具体描述
“With over 70% of American workers living paycheck to paycheck, basic money management skills are needed desperately. This is a masterful work that guides us to discover our own money dysfunctions and takes us on a journey to healthy financial behaviors.” –Sally Hass, Employee Benefits Life Planning Manager, Weyerhaeuser Company “This book combines solid knowledge of societal trends in personal finance with guidance on how to develop a sense of purpose about money and get financially fit for a lifetime. I heartily recommend it.” –Kelvin Boston, host Moneywise PBS Series and author of Who's Afraid To Be A Millionaire? “The rules have changed on how to achieve the American Dream. What many of us consider a fundamental right will be out of reach unless we get smart and take action now. The authors get right to the point by helping readers define what they care most about and then set them on a path to achieving true financial well-being.” –Carol Anderson, President and CEO of Money Quotient, specialists in financial planning education “The authors have looked at the current disastrous consumer model and envision a ‘New’ American Dream. They break the rules, set up a new framework for humanized finances, and challenge consumers to change the future by changing their habits, now .” –Dean Brassington, Financial Educator and U.S. Navy Quality of Life Program and Design Consultant “The great merit of this book is that it reads like an engaging conversation. Given the mass of undigested financial information, everyone needs this discourse that helps to position and orient oneself in the money universe, and then act. It bridges the gap between a complicated world out there and one's personal and family orbit.” –Jurg Siegenthaler, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, American University Based on extensive nationwide research conducted by the author and the Institute for Socio-Financial Studies about what people need to learn and do to become financially savvy, You and Your Money gives you the skills you need to be financially competent and self-sufficient...so you can make the right decisions about money– today, tomorrow, always! You don’t need to know everything about personal finance. You do need to know three things: where you stand today, what you can do now, and how to become more financially secure for the rest of your life. This book helps you answer those three questions. It’s easy, readable, practical, and quick. It gives you simple, common-sense tools for achieving financial success...tools you can use in every part of your life, not just finance! It brings together real stories from real people. People like you. People who know what they want, and just need to know how to get there. Æ CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIFE VALUES PROFILE The book helps you develop your unique personal profile so you can better assess your own goals and know how to achieve them Æ GET SAVVY, AND FEEL MUCH MORE IN CONTROL Easy, quick ways to take charge of your financial well-being Æ GROW YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM, STEP-BY-STEP Learn to communicate about money–and find objective, honest help when you need it Æ PLAN YOUR FINANCES AROUND THE CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE Plan for life transitions, prepare for disasters, and learn how to recover from financial setbacks Foreword xvi Preface xviii Acknowledgments xx About the Authors xxi PART I: MAINTAINING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK 1 Chapter 1: The Right Stuff 3 Chapter 2: The “New” American Dream 13 Chapter 3: How We Decide 25 Chapter 4: Your Life Values Profile 33 Chapter 5: Moving to Secure Money Management 51 Chapter 6: A Word About Fear 63 PART II: BEING ACTIVE IN FINANCIAL AFFAIRS 75 Chapter 7: Who’s in Charge of Your Financial Well-Being? 77 Chapter 8: Becoming a Savvy Consumer 89 Chapter 9: Getting and Keeping Good Credit 103 Chapter 10: Staying Ahead of Scammers and Thieves 119 Chapter 11: Committing to a Savings Plan 133 PART III: BUILDING A FINANCIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM 145 Chapter 12: Communicating About Money–Count the Ways 147 Chapter 13: Tapping Into the Financial Marketplace 165 Chapter 14: Building Your Assets 181 Chapter 15: Choosing Housing Wisely 201 PART IV: COPING WELL WITH CHANGE AND LOSS 221 Chapter 16: Planning for Life Transitions 223 Chapter 17: Preparing for Disasters 239 Chapter 18: Recovering from Adversity 253 Chapter 19: Finding the Help You Need 265 Appendix: Personal Finance Education Internet Sites 277 Endnotes 293 Index 299
作者简介
目录信息
读后感
用户评价
我是一个对“未来不确定性”感到高度焦虑的人，尤其是关于医疗保健和长期的生活质量保障。这本书在处理“未雨绸缪”这一主题时，展现出了令人信服的成熟度和前瞻性。它不仅仅停留于鼓励购买人寿保险的层面，而是深入探讨了不同类型保险（健康险、重疾险、年金险）的核心功能和适用场景，帮助读者像一个精明的采购员一样，识别出那些性价比低、条款模糊的产品。书中对于通货膨胀影响的分析尤其发人深省，它清晰地展示了如果不积极应对，即使是看似稳定的储蓄也会在不知不觉中被侵蚀购买力。作者提出了一套“抗通胀资产配置模型”，推荐了诸如房地产投资信托（REITs）和通胀保值债券（TIPS）等工具，并详细解释了它们在投资组合中的作用，这对我来说是全新的知识领域。这本书没有回避那些令人不适的现实——衰老、疾病和财富传承——而是提供了一套清晰、可操作的路线图，帮助我们提前规划，从而在面对人生低谷时，能够保持尊严和财务上的自主性。这让我感到极大的安慰和力量。
这本书简直是为我量身定做的！我一直对个人理财感到迷茫，尤其是在面对五花八门的投资建议和复杂的税务规定时，常常感到无从下手。这本书的叙事方式非常亲切自然，读起来就像是和一位经验丰富、又非常耐心的人生导师在聊天。它没有那些令人望而生畏的金融术语，而是用非常生活化的例子来解释复杂的概念，比如如何计算复利效应，或者如何制定一个既实际又富有弹性的预算计划。作者在介绍储蓄策略时，特别强调了“心理账户”的重要性，这一点我深有感触。过去我总觉得自己控制不住消费欲，但书里提出的那些小技巧，比如将不同目的的资金分开存放，让我在不知不觉中就减少了冲动消费。特别是关于如何建立应急基金的那一章，它不是简单地告诉你存多少钱，而是深入探讨了如何根据自己的生活阶段和风险承受能力来定制这个“安全网”，让我觉得这个目标切实可行，而不是遥不可及的空谈。这本书的价值在于它真正赋权于读者，让我们相信理财不是少数精英的专利，而是每个人都可以掌握的生活技能。读完之后，我感觉自己不再是被金钱牵着鼻子走，而是开始真正掌握了财务的主动权，对未来充满了清晰的规划感。
这本书的结构设计堪称教科书级别的典范，逻辑推进得丝丝入扣，让人欲罢不能。从最基础的记账和现金流分析开始，逐步过渡到资产配置和退休规划，每一步都像是搭建一座坚固的金融大厦的基石。我特别喜欢作者在阐述风险分散概念时所使用的“多维度鸡蛋篮”的比喻，它生动形象地解释了为什么不能把所有筹码都压在单一资产类别上，即便是看似稳健的领域也存在潜在的系统性风险。在讲解投资工具时，作者没有偏袒任何特定的产品，而是提供了一个中立的框架，教导读者如何根据自己的年龄、投资期限和对波动的忍耐度来构建一个定制化的投资组合。对于像我这样对股票市场感到敬畏的人来说，书中介绍的指数基金和ETF的低成本、长期持有策略，无疑提供了一个非常安全且高效的入场方式。更重要的是，它强调了“纪律性”的重要性，指出成功的投资往往是枯燥且重复的，而这本书就是帮助你建立这种长期、不被市场噪音干扰的执行力的最佳工具。
这本书最让我惊喜的地方，在于它成功地将“理财”从一个冰冷的、数学化的任务，转化成了一项充满人情味的“生活艺术”。作者花了相当大的篇幅来讨论“金钱与亲密关系”的微妙平衡。作为一个家庭的经济支柱，我常常在为家庭开支和个人梦想之间感到拉扯，这本书提供了一些非常实用的沟通技巧，教我如何与伴侣坦诚地讨论财务目标和消费习惯，避免让金钱成为家庭冲突的导火索。它倡导的“共同愿景”而非“财务控制”，对我触动很大。此外，书中关于“慈善捐赠”和“财富传承”的章节也极具启发性，它引导读者思考财富的最终意义——如何让自己的积累对后代乃至社会产生积极的影响。这不仅仅是关于如何变富有，更是关于如何“成为一个更好的人”的指南。阅读过程中，我感觉作者是一位兼具智慧和同理心的导师，他分享的不仅仅是数据和策略，更是多年实践中沉淀下来的生活智慧。这本书让我对自己的财务未来感到乐观，因为它不再是一个充满恐惧的黑洞，而是一个可以被温柔、审慎地雕刻的未来蓝图。
我必须承认，我最初对这类书籍抱持着相当的怀疑态度，总觉得它们不外乎是老生常谈，无非是“开源节流”的老调重弹。然而，这本书以一种令人耳目一新的方式颠覆了我的固有印象。它最成功的地方在于，它没有将财务规划局限于纯粹的数字游戏，而是将其深度融入了人生目标和价值观的探讨中。作者似乎非常理解现代人面临的焦虑：我们努力工作，但似乎永远都在为“下个月”而奔波。书中对“消费主义陷阱”的剖析极其深刻和犀利，它引导读者去思考：我们到底在为什么而花钱？是为了满足社会期待，还是为了实现内心的平静和自由？这种哲学层面的探讨，让这本书的厚度远超一般的理财指南。更让我欣赏的是，它对债务管理的见解，没有一味地指责负债是“坏事”，而是区分了“良性债务”和“恶性债务”，并提供了一套非常系统化的“雪球法”与“雪崩法”的实战对比，这让我能够根据自己的心理倾向选择最适合的还款路径。这种兼顾理论深度和操作灵活性的处理方式，是市面上许多同类书籍所缺乏的，它真正做到了既“知其所以然”，又“知其所以行”。
