The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide to Getting Good with Money

Introducing financial concepts with a light touch, Fagan, cofounder of the Financial Diet website, begins with her own story of bad financial behavior and its costs both financially and to her peace of mind. Fagan leads millennials and Generation Zers—the tone and content of the book are clearly aimed at the generations born after 1980—through building a solid understanding of finances and how money affects all areas of life, from one’s career to one’s romantic life. Offering the expected topics of credit, investing, and retirement savings and a sparse glossary of financial terms, this slender book succeeds best as a life guide. Fagan elevates her book above other beginner guides by showing how finances and aspects of lifestyle such as diet and your relationship with money intertwine. In short interviews, experts give out sound advice in their areas of expertise, including on saving, deciding when buying a home makes sense, and knowing when to spend money. In a section useful to those just starting out on their own, after discussing renting versus owning and the cost savings of being able to do basic repairs, a list of tools and their uses is given, and why you’ll need them. The breezy lifestyle-magazine-like writing style and easy-to-digest layout make this guide a useful and readable resource. (Jan.)