'Your Money and Your Man'
One test of a really useful personal finance book is how far you get through it before you have the impulse to put the book down to start acting on its advice. In the case of this volume by Washington Post financial columnist Singletary, it's all you can do to keep reading as she presents tip after tip. Divided into sections that deal with particular life events (dating, marriage, children, divorce, etc.), the book presents advice on everything from when to share financial details with a potential mate to how to fix your credit rating. It also provides lots of useful information for beginners, explaining, for example, the difference between an index fund and a managed fund. Singletary's tone is refreshingly straightforward; though she's lively and opinionated (she's against pre-nup agreements, for example), she resists preachiness and concentrates on providing detailed counsel on how to develop good financial habits. But the book's main attractions are Singletary's excellent advice on how to find financial compatibility with husbands and boyfriends and her suggestions for maintaining effective communication about finance throughout a relationship.
-- Publisher's Weekly
'Spend Well, Live Rich'
The best financial planner Michelle Singletary ever knew was Big Mama, her grandmother. Big Mama raised Michelle and her four brothers and sisters on a salary that never reached more than $13,000 a year. Yet at her death, Big Mama owned her own home, had paid off a car loan, and had a beautiful collection of Sunday-go-to-meeting church hats and a savings account that supplemented her Social Security check and small pension. Most important, she had taught Michelle '7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life.' Those mantras serve as the inspiration for this straight-talking book of practical personal financial advice that really works.
