The money book for the young, fabulous & broke

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

With more than 6.5 million books in print (nearly three million of The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom alone), an eponymous CNBC show, contributing editorships at O: The Oprah Magazine and Costco Magazine and a biweekly Yahoo! column, Orman commands a great deal of economic bandwidth. This seventh book will be released with a PBS special (her fourth) pitched specifically to 20- and 30-somethings early in their working lives, who are, to put it nicely, having trouble negotiating a challenging economy: "Our starting point is that you are broke, by your or any definition." In the bright, clipped, supportive-but-not-mushy affirmative diction that dominates motivational business titles, Orman lays out a plan for maximizing the little that one has, focusing on ways to raise one's FICO score as a means of making more choices available. ("FICO" stands for the mysterious Fair Isaac Corporation-with whom Orman has an arrangement for her own FICOkit.) She runs through a plethora of money problems and what to do about them: credit card debt, student loans, mortgages (and advice on real estate), car payments, taxes, IRAs-almost anything one can think of that has to do with financial planning that can seem bewildering when presented by a salesperson, a direct mail solicitation or HR orientation. With its combination of specific solutions and deep knowledge of its target demographic's specific problems, this book positions itself perfectly and will see correspondingly strong sales among its coveted 18-34s. Agent, Amanda Urban at ICM. (Mar. 1) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

---

Review by Library Journal Review

From an expert: money basics for beginners. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

Suze is back, this time with a message for a younger crowd--a wise move for a for a personal-finance whiz who knows the ins and outs of money management. People in their 20s, though they certainly can rack up just as much debt as anyone, have not been Suze's traditional targets with her other recent works, The Laws of Money, The Road to Wealth, The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom. Here, the intended audience is clear: twentysomethings who need sage financial advice. Regarding housing, the author suggests considering a roommate; when it comes to employment, she directs the discussion at those still floating in the career choice ether. When she arrives at her discussion of savings accounts, she declares the book "a spread-sheet free zone." Although the tone is not a bit patronizing, she offers plenty of basic instruction--she negotiates the tricky terrain of financing a mortgage, but also provides the handy reminder to flush the toilets when doing a walk-through of a possible new home. As usual with Suze, the material is highly accessible and practically arranged. The section on combining financial lives with a new long-term partner should be required reading at the marriage license counter. Good stuff for a new audience from the name-brand in personal finance. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---

INTRODUCTION Listen, I know dealing with the responsibility of money, especially a lack of money, may not necessarily be high on your list of priorities. But something motivated you and brought you to this page, so in some way you are telling yourself it's time to start dealing with your financial life. It's time to make some changes. Most likely, you are young; I hope you feel you are fabulous; and chances are, you are also broke. I've talked to thousands of young people like you over the years, and, for what it's worth, you've got plenty of company. But you also have a great way out of your current situation. You have time. Because you are young, you have the time to right any missteps, and the time to build a solid financial life. I also know that you have the bandwidth to take the advice in this book and put it into action. You may be intent on feeling beaten up these days, but I'm not going to play along. I admire you for your grit in coping with a lousy job market, skyrocketing real estate values, and hefty student loans. But what I also hear when I talk to you is that you have what it takes to manage the hand you've been dealt. Now, having said all that, I wouldn't be surprised if you're wondering if this book can really deliver the goods or if it's going to be yet another personal finance book by someone who has no clue about the issues you're dealing with. I guarantee you that this is definitely not your parents' money book. I get your situation. The advice in this book is customized to fit your life today. How do I know what you're going through? Because you told me. You were quite blunt about what you want from me, as well as what you don't want. You want advice that deals with your reality--a set of solutions for the problems you have. You want to be told what to tackle first, and you want clear advice on how to get the job done. And that's what you are going to get here, delivered as concisely as possible. I only dive into details that are absolutely crucial to your success. And you don't need an iota of prior knowledge. I know you've been too busy or uninspired to figure out how a Roth IRA works, what a FICO score is, and why you should even care. No worries. I have written every section of this book so you can quickly and easily comprehend exactly what actions you need to take and why. What you don't want is yet another personal finance book spewing the same old advice that doesn't work for you. I completely agree. You won't catch me telling you to cut back on the lattes and "simply" save $10 a day. As if saving $3,650 a year when you are broke could ever be simple. Nor will I tell you that credit cards are the devil in plastic (on the contrary, I think they can be good for you) or that you must have eight months of living expenses saved up as your emergency reserve fund before you are allowed past go. Un-uh. I know that's not realistic or reasonable for the majority of you at this point in your lives. Besides, if you didn't have credit card debt and you already had an eight-month emergency cash fund, why would you have picked up this book? You sure wouldn't fit my definition of broke. BROKE IS relying on a cash advance on your credit card to pay the rent or mortgage, and praying that you have enough left on your credit line to do so. BROKE IS having a ton of student loans that make you nauseated when you think about how long it is going to take you to pay them off. BROKE IS not opening your credit card bills because you're terrified to see what you owe and have no way of paying. So instead, you get hit with the late fee and finance charges. BROKE IS wanting to buy a home but having no clue where you can come up with the down payment. So you are stuck renting a small place. BROKE IS counting every coin in your change jar as well as scrounging under the sofa cushions in a desperate attempt to find the dough to cover your bounced check and the $25 fee your bank is going to slap on you. BROKE IS wanting to save for your kids' college educations but not knowing how to swing it because you are already strapped trying to make the mortgage and car payment, and you haven't even started saving for your retirement. BROKE IS not having one penny saved, even though you have a good job. If your car breaks down, so will you. You don't have the money for repairs, but you need the wheels to get to work. This is by no means an exhaustive list. I'm sure if we all met up, we could have a great time seeing who has the best "Broke is" story. But even though your specific stories may differ, you all want the same thing. You want to fix your situation so you are no longer broke. That is exactly what this book is about. Our starting point is that you are broke, by your or any definition. Our ending point is that you are not. And we aren't just going to get you past broke, we are going to make sure you never revisit broke. This is such an important point; I see far too many people go from being broke to finally having some money, only to slip back to broke again because they didn't know what to do with their money. I don't want that to happen to you. Here's the bottom line: You picked up this book because you are broke. Keep reading and you will discover what you need to know--and do--so you will not be broke forever. Excerpted from The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

---