This fascinating book by a popular financial journalist and a college professor may not be the newest book on the shelf, and it may not have the most hype, but by far, it is one of the most interesting personal finance books we have ever read. This book goes where not many do – into the human psyche – to determine why we develop certain spending habits, and how to break them before they break us.

The main premise of this book is that even the smartest people, the ones that should know better, really don’t when it comes to money. By taking a look at behavioral studies, the two authors came to the conclusion that some of our spending habits are so ingrained that unless you get to the root of the behavior, you’ll never be able to make much of a difference in your personal finances.

This was an interesting take on a subject that has been beaten to death. Why do we spend so much? Because in many cases, we have trained ourselves to do it. By breaking free of this behavioral cycle, the authors assert that we can start to manage our money more effectively and begin to see real changes in how we look at money, and how we treat it.

Truly a fascinating read that offers some hard hitting advice. Every single chapter contains a wealth of information, from how mental accounting can trip you up, to how overconfidence can bring about your financial ruin. Read this book more than once, and take the time to really think about each chapter and the lessons contained herein. Most will be able to spot similar behaviors and the results may be pretty shocking. Even if you thought you were a personal finance whiz, you may change your mind after reading this book.

We recommend this book to anyone interested about personal finance and particularly to those that haven’t yet been able to figure out where they are going wrong with their finances. The little case studies make it easy to spot where you may be tripping up, and the action plans are very easy to follow. While some beginners may get a little lost, overall, the book is simple to read and offers some truly remarkable advice that hits home, regardless of your financial situation.

Whether you are rich or poor, financial stable or drowning in debt, this book is a very beneficial read. Unlike many in the genre, it is not terribly dry and uninteresting. Instead, it produces stories, case studies and real world examples of money mistakes and then provides the reader with the solution they need to preempt that bad behavior and change things. By far, in our opinion, one of the best books written on personal finance and one that should be read by anyone that needs to start managing their finances properly.

Originally posted 2008-10-24 05:41:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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  ]]> http://www.walkwithmoney.com/review-why-smart-people-make-big-money-mistakes-and-how-to-correct-them-by-gary-belsky-and-tom-gilovich/feed/ 0 http://www.walkwithmoney.com/where-do-you-want-to-be-in-five-years-how-do-you-get-there/ http://www.walkwithmoney.com/where-do-you-want-to-be-in-five-years-how-do-you-get-there/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:20:28 +0000 admin http://www.walkwithmoney.com/where-do-you-want-to-be-in-five-years-how-do-you-get-there/ I’m going to share with you excerpts from seven different emails I’ve received from readers in the last few days.

  Kenny:

  I listened to your radio discussion with Vicki Robin and I was really intrigued by the whole five year plan. I have a big dream I’d love to accomplish (being a radio host) but I feel like it’s so far from my life that I’ll never get there. Any ideas?

  Scott:

  In five year[s] I would like to have built my [

  ...read more

  ]]]> I’m going to share with you excerpts from seven different emails I’ve received from readers in the last few days.

  Kenny:

  I listened to your radio discussion with Vicki Robin and I was really intrigued by the whole five year plan. I have a big dream I’d love to accomplish (being a radio host) but I feel like it’s so far from my life that I’ll never get there. Any ideas?

  Scott:

  In five year[s] I would like to have built my own house but I don’t even know where to start.

  Angela:

  I would like to be a writer someday but I’m not a writer.

  Monique:

  You have the courage and ability to try such a thing. I do not. I might want to be making clothing in five years but I’ll still be working in this office.

  Em:

  All I ever wanted to do was play in the WNBA. Now I walk with a limp and people shy away from me. I would do anything to be back in the basketball world.

  Raghu:

  I keep telling myself I will move back to that town and really make a difference there but it is a lot easier to go home at night, take a nap, and watch a movie.

  Sean:

  Nothing makes me happier than playing the piano. Nothing makes me sadder, either, because I know nothing will ever come of it.

  All of these people have a lot of things in common. They have a dream, one that they spend a lot of time thinking about. They’re nowhere near that dream in their day to day lives. They feel as though the gap between where they are now and where that dream is may simply be too much of a bridge for them to cross. So they’re walking in place through a life that has much less meaning for them than they would have ever liked.

  I was there once, in a way. I know exactly how it feels to sense that everything you’ve dreamed about in your childhood and in your adult life slipping away from you. I know how hard it seems to fight for it when everything in your life seems to be flowing in a different direction. And I also know how good it feels when you find some success against the current and can feel yourself moving in the right direction towards that dream.

  If you know what you truly, deeply want out of life, but you can’t see how you can get there from where you are now, here’s how to get started.

  First, get your financial house in order. This is paramount. It is almost impossible to make powerful, positive life changes if you’re swimming in debt and your spending is out of control. Learn how to spend less than you earn. Pay down that debt as fast as you can. It seems difficult, but it actually …

  ]]> http://www.walkwithmoney.com/where-do-you-want-to-be-in-five-years-how-do-you-get-there/feed/ 0 http://www.walkwithmoney.com/11-money-saving-tips-for-parents-with-babies/ http://www.walkwithmoney.com/11-money-saving-tips-for-parents-with-babies/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:20:08 +0000 admin http://www.walkwithmoney.com/11-money-saving-tips-for-parents-with-babies/

  When it comes to money saving ideas, some people go way out of their way to save a dime while others casually use products that cost hundreds of dollars. For example, is it worth drying a piece of Saran wrap?  Some folks (mostly from a previous generation) would put the wrap on the window to dry just to save a few cents. Because most people overspend on babies, I collected some money saving tips for parents with babies to share [

  ...read more

  ]]]> When it comes to money saving ideas, some people go way out of their way to save a dime while others casually use products that cost hundreds of dollars. For example, is it worth drying a piece of Saran wrap?  Some folks (mostly from a previous generation) would put the wrap on the window to dry just to save a few cents. Because most people overspend on babies, I collected some money saving tips for parents with babies to share with you.

  The thing is that some of these ideas are genius, and others are simply a waste of time.  For the frugal minded parents, many of these will be genius ideas. For the rest, they’ll probably sound like a complete waste of time.  Which is right?  I’ll let you decide.

  At the end of the day, what is most important is that both the husband and wife agree that the effort is worth the reward.  Otherwise, you’ll end up with some more marriage and money problems.

  

  Photo by gabi_menashe via Flickr.

  11 Money Saving Ideas For Babies

  1. Cloth diapers instead of disposables

  Yes, it is nasty.  My counterparts in North America have told me there are ways to avoid the whole hand in the toilet thing, but we do it the old fashioned way.  Fortunately, you can become numb to the nastiness.

  My vote: Disposables are for wimps.  Cloth is worth the savings.

  2. Breast Feeding instead of Formula

  Hey, I’m not going to say a lot about this one because I know this topic deals with a lot more than just money.  There are discussions about health and the mother’s schedule that I really don’t want to get into. But, in term of cost savings, this is one of the best ways to save a lot of money.

  My vote: Why buy what God has already given?

  3. Laundry basket instead of a bassinet

  My daughter slept for about two weeks in a laundry basket.  Fortunately, we didn’t buy a bassinet — there was a bassinet in part of our Pack N Play.  However, if someone were going to buy an actual bassinet, I’d say just use a laundry basket.

  My vote: Surely kids could survive a few week/months in a laundry basket — go for it.

  4. DIY baby wipes

  You can make your own inexpensive wipes by soaking small paper napkins or double-ply toilet tissue in a shallow bowl of baby oil. Once the oil is absorbed, put it in a Ziploc bag or plastic container. We actually make our own wipes, mostly because they are sometimes hard to find and often expensive.  We just cut strips of cloth and keep them moist with water.

  My vote: The idea of making your own wipes doesn’t seem like the most effective money saving idea.  I’d use store bought wipes combined with the ‘strategy’ in #5.

  5.  Use toilet paper instead of (in addition to) wipes.

  I think round one cleaning should be done with …

  ]]> http://www.walkwithmoney.com/11-money-saving-tips-for-parents-with-babies/feed/ 0 http://www.walkwithmoney.com/the-best-cities-for-working-mothers/ http://www.walkwithmoney.com/the-best-cities-for-working-mothers/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:20:07 +0000 admin http://www.walkwithmoney.com/the-best-cities-for-working-mothers/

  Share This

  At the risk of generalizing about the needs of working mothers, we think its fair to say that they not only want to find meaningful employment at a good salary, with comprehensive benefits but they also have specific needs that are unique to raising a family. Working mothers, across the board, want to live in a place [

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  At the risk of generalizing about the needs of working mothers, we think its fair to say that they not only want to find meaningful employment at a good salary, with comprehensive benefits but they also have specific needs that are unique to raising a family. Working mothers, across the board, want to live in a place that is safe, with good schools, and decent medical care. Based on Forbes’ rankings over multiple areas, we have prepared this map of America’s best cities for working mothers.

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The other site I used when selling back my old textbooks online was and SellBackYourBook.com. All the websites I used did indeed eventually pay me for my books.

Reviews on the Web
I did not spend more than couple minutes on this, but a quick search did not find any claims of non-payment or scam reports on SellBackYourBook.com.

I found two Better Business Bureau listings for this site. One gave No Rating and the other gave an A- rating. SellBackYourBook.com does advertise that it is an BBB Accredited Business, so if you do have issues I would file a complaint.

My Personal Experience
After typing in my ISBN numbers into BigWords.com, SellBackYourBook was the highest bidder for certain textbooks. Although I found their site lacking polish, I went …

http://www.walkwithmoney.com/tips-to-make-money-on-craigslist/ http://www.walkwithmoney.com/tips-to-make-money-on-craigslist/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:20:50 +0000 admin http://www.walkwithmoney.com/tips-to-make-money-on-craigslist/

If you are looking for some extra cash to add to your savings accounts or if you’re in need of money for an unexpected bill, believe it or not, there’s a pretty easy way to come up with the cash. Really, the only things you need are an internet connection, a computer and a digital camera. If you have these things, you can list a few items on Craigslist and make some quick cash. This is a good way to [

...read more

]]]> If you are looking for some extra cash to add to your savings accounts or if you’re in need of money for an unexpected bill, believe it or not, there’s a pretty easy way to come up with the cash. Really, the only things you need are an internet connection, a computer and a digital camera. If you have these things, you can list a few items on Craigslist and make some quick cash. This is a good way to make money without having to take on an a second job and you don’t have to pay taxes on it!!

Stop for a second and take a look around your home. I’m absolutely SURE there is something that you don’t use anymore and it’s sitting in the corner gathering dust. Like the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  

 Image Courtesy: Orin Zebest

I recently sold a laptop and a TV stand on Craigslist. The laptop was just sitting around not being used since I bought a new MacBook. The TV stand was out in the garage taking up the precious bit of space I have left. In fact, if I wasn’t paying attention when I got out of the car, I  would sometimes bump into it with the door of the car or my knees.  

If you want to sell your item quickly and for top dollar, remember these tips:

Description. Give a good, clear and accurate description of the item; including the item condition. For electronics, make sure you list the model number and specs of the item. For example, if you are selling a digital camera, make sure you tell how many megapixels it has and what the zoom is. If you are selling an item of furniture, make sure you …

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