When I first started reading Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It, and Give It, I was a little put off by the format. This personal finance guide, aimed at young people ages 16 to 30, is totally different than most books like it.  Rather than tell you the information directly, author J. Steve Miller has created a cast of characters who learn about money and life over the course of a series of breakfast meetings. It has a bit of an "After-School Special" feel to it, as the … [Read more...]

Could you feed yourself for just one dollar a day?Two high school teachers challenged themselves to do just that and the result is a compelling look at our relationship with food, poverty, and the world around us.Christopher Greenslate and Kerri Leonard share their story in their new book On A Dollar a Day.The book outlines their trials and tribulations with living on a dollar a day for a month, then living on a food budget equivalent to the food stamp allotment (with personal contributions), … [Read more...]

Remember those lazy days of summer when you were a kid?  When you figured out how to make tree forts and paper airplanes and tried to touch your tongue to your nose?Those lazy days when kids entertained themselves without the use of an electronic gadget are rare now.But fortunately, a little nostalgia can bring it back.Tin House Books has just re-released the 1958 book How to Do Nothing With Nobody All Alone by Yourself by Robert Paul Smith.Smith wrote the book as a guide for children … [Read more...]

I often tout the idea of how important it is to talk about money with your significant other.But sometimes, the biggest challenge is not the talking.  It's how to start talking.Fortunately, there's a book for that.Get Financially Naked: How to Talk Money With Your Honey by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar addresses how to talk about personal finances with your significant other.  Because as anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship knows, love dos not conquer all.The book is … [Read more...]

I am dinner challenged.  I rarely have a plan and I lack creativity in the kitchen.Thank goodness for The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook!The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook written by Erin Chase has 200 recipes for quick, delicious, and healthy meals that cost less than $5 to prepare.I've been a huge Chase's blog, $5Dinners.com since its early days, and I remember e-mailing her after she made an appearance on The Rachael Ray Show.  I said, "You really should write a cookbook" and she replied, "I am!"So … [Read more...]

When I think of the financial state of some of my family and friends, it makes me so frightened for them. They're in their 50s with mortgages and credit card debt and little-to-nothing saved for retirement.It is scary to think they may not be able to enjoy their golden years.I recently read America, Welcome to the Poorhouse: What You Must Do To Protect Your Financial Future and the Reform We Need by Jane White, and while it was a good read, it certainly didn't make me feel any better.White, who … [Read more...]