most people of my age and earnings history. In short, I haven't had the financial problems that would make me part of the target audience for this book, nor have the clients whom my firm serves. On the other hand, I do know a good deal about personal finance. I give you this background so that you can better evaluate my review.

If you have trouble budgeting or saving, this is the book for you; at the very least, it's one of the books that you should read. Ms. Weston's advice is correct, clear, and, provided you have the will-power, easy to follow.

Friends who have trouble managing their money frequently ask me for advice. From now on, I'm simply going to recommend this book, which has it all in one place.