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How to Ruin Your Financial Life
 
 
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How to Ruin Your Financial Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "How many of you remember that great old 1950s song called "Forget Domani"?..." (more)
Key Phrases: financial life, Wall Street, Warren Buffett
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stein delivers a practical message in his own brand of wry, dry humor. Maybe money can’t buy happiness, he writes, "but it sure gives a good impression of a long-term lease." And so, by pointing out the myriad ways too many people wreck their financial status, he illustrates how to attain a life in which—even if you’re not a billionaire—money doesn’t keep you up at night. Running through a series of 55 "tips" (such as "as soon as you’ve succeeded in maxing out your credit cards… get new ones!" and "put all your eggs in one basket—that is, your company’s 401(k)—‘cause only sissies diversify"), Stein backs into explanations for why these oft-practiced habits are so damaging, and stupid. This probably isn’t the only financial planning book one should read, but it is entertaining—and it’s a surefire shot of reality for anyone heading down the well-worn path to financial ruin.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

Anyone can write a book about how to get rich. The bookstores are full of them. They rarely work, though, which isn’t surprising since the people who write them rarely know much about money.

But it takes Ben Stein, economist, finance expert for Barron’s, commentator on finance for Fox News, and (fairly) successful investor to write a book called How to Ruin Your Financial Life. Written with the same tongue-in-cheek cheekiness as his bestselling How to Ruin Your Life, this book is a humorous road map showing you how to make something useful of the money that comes in and out of your life. Follow the rules—in reverse gear—and you’re bound to be a lot better off than you are now. Follow the rules as they’re written—and you’re highly likely to wind up in bankruptcy court—as millions do every decade.

Here are some of the rules, just to whet your appetite: Collect as Many Credit Cards as You Can and Use Them Frequently; Compete with Your Friends to See Who Can Own the Most Expensive and High-Status Possessions; Know in Your Gut That Only Suckers Work Hard for Money and That Smarties Like You Only Have to Find an Angle; Remember That Retirement Is a L-ooo-nnn-g Way Off, and Don’t Even Think about It Right Now; Bear in Mind That Only "Little People" Pay Their Bills or Taxes; Don’t Bother to Own Your Own Home Because Home Ownership Is a Hassle...and many more.

This book is a laugh-out-loud way to educate yourself, your children, and your friends about how money really works...and a way to smile while you’re straightening out that mess you call your financial life.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Hay House (March 1, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401902413
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401902414
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #444,103 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Stein
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
How many of you remember that great old 1950s song called "Forget Domani"? Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
financial life
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Wall Street, Warren Buffett
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Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Makes Money Funny, March 30, 2004
By A Customer
Ben Stein's real point is that financial success in life doesn't require being a genius at handling money -- it's about avoiding the dumb, completely preventable mistakes that we all make sooner or later. If I had read this hilarious book when I was sixteen, I would be far richer today. Read it yourself, and then get copies for your kids. It's everything you wish they knew but won't listen to coming from you. If this means you don't have to bail them out of debt later on, the money you save may end up being your own!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Needed in High School as a Must Read, November 14, 2004
By Daniel Hurley (Chesapeake, VA.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
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Considering the impending doom of the American financial situation in years to come, all High School students need to read this book to understand simple economics. One of the biggest complaints about Americans economically is that they don't save. Well Stein's virtually sarcastic way of telling you excactly how to ruin your life financially is amusing and direct such as "don't worry about maxing out your credit cards, you can always get another one and no one will foreclose because people really like you". Written in a way that teenagers will get the message and the humor, direct, short and sweet. This book is within a teenagers attention span, the smart ones will get the message in a few short chapters.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 55 principles to ensure your complete and utter ruin!, May 6, 2005
Everyone makes mistakes with their money. We use it for foolish things, we spend too much, don't save enough, make dumb investments, and on and on it goes. Most of the time we try not to think about our mistakes and if we don't learn our lessons we end up making the same kinds of mistakes many times. So, sometimes it is good to get a reminder of all the kinds of mistakes we make and spend some time thinking about what we really should be doing to get our financial house in order.

Ben Stein has written "How To Ruin Your Financial Life" in a gently humorous way that lets us see most clearly the foolishness of the decisions we excuse ourselves in making. By writing the book as 55 financial principles you can follow to ensure complete and utter ruin, it is easier for us to recognize ourselves as having done far too many of these idiotic things. I call them idiotic because you will find yourself saying, "What kind of idiot would do THAT!" and then you will remember that it was you (me). So, the learning will begin and things will get better when you do the opposite of everything in the book.

For those that don't get it, the Afterword sets out the fundamental principles in a positive way.

One of the problems with reading little books is that you can dash through them quickly. Don't! Spend time thinking about each of these principles. Better you should take one a day and really ponder it than try to swallow everything Mr. Stein is offering in one sitting. Getting control of your money is too important to leave to happenstance.

Thanks, Mr. Stein!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Ben Stein you let me down
Very disappointed. Thought I was buying some great insights, rather got 52 tongue in cheek comments.
Published 10 months ago by Robert Wedemeyer

1.0 out of 5 stars A quick throw-away book. This is **not** a financial planning book.
I like Ben Stein, find him particularly insightful and do appreciate his droll sense of humor. I have also bought other books Ben and they are in my stack to read. Read more
Published on February 2, 2008 by John B. Egan

5.0 out of 5 stars What not to do with your money
I am in the financial planning business. I manage my money well. Often it is hard to recall some of the silly things folks do with their money and how they make financial... Read more
Published on May 11, 2007 by Jerry Edwards

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the best personal finance guide yet written.
Sure, there are plenty of books out there about how to get rich. They almost always fail because the authors are ignorant of how money works. Read more
Published on March 12, 2007 by Randall Di Giuseppe

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this and then read it WITH your kids (or give it to your teen)!
Ben Stein should be a keynote speaker on high schools (or even grade schools), because what he says could form the basis of an excellent class on financial literacy. Read more
Published on March 4, 2007 by K. Corn

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple yet informative financial advice
Ben Stein knows how to dispense basic financial advice. Don't put it in a stuffy investment tome and don't give it as a lecture. Read more
Published on July 24, 2006 by bixodoido

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the Best Ten Bucks You Have Ever Spent
Most people in the US could really use this book. So many people believe things about finances that are not true or they don't think about their finances at all. Read more
Published on April 30, 2006 by D. Drews

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe this'll get their attention...?
I love Ben Stein: his books, his knowledge and wisdom, his vast range of experience, his articles in the NYTimes.... Read more
Published on September 24, 2005 by Nell

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect guide for those of us who make too much money
I had a problem most Americans have: too much money and security. You name it, I had it. Stocks; bonds; mutual funds; CDs; an annuity, an IRA and Roth IRA. Read more
Published on July 13, 2004 by Barbara Digiuseppe

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful little instruction booklet
A Wonderful book detaling many simple ways to ruin your financial life. Ben Stein does it again! This great little book is the opposite of all the `how to be succesful' books... Read more
Published on March 22, 2004 by Seth J. Frantzman

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