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When you know something about money, cruising a bookstore's personal-finance shelves can be a little depressing.
So many tomes are devoted to truly bad advice, which typically boil down to one or more of the following:
- Ignore the naysayers -- be a day trader!
- Put all your money in real estate!
- Attend my expensive seminars for the secret keys to wealth!
Amid all the rhinestones, though, there are always some gems, and that's true this year as well. Most of these new books are not best sellers, and some may even be a challenge to find. But I encourage you to go to the effort. I've added several of these to my own bookshelf of primers, classics and good reads that I think everybody should own:
"The Fearless Home Seller" by Elizabeth Razzi. You may know Razzi from the decade she spent writing about real estate for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. The woman knows her stuff, and her style is a delight -- smart, fun and easy to read. Her advice is especially timely now that homes no longer sell themselves, and she includes a thoughtful chapter on whether you should try selling your home without an agent (known as "For Sale by Owner," or FSBO). She even got me to laugh out loud a few times, as with her "10 signs you're cut out for FSBO." No. 5 is "You make car dealers cry."
"Why Smart People Do Stupid Things with Money: Overcoming Financial Dysfunction" by Bert Whitehead. Whitehead's 30 years as a financial planner, and his championship of fee-only advice, shine through in every page of a truly superior book on money management. From the title, I was afraid this might be another touchy-feely guide to "our money personalities." In fact, Whitehead uses research into financial behavior and his own considerable experience to show us how often our instincts about money get us into trouble, and what we can do to get back on track.
"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns" by John C. Bogle. Two types of folks are convinced they're smarter than the rest of us: people who invest in individual stocks and white-collar criminals. Some of those defying the odds may be right, but others will pay a heavy price for their arrogance. Rather than gamble, I recommend a crime-free life and the index fund approach recommended by Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Funds. He has written a condensed, readable version of why you should give up trying to beat the market and get on with your life.
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"Money Can Buy Happiness: How to Spend to Get the Life You Want" by MP Dunleavey. Reviewing a book written by a friend or colleague can be a tricky business; what if the thing really sucks? I'm delighted to say that my fellow MSN Money columnist's first book not only doesn't suck, it's a great read. Dunleavey uses some of the latest research on happiness to argue convincingly that while more money may not necessarily bring bliss, redeploying the money you have actually can.
"Saving for Retirement (Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery)" by Gail MarksJarvis. If there's anything more nerve-racking than a reviewing a book by a professional colleague, it's reviewing a book by a professional colleague that's represented by the same company that publishes your own books -- in this case, Pearson. Fortunately, I could breathe another sigh of relief. MarksJarvis is an award-winning Chicago Tribune personal-finance columnist who's written a solid, straightforward primer to the biggest money challenge most of us will face: funding our retirements. If you've read a lot of personal finance guides, you may not find a lot that's novel here. But MarksJarvis does an excellent job of covering all the basics and reminding us why stock-market investments have such an important role in our retirement portfolios.
"The Six-Day Financial Makeover: Transform Your Financial Life in Less than a Week" by Robert Pagliarini. Despite the glitzy title, this is not a get-rich-quick guide: far from it. Like Whitehead, Pagliarini is a fee-only adviser with serious credentials and a sensible message. The book will probably be most helpful to those who have a basic handle on their finances and want to step up to the next level. If you're being hounded by collection agencies or borrowing from one credit card to pay another, you might want to read the following books:
"America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money" by Steve and Annette Economides. The Economides -- oh, such a great name -- are worthy successors to the queen of frugality, Amy Dacyczyn, author of "The Complete Tightwad Gazette." Are you convinced you're a victim of the high cost of living? Then you need to read this book by a Scottsdale, Ariz., couple who bought and paid off a home in nine years while raising five kids on a monthly grocery budget of $350. Oh, yeah, and they pay cash for their cars. The Economideses' book isn't an exhaustive encyclopedia of money-saving ideas, but focuses on the most useful approaches and processes for living within your means.
"Tiptionary 2: Save Time and Money Every Day With Over 2,300 All-New Tips" by Mary Hunt. If you're not quite ready for a black belt in frugality -- or if you think you've already earned one -- you can always learn something from Mary Hunt, who runs Debt-Proof Living. I've got her book parked by my favorite reading chair, and each page is loaded with great time- and money-savers that I've never come across before.
So, have you read any good money books lately? If so, share your finds with us on the Your Money message board.
Columns by Liz Pulliam Weston, the Web's most-read personal finance writer, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.
Published July 9, 2007
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