The 10 Commandments of Money: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy

The financial crash and subsequent recession have exploded many people's ideas of how money was supposed to work: micro and macro financial behaviors that precipitated the stock and real estate bubbles have now been shown to be ill-conceived, dangerous, and unsustainable. Financial columnist Weston provides a workable happy medium between fear and fecklessness, guiding readers to create a budget that works in the real world, create a survival plan with cash and credit, pay off debt the smart way, embrace risk sensibly, plan for retirement, and maintain communication about spending in a marriage and a family. Loaded with tips and ideas and illustrated with plenty of examples, this book hits all the major themes for total financial literacy in a conversational, digestible tone, backed up with clear "action steps" at the end of each chapter. A godsend for the financially befuddled, bewildered, or just plain anxious. (Jan.)