Monday, October 29, 2012

Jen Reviews The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke


Book/Author: The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman
Publisher/Year:  Riverhead Books, 2005
How I Recieved It: It was a gift

Summary:

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke is financial expert Suze Orman's answer to a generation's cry for help. They're called "Generation Debt" and "Generation Broke" by the media - people in their twenties and thirties who graduate college with a mountain of student loan debt and are stuck with one of the weakest job markets in recent history. The goals of their parents' generation - buy a house, support a family, send kids to college, retire in style - seem absurdly, depressingly out of reach. They live off their credit cards, may or may not have health insurance, and come up so far short at the end of the month that the idea of saving money is a joke. This generation has it tough, without a doubt, but they're also painfully aware of the urgent need to take matters into their own hands (from bn.com).

Review:

I'm young, fabulous (well, I like to think so anyway!) and definitely broke.  I've flipped through many different personal financial books while browsing at the bookstore and noticed most of them are definitley not for me.  They just don't currently fit my needs/lifestyle.  Things like investing in stocks and saving for my children's college education aren't relevant to me right now (the stock market is confusing and I don't have kids). 

I really enjoyed this book because it was tailored towards my age group.  The chapters on student loans and credit cards are the ones I've read multiple times.  There's no big, scary financial words (but there is a helpful glossary at the end of the book).  The tone of the book is laid back, like your favorite teacher from high school giving you advice.  While some of the information Orman presents may seem like common sense it's always nice to have a refresher!

I must say that the chapter explaining a Roth IRA vs. a 401(k) was extremely helpful.  I was clueless to the differences.  Honestly, talking about retirement scares me because it seems like I am way too young to be even thinking about it.

The book also comes with an online Action Planner (each book has a unique login code).  I'll admit, I've owned my copy of this book for over a year and still haven't logged onto the website yet.  But I do love the idea of having a the website supplementing the book!

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke was originally published in 2005 so it is a little dated but overall still provides great financial tips.

4 comments:

  1. WOO! I have this one. Given my current financial situation of being REAL BROKE I should probs take a look at it.

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  2. Oh gosh, I should probably take a look at this too! haha!

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  3. Thank you for reviewing this book! I am about to graduate nurse practitioner school, and I really want to get my finances in check from the beginning. I will add it to my TBR list. Have you read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover? It is very informative and has a great step by step plan.

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  4. Thanks for sharing this; I'm definitely going to check it out. Mountain of student loans? Check!

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