Dollars & Sense: A Mom's Guide to Money Matters

Sumner and her husband both have M.B.A.s and years of experience in the banking world. Why, then, were their own family finances once in a state of chaos? Sumner relates that her family had no savings or back-up plan when her husband unexpectedly lost his job, plunging them into uncertainty and debt. They slowly climbed out of the mire through a little sacrifice and a lot of planning. Sumner cheers on her female readers by asserting that they, too, can take charge of their financial futures. She begins by offering a ""money attitudes quiz"" to sort readers into four basic types of money managers, then tackles the usual personal finance subjects: checking and savings accounts, setting financial goals, buying adequate insurance, and drafting a will. She then addresses budgeting, banking, loans and mortgages, saving, investing, tithing (one of the book's only nods to religion), building a credit history, and staying out of debt. It is perhaps a sign of the financial times that she includes an entire sobering chapter on identity theft. Sumner assumes no knowledge about even the most basic financial skills, like balancing a checkbook, making this book appropriate for the beginner but less useful for the family with at least some ducks in a row. The advice is simple and familiar: spend less than you earn, and pay yourself first. She offers a chapter on how to teach kids basic money principles and a helpful glossary of everyday financial terms.