Budget

Careful budgeting can be a crucial tool for managing your money and getting out of debt -- and this easy-to-use workbook can help you gain control of your spending and organize your records once and for all! The comprehensive worksheets and charts allow you to set financial goals, plan and monitor your spending. It even helps you organize for tax time. Inspiring stories from people who have used The Budget Kit to change their financial lives for the better will keep you motivated.

I have found Judy Lawrence's The Budget Kit so helpful that I bought copies for two of my friends who were struggling with ways to keep track of their money. It is all about making choices and the need for the information to make those choices. This book is the key to keeping that critical information up-to-date and available. Not knowing where you money is coming from or going is like driving with your eyes closed. Lawrence makes the process so positive and simple , it becomes enjoyable and empowering.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. Buy it as a wedding present, as a graduation gift, as an anniversary gift for you and your spouse.

When I first tried to make a budget using this book I spent a week crying. How could I possibly accomplish my goal to get out of debt and have any kind of fun? Once I actually starting living with the budget I found it very freeing.

The first year that the holiday season came around and my money for gifts and travel was sitting there waiting for me I was thrilled.

3 years later I am out of debt and that initially "impossible" amount of money that was going into credit card payments is now going into savings account :-)

Last year I REALLY wanted a photo printer mid year. Did I pull out a credit card and buy it? Nope. I went to my handy 12 month plan of occasional expensesm and thought about it. Did I really want the printer more than a hair cut, my next clothing allowance and a bit off of vaction budget? Yup. There was the money for my printer. No guilt. No credit cards.

This book is a great tool to get rid of that awful out of control feeling and come up with a plan. My book for year number 4 is going into my shoping cart now.

While some books, such as "The Entrepreneurial Mindset" and my own "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur," are great at providing philosophical guidance and strategic insight into becoming an entrepreneur, other books are great at providing practical, hands-on information for dealing with specific, small business situations. "Business Know-How" provides excellent, hands-on information which will help you run your small or home business.

"Business Know-How" is jam-packed with hints, tips, resources, and suggestions for saving money, growing your sales, and running your business more effectively. The lessons are particularly useful to small and home-based businesses.

Half of U.S. small businesses are home-based. Attard says that although hard work and good products are necessary to succeed in small business, hard work and good products alone aren't enough. Attard writes: "To be successful, you need to know how to do business. You need to know the best ways to find customers, to sell to them, to use technology, to cut costs, and to deal with problems that inevitably arise. And you need to know how to do it all on a shoestring."

The First Chapter, Finding the Real Opportunities, will help you generate ideas for a new business. Attard suggests: "Businesses don't just happen. They are made... your success relies on what you bring to the business. If you love what you do, your passion for the business will drive you to be knowledgeable, creative, and persistent."

One of Attard's recommendations is "Look for Avalanches" which will help carry you in a successful direction. As an example, Attard discusses Cheyenne Software, which jumped on the Local Area Network trend by developing enhancements to Novell LANs. She also discusses demographic trends and points out a few particularly lucrative areas, such as corporate training. We learn that corporate training is a $50 billion market.

We also learn that African Americans represented a $300 billion market by 1994. Attard advises: "The secret to successfully targeting these and other cultural markets is to pay attention to your audience's heritage and lifestyle. Don't just replace pictures of white people with pictures of African Americans or Latinos, and don't translate English word for word into any other language. Your marketing efforts will fail if you do. Instead, tailor the sales literature or ads to accurately reflect the lifestyle of the targeted market."

But, your business doesn't need to be earth shattering or target a huge market. One of Attard's first businesses was making beanbags shaped like frogs. Attard writes: "I filled them with birdseed instead of beans to make them pliable and less lumpy to the touch. ... I could produce them quickly and kept my costs low by making the frogs from inexpensive fabric remains."

Attard also suggests considering "Mundane Moneymakers," such as home cleaning or plumbing for your start-up business. Attard writes: "The key to making money with the mundane is to sell something your customers can't do, don't want to do, don't have the time to do, or can't get done elsewhere."

As a great example of a mundane, but potentially profitable, business, Attard tells us about a doggy do-do clean-up business which cleans up doggy waste in dog owners' back yards. Now, there's a good example of an unromantic business! After a few years, the founding entrepreneur sold the company for a quarter of a million dollars.

(Passion for doggy clean-up probably doesn't last too long. Attard doesn't say how big a market doggy do-do clean-up represents. But with the help of her outstanding chapter on business research, you probably could make a fairly good estimate. Exercise for Entrepreneurship students: Estimate the market size of the doggy do-do business. Extra credit: Measure the market size in Kibbels N' Bits.)

Most of "Business Know-How" isn't about starting a business. It's about operating your business effectively.

One money saving tip from Business Know-How's Chapter, Keeping the Tax Collector at Bay, is "Employ Your Spouse and Deduct the Entire Amount of Your Medical Insurance Premiums."

Because there are limitations on the tax deductibility of medical insurance premiums providing coverage to sole proprietors and S-corporation owners who hold more than 2% of the corporate shares, but no such deductibility limits on health insurance coverage provided to your other employees, Attard suggests employing your spouse.

Attard writes: "There are no such limitations on the deductibility of medical insurance premiums you make on behalf of your employees, however. If your spouse is an employee of your business, the business can pay for (and deduct the cost of) his or her medical insurance. Your spouse would then add you as a dependent on his or her policy. This would make the entire premium deductible by your business as a business expense. If you don't have employees other than your spouse, and don't have any other good source of health insurance, this strategy offers significant tax savings by converting a personal expense to a [tax deductible] business expense."

Attard notes one important caveat. If you have other employees, you might be required by law to provide them the same health care coverage as your spouse.

"Business Know-How" has outstanding chapters about conducting business research, finding suppliers, shoestring marketing, selling to the government, home office equipment, and dealing with taxation of your home-based business. A primary focus of the book is saving money and reducing your costs, which is crucial to success. The book also provides a wealth of referrals to gather more information.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."

This is a must have business book to add to your shelf. It has very practical simple advise that you will want to start implementing right away.

Janet Attard's Business Know-How tells how to make a small business profitable, from obtaining publicity and locating customers without expensive ad budgets to cutting business costs and becoming involved with the Internet. All are excellent business guides with practical information for those just starting out.

Merritt names the names and tells you exactly how they did it. How he got all of this information is the greatest mystery. But I'm sure glad he did! Tarantino, Scorsese, Kevin Smith, Spike Lee--he tells exactly how they did it, down to the sneakiest detail. And he tells everything you'll need to know to make a movie. I'm using this book as a guide as I write & direct my first film. It tells me all I'll ever need to know. This is both a thorough textbook of ALL THE FILMMAKING BASICS and the ultimate guide to ALL THE INSIDE DOPE on low-budget movies and movie making. Great stuff!

After "The Blair Witch Project" and similar success stories, I was looking for a good general book on film production that included all the real dope on how the best known people have made successful low-budget movies. I was amazed by how much clear, precise info "Film Production: The Complete Uncensored Guide to Independent Filmmaking" has, such as precise budgets, deal-negotiating tips, crew member roles, distribution company reviews, and on and on. I also liked the way the book is organized. It takes you from the script and raising the money all the way through all the details of pre-production, production, and editing to selling the movie, promoting, and beyond. It answered all my questions (from stupid to tough) along the way.

this book covers all topics of movie productions. a must have to serious filmmakers!

AFTER BUYING MULTIPLE MONEY BOOKS AND NEVER FINDING THE ADVICE PARTICULARLY USEFUL, "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS" BY NANCY LLOYD IS A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE. FOLLOWING HER ADVICE IS QUICK AND PAINLESS. BUT BETTER STILL, THIS BOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN THOSE FLAKY QUICK FIXES TOUTED ON TELEVISION BY NO-NOTHING "EXPERTS" WHO GIVE QUESTIONABLE ADVICE AND HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONABLE "CREDENTIALS."

NANCY LLOYD, BY CONTRRAST, IS A FORMER FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD ECONOMIST SO SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT SHE EXPLAINS IT IN UNIQUE, HUMOROUS AND VERY DO-ABLE WAYS.

AND THE ADVICE WORKS. SHE SHOWED ME THE FASTEST AND LEAST EXPENSIVE WAYS TO PAY OFF MY CREDIT CARD DEBT AND SLASH BANK COSTS. WITH THE MONEY I SAVED BY FOLLOWING THIS ADVICE I HAD AN EXTRA $200 A MONTH TO INVEST. NANCY DID NOT LET ME DOWN THERE EITHER. SHE SHOWED HOW TO FIND WELL-DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENTS AND MUTUAL FUNDS WITHOUT MAKING COMMON AND COSTLY BUT STUPID MISTAKES THAT MY FRIENDS DID.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE. YOU CAN TRY TO MAKE ADVICE ON YOUR OWN OR YOU CAN TURN TO THIS SPECTACULAR BOOK AND TAKE THE WORRY AND DOUBT OUT OF MAKING MONEY.

As I hit my late 30's I began to notice changes in my life, my mood and even my spending habits. By themselves I didn't think it was a big deal but then I saw Nancy Lloyd and Dr. Northrup on television talking about money and menopause, respectively. What each said really hit home.

Like a lot of women my age I was coasting through what I considered a normal life. It's not that I was unhappy but I knew that I could have felt more satisfied. This book by Nancy Lloyd and "THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE" by Dr. Northrup have shown me how to take charge of my life, resolve unfinished family business and start to realize some life-long dreams.

I have started taking some estrogen replacement per Dr. Northrup and have finally begun to deal with my finances per Nancy Lloyd.

I've not only paid down my credit card debt but I'm finally managing my 401(k) retirement savings plan and created a Living Trust to help my family down the road.

The difference in my life and relationships is astounding. I feel like a different person. With the fear of menopause and unresolved financial matters no longer hanging over my head I'm told I even look younger.

"THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE" and "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS" are life changing books. I can't recommend them too highly!

If you have been trying to make money in the markets or even just getting started by paying off debts then you -- like most of us -- have probably bought many books that purported to help you manage your finances and create wealth.

Like most of us those other books probably did not work for you --even if they were recommended by TV celebrities who know nothing about finances but can't resist recommending books for other motives.

If those other inferior books did work as they were purported to then why would you still be looking for a book with usable answers?

This book, Simple Money Solutions, is a stunning exception.
The advice is accurate. It includes an array of advice because money advice is not one size fits all. And the advice never becomes obsolete. It does stand the test of time!

In fact those other books that claim to have THE One and Only answer is almost guaranteed to be nothing but a book built on unproven gimmicks or trendy tricks that do NOT work and that certainly won't work over the long haul.

This book and its author, Nancy Lloyd, have taken a different and sound approach to money matters. She presents the issues we're all struggling with out in a clear and concise way and then lays out the options, including financial products, services and strategies to implement various plans.

My neighbor and I both read this book but based on our individual situations we chose different financial strategies that fit our unique lives.

I have now thrown my other financial advice books out (I wouldn't even give them away for fear that some unsuspecting reader would follow those other books' feeble and inaccurate advice).

But I have been punked by other books for the last time.

Simple Money Solutions is a KEEPER!!

I was very disappointed with this book. It doesn't provide the real world facts about making an indie film as other books do. It reads like an introductory textbook that skates over all the issues, but never really tells you the things you want to know about how to finance, cast, and sell an indie. Don't waste your money here.

I purchased THE INDIE PRODUCERS HANDBOOK on line because I am a fanatic about anything having to do with the movies and especially American movies. (I live in Poland) I was interested in this particular book because the author is a professor at UCLA where one of our most famous Polish Film Directors (Jerzy Antczak) taught....so I thought this author would know something about what he talks about since he teaches at the great UCLA Film School. (By the way there are only four good film schools in California: USC, UCLA, Loyola Marymount and AFI)
I read this book from cover to cover and each page was chockful of producing tips.(This author gave Billy Bob Thornton his start in movies) I really didn't know what a producer does until I read this book. Was I surprised to find that they lead the creative charge on the movie. But that is only it in the minor sense as this book goes into great details of producing and how to get the best of the story on the screen for the audience.

When I researched this professor I saw that he teaches in a summer producing program at UCLA and I am going to try to save up enough money to attend next summer just to meet him and speak with him further about producing. I am interested in directing too...so I hope he will be able to provide me with insight there too since he is also a director.
Thank you.

Although the author of this book is a professor at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television this book reads like someone who is mentoring a producer and not as a curriculum for a film school. His expert years as a producer for the stage, the screen and television is clearly evident as he uses his own anecdotes from projects he has produced to send home his points on producing. That is not to say that the book is full of war stories (as often is the case when you take these industry seminars and get nothing out of it but vignettes and situations) but instead is full of very practical knowledge and explanations and sound reasoning about producing that will not confuse the beginner and make absolute sense to the more advanced. I came across this book when surfing through Amazon.com and it looked rather interesting. I was also affected by the reviews from others which sparked my interest to get it. I work in one of the peripheral professions to the industry and when I read this book, I got a complete understanding of what challenges and difficulties it is to be a producer. It is not the raising of the funds...but the actual making of the project for the funds that were raised. And keeping it creative. After looking at Project Greenlight on HBO and then going back to this book...I had thought that the people involved with Greenlight should have either read the book or talk to its author before or during the making of the project. I think they would have saved themselves a lot of heartaches (but then maybe not a TV show). Get the book and you will see what I mean.

I would highly recommend this book and the other two Tightwad Gazette books. They are well worth the purchase price for anyone with a financial goal and not much money to meet it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would buy it for the same reason I would buy a dictionary: I keep referring back to it so much that if I had to go to the library I would use extra money for gasoline. If I had to go to the web for the same information, I would end up raising my electricity bill. It's more than the recipes and resources. It's more than the tips and techniques. The reason I love this book is because it's a source of encouragement. I don't feel powerless anymore over my money. I feel like I can choose what is important to me and what I should be spending money on. Not the other way around. That's really all tightwaddery is about and that is the whole point of this book.

If you really want to understand the philosophy side of tightwaddery, I recommend you search for the first volume of the Tightwad Gazette (which is out of print) or go ahead and buy the Complete Tightwad Gazette. It's a very good investment.

This is much more than a book on tips to save money. Along with Tightwad I and III, this is a bible for managing a household on less. Her philosophies on material goods and spending really resonate with me. These books are the most used and well-worn books in my library. I bought it in hardcover long ago, and thought it was worth every cent. Now that it's in paperback, I don't see any reason why one shouldn't own this book.

December 1999 today's librarian

Though geared primarily for self-publishers, this diamond of a publicity guide should be required reading for almost anyone with a service or product to promote. Insiders in print media, broadcasting and public relations donate their expert marketing advice in concise, reader-friendly chapters. Radke, herself a book publisher, tells authors how it is: You've got to dress your book for success, and that means investing in a catchy title and cover design...distributors are a must...media kits can't work miracles...start marketing early or suffer long. Readers learn that journalists are suckers for tie-ins to newsy themes, such as Black History Month, as well as "hometown kid makes good" angles. The book details do's and don't on winning the media's attention and landing a review. Other techniques described in the book include public speaking to promote a product, cold-calling potential customers and finagling free radio and TV coverage. One contributor focuses on promotional websites, explaining their limitations and the necessity of buying search-engine placement. Chockfull of practical advice and step-by-step instructions, Radke's guide gives would be promoters the real stuff.

Linda Radke's Promote Like A Pro: Small Budget, Big Show is a practical, methodical, comprehensive, step-by-step guide to promoting anything from books to businesses even when financial resource restricted. Linda Radke offers an easy-to-read, "how to" guide for publicity, promotion and marketing aimed primarily at self-publishers, but whose fundamental ideas, concepts, and techniques apply to creating and executing promotional campaigns for just about any product or service. Linda Radke's Promote Like A Pro is an invaluable instructional and reference guide for self-published authors, small presses, and even the authors published by major houses but are not being effectively promoted by their publicity and marketing departments.

As an author, I recognize the importance of publicity and promotion; a high priority! Linda is the self-publisher's "Maze Maven." Have a book to promote? You must follow her lead!

This was a great read. Very well-written. It covered more than any other film book. I especially liked the exploitation stuff and how it mixed with art films: the yin and yang of indie cinema.

This is the best book ever written on independent film. I wish I could give it move than 5 stars, because Celluloid Mavericks is a pure pleasure to read: witty, informative and always extremely entertaining. No other book comes close to its breadth and detail, especially in regards to the previously uncharted territory between 1896 and 1960. This is my all-time favorite film book, well deserving of its many raves reviews.

This book blew me away. I love the way it covers the whole spectrum of indie film, not just "art" but "exploitation" as well. The story of how these films came to be against great odds makes for great reading. I learned something knew on every page. Highly recommended for fans of non-Hollywood films.

Because I am rarely ever home before 8 p.m., I had been either ordering in or eating out for dinner generally every night. That all changed after I recieved this cookbook as a gift. I've tried other vegetarian cookbooks before, and this one has by far the most uncomplicated, quick, but still absolutely delicious, meals. And most of the recipes use some similar ingredients, so you're usually not stuck with rotting produce. My favorites are the white bean and tomato salad, Greek-style tofu scramble and black bean and yam quesadilla. This book is a must for a busy vegetarian professional.

This is a great book. It's very approachable, and very refreshing compared to more intimidating cook books. The recipes are easy and fast, the ingredients are simple and inexpensive, and there's a great variety, from soups to enchiladas to deserts. There's also very helpful advise on what foods to keep on hand and what to look for in all different kinds of produce. A useful book for anyone with or without cooking experience, of whatever dietary inclinations (vegan, vegetarian, omnivorous). Makes you realize it is possible to cook tasty meals on a student's budget and schedule.

Positively the best vegetarian coock book I've ever encountered.

"Killing for Culture" is a fascinating look at the subject of death in film and other media. Of particular note is the history behind the "Snuff" film, an urban legend that has persisted for years of movies where someone on-camera is murdered, for real. Of course, not one single frame of a snuff film has ever been uncovered, but that hasn't stopped the legend from appearing, and re-appearing, over time.

In addition to the sections on snuff, other areas of the death genre are explored, from the "Mondo" films of the 1960s, to the present-day "Faces of Death" style gore feasts. It makes for a fascinating, if gruesome, study of the various death genres of film and video.

Autopsies. Car crashes. Suicides. Executions. Horrible accidents. Human remains. Assassinations. Welcome to the horrifying and disturbing yet often weirdly fascinating world of death in film. Face it, most people are strangely attracted by images of violence and death - just like stopping and watching when an accident has happened.
KILLING FOR CULTURE concerns death in films. The book starts with the story of an obscure movie named SNUFF in 1976. Originally titled SLAUGHTER, this 1971 ultracheapo horror flick about a MANSON - style murder spree was considered unwatchable and remained unreleased for several years until movie producer Allan SHACKLETON got an idea: He shot a new ending, where an actress was seemingly "killed" on camera for real (though the basement special effects clearly proofed otherwise). Cleverly promoted with the slogan "shot in South America, where life is cheap" SNUFF turned out to be a huge success. This was how the concept of snuff movies (where people are killed for real) was introduced. Other feature films like EMMANUELLE IN AMERICA or LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET further elaborated on this concept. The authors review the above mentioned films and many more in great detail and with much knowledge.
Further chapters revolve around the socalled "mondo" (shockumentary) film and how this genre evolved, starting with MONDO CANE in 1962. Writers KEREKES and SLATER show in a very detailed way, how mondo directors faked and re-enacted death footage, which was allegedly "real". I found this making - of approach particularly interesting. Many of the horrifying mondo films (like THE KILLING OF AMERICA and the infamous FACES OF DEATH series) are dealt with in lengthy reviews. Considering the subject matter one might expect that the book is written in an exploitative way. This clearly is not the case.
Further chapters concern films where real atrocity footage was used - like the US porn movie FORCED ENTRY about a posttraumatic stress disorder suffering Vietnam veteran rapist, whose "activities" are interspersed with actual combat newsreel footage. The last chapter details how tabloid papers and feminists are propagating the urban legend of snuff films.
The sheer amount of facts concerning real reel death the authors have crammed in the relatively small book is amazing:
Hospital documentaries like the 6 hour long NEAR DEATH. Nauseating underground films. The famous ZAPRUDER amateur film of the assassination of president John F. KENNEDY. Autopsy films like THE ACT OF SEEING WITH ONE'S OWN EYES. Driver education films depicting the daily carnage on the streets. Incidents where people committed suicide live in front a camera - like Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd R. DWYER, who blew his brains out with a .357 revolver during a press conference after being convicted of bribery. The GIMME SHELTER concert film, where a camera by accident caught some Hell's Angels stabbing a man. (Please note that these are only a few examples of what to find in this excellent book.)
The book is illustrated with dozens of highly interesting pictures (video covers, stills, posters, ad material, newspaper clips).
And, yes, the infamous Japanese GUINEA PIG series is covered as well. On a lighter note, the authors also review a hoax autopsy film of a Roswell alien (!)
As you can image this book is disturbing, sometimes revolting and could be offensive to some. Clearly it is only for the most devoted fan of extreme and obscure cinema/film and the most hardened horror buff. But for these groups it is absolutely indispensable. I can't praise it high enough.

CREATION books has taken over the world of publishing books about cinema and this is the best one the have released. A very thourough, well researched and fascinating journey into the subterrainian world of the Mondo movie. David and David approach the subject with abject skill and make every word count even when describing films that would send the average person into a coma for years to come.

This book breaks the barriers and dispells the myths makig it an essential purchase for anyone interested in the darker regions of cinema.