family-economics

On My Own: The Ultimate How-To Guide For Young Adults by Sally Taylor is such a comprehensive youth reference on "how to make it in the world." I wish such a book had existed when I launched out on my own. With the challenges facing today's young adults, the book and CD reference can make a real difference in the lives of its readers. Parents would do well by leaving this one on the coffee table!

Sally Taylor has captured the life lessons all parents wish to impart to their children and wraps it all up in a creatively delivered message. A complete guide that is amazingly insightful and easy to use. The CD ROM makes this guide an informative and entertaining tool for all learning types. When I first sat down at my computer to review the book, 4 hours magically disappeared as I found myself carried away by Sally's version of the Information Highway. A must read for all young adults--and many of their parents, too!

Sally Taylor has captured the life lessons all parents wish to impart to their children and wraps it all up in a creatively delivered message. A complete guide that is amazingly insightful and easy to use. The CD ROM makes the guide an informative and entertaining tool for all learning styles. When I first sat down at my computer to review the book, 4 hours magically disappeared as I found myself carried away by Sally's version of the Information Highway. A must read for all young adults--and many of their parents, too!

I can't say I was fully suprised when my local library finally took this book from the shelf due to its age. What really suprised me was that I had to come here to actually buy it! Most etiquette books are usually the type to sit on a 'For Sale' rack until nearly eternity.

'Outclassing the Competition' is a bit dated but the advice is invaluable to anyone who would seriously wish to advance themselves socially and be seen as having more manners than most of the general public. Even a slight usage of the techniques in this book would set a reader above a great number of the general public these days. Ranging from pronunciation of words and use of terms, to cooking and entertaining this book has nearly all of what most would want to find out and apply to the 'better' situation life has dealt them.
My only wish would be for Ms. Darling to come up with an updated, revised version of this wonderful work. Simply because while 'class' never goes out-of-fashion, times do change.

I have been referring to this book for nearly 20 years ! As I have risen in the ranks of Corporate Events, I have leaned heavily on Jan Darling's knowledge to make both my client and me look good. Yes, some of the suggestions are a little dated ( Godiva chocolate is not the status purchase it once was) but knowing how to behave in unfamiliar situations, knowing what to say and displaying beautiful manners never, ever go out of style. And,no, I am not selling my copy for love nor money - would love for Ms. Darling to issue an updated edition, though!

I can't believe this book is out of print. My copy of this edition has been circulated to several executives who lacked the time or training to perform skillfully in social events such as formal dinners and parties. This is the ideal book for the folks who had to spend their energy in university learning mathematics rather than learning how to survive in formal social settings.

How exciting to see the lessons of financial responsibility presented in a family friendly manner! The icing on the cake is the attention to sharing financial resources and taking seriously the welfare of those outside your immeidate family. In a time when kids, and adults, are attracted by How To Be A Millionaire or Homes of the Rich and Famous, the message that financial know how can be used for more than our own personal gain is sorely needed. This book would be good not only for families, but in classrooms and club settings. Well done!

If you're like me and millions of other parents, aunts, uncles, etc. you don't feel equipped to teach the kids in your life about money because of your own issues. Raising Financially Fit Kids helped me get beyond my money paralysis by encouraging me to realize that it's important to start somewhere, even if it's just with baby steps. The author, Joline Godfrey, reminds us that money is a tool, not an end into itself, to be used to impart the type of values we hope our children will develop during their financial apprenticeship. The content is first rate and the design easy to navigate. I highly recommend it.

I not only enjoyed reading the book but found it extremely helpful and fun. As a CPA (money person) I can vouch for how difficult it is to raise fanancial fit kids...not only my client's but my own!!

The book was insightful and well organized. I'm hopeful ...no make that confident it will make a difference in the way my children approach money issues.

I read your book with enthusiasm and find it very informative and most helpful in understanding how people from varying backgrounds think about and face retirement. Your book is very timely; there is none other like it. Your book is important because you address real life feelings and concerns in a way that most books do not. You talk about how people feel and think about their past as they face the future and live retirement, how they often discover a self they were not aware of before, how they change, how they cope, how they reinvent and create new fulfilling lives. An important book for all who are retiring or are about to retire.

Monday, November 17, 2003
Dear Ms. Schlossberg:

I am quick to fire off letters of complaint. I send letters of praise only rarely. But I am sending you a letter of praise now for your book "Retire Smart Retire Happy."

I consider it the best of the three books of yours that I read. Is it really a better book? Or, is it because the topic is most meaningful for me? I don't really know. It is most thoroughly researched and well-organized, with a clear road map for the reader. Organizing the case studies must have been especially difficult, but it was done well.

I cannot say that it's a "good read," because a read-through is only the beginning. I shall have to go back to complete the questionnaires and ponder some of the responses long and hard.

As for carrying out the advice - that will be the hardest part. I feel as though I just completed a counseling course. Now I have to be able to recognize the "true path" or "paths," and attempt to traverse it/them.

You did a great job. This book should get wide dissemination. I certainly plan to talk it up.

Best,

Mildred K. Glazer

This book is a must-read for anyone whose retirement looms large. It's written in a down-to-earth style, with lots of apt examples to bring it all home. The Transition Tips and Internal Audits at the end of each chapter help the reader track his/her own situation, and as a result utilize the results under the author's skillful tutelage. You will recognize yourself in this pithy book, and learn a great deal in the process.

Two words sum this book up .. Par Excellence . I got Andy Dappen's book from the library and hated to part with it when its renewal limit was reached . I would strongly recommend this book for newly weds , single income families and people who are knee deep in debt and want to get out of the money trap.

When will this book come into print again ???

This guy is a frugal maniac and proud of it. Some of his ideas are really batty, but most make a lot of good sense. I read an excerpt in Reader's Digest and then got his book from the library. Don't let his crazy ideas like using old bread as a frisbee distract you from his main concept that you can be happy with less, and even have fun trying to find ways to save. I would think Mr. Dappen would prefer you don't spend your money on this book though. Check the book out of the library instead!

Andy Dappen's book, "Shattering the Two Income Myth," critically examines the idea that two incomes are a requirement for family life in the modern world. He draws some interesting conclusions. Dappen refers to a U.S. Labor Department study that has shown the average dual-career family loses up to two-thirds of its second paycheck to work-related expenses, and if children needing daycare or after school supervision are in the picture, the percentage of work-related expenses is even higher. To truthfully calculate the earnings from a family's second set of wages, they would need to subtract all work-related expenses from their income. Dappen asserts that many second income-earners are "spending big bucks for the privilege of joining the nine-to-five parade."

Dappen also takes the view that one of the main reasons people feel unable to live on a single income is due to inflated expectations of what a family truly "needs" to live well. He calls it "our love affair with consumerism." Trophy houses, sport utitlity vehicles, new mini vans, designer clothes, big screen TV's and $100 running shoes are just some of the so-called "needs" many parents are working to supply for their families.

Dappen encourages a change of attitude---a refocusing to a mindset that embraces contentedness and fullfillment rather than following after consumer-driven forces. Dappen says, "Making your life happier, more directed, and less stressful distills down to the acceptance of five simple words: You can't have it all."

"Shattering the Two Income Myth" would be an ideal book for any family contemplating the change from two incomes to a single income situation. The book offers practical suggestions for preparing for, and actually making the switch to, living on one income. There are also numerous personal inventory questions to help with the decision making process.

I bought this book in Albuquerque after I heard the author speak at a conference. My only regret is that I didn't have it 10 years ago--it's terrific, covers an incredible variety of issues. I really appreciated the section on how to talk to my kids about money.

Smart Money Moves for Kids won first place for Parenting and Self-Improvement from CIPA--the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.

I heard the author speak at a conference in CA--everything she said was highly practical and useable in today's parenting demands. I wish I had had it when I was raising my own kids. I bought the book for my daughter.

Being a Y2K project director, I have talked to numerous people and poured through massive amounts of written material. I found "Y2K Survival Handbook for the Urban Family" to be well written and easy to read and understand. This book also provides "Down to Earth" advise for preparing for Year 2000, without going to extremes. It is important for all of us to prepare for Y2K just as if we were preparing for a hurricane, tornado, flood, ice storm or any other natural disaster. This book provides a good roadmap for making these kinds of preparations. I would recommend this book to anybody looking for a good, common sense guide to Y2K readiness.

This book provides a broad range of information and guidance in how we can personally deal with the Y2K "problem" when it affects each of our lives. The matrix of risks and the checklists are particularly useful for all kinds of disaster planning. This is an excellent guide to practical solutions in the protection of you and your family for the year 2000 and beyond.

This book is one of the best guides I have read for practical advice on how to prepare your home for a likely disaster as we approach the year 2000.

I borrowed this book from the library and felt lost when I had to give it back. So I want to get one for myself to keep and use whenever I need to reference back to it. Great ideas that we will definitely be using around here.

I am already utilizing several ideas from this book and I haven't finished reading it yet! The concept of teaching practical life skills to one's children to develop their self-confidence as well as helpfulness is great. My children are responding very well to new habit formation. They are also looking forward to getting their own recipe book with foods they can make themselves without Mom hanging around.

This is a great book. I've been hording my neighbor's dog-eared copy for a few years now. Every time I look at it, I find something other tool to try. I've finally decided that it is time to buy my own copy and let my neighbor lend hers to someone else who could use it.

This book provides a different approach to thinking about money. The author suggests that you can take control of your life's goals and then the money will follow. I found this book to be more about getting true to oneself and your spouse than a "get rich" plan. I agree with the author's theory that links happiness and pursuit of one's goals with financial rewards.

I appreciated the "getting started exercises" at the end of each chapter. They have encouraged some incredible discussion in our family as we face choices regarding relocation, and home purchases. I also do seem to have more money around and have found myself re-thinking purchases and my buying "process." Having fresh flowers in my kitchen has been very uplifting in February and is noticed by everyone who comes to visit.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone looking to improve on the quality of their life and leave behind "worrying big about the little."

After feeling bogged down with the minutia of finances (managing budgets to the penny, searching for countless tax deductions, considering buying a house solely for financial reasons, and obsessing over my 401k), Women, Men, & Money provided me with an integrated approach to a relationship with money that supports manifestation of my and my spouse's full, unique promise as human beings. It helps me keep money decisions in perspective by staying connected to money's true value and purpose -- to help me and my spouse bring our authentic selves fully into the world. Part of that self actualization is our service, our unique potential for contributing to others, and that's the crux of satisfying and rewarding work (psychologically/spiritually *and* financially). Women, Men, & Money also has lots of great information about how to interact with your spouse about money in a way that affirms and grows your relationship. As a twenty-something married just one year, I found this book extremely helpful in creating a healthy relationship with money in my marriage. Highly recommended.

I totally enjoyed this easy to read format.

William has introduced a great book about Talent, Being Deliberate and strategies to deal with career, money and relationship problems.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this elegant book. I really like his poignant story about his real estate woes and comeback.

The title of the book should be How to create a better relationship with your family, spouse and career with new prosperity/talent consciousness.

I enjoyed the section about finding one's Talent.

I emailed the author because I was so excited about how to create a better solution in my life.

I'm always looking for better ways to live and

Mr. Devine creates a paradigm for wealth consciousness.

He helps define a better relationship to the almighty buck! We can all use his advice.

A talented author, narrator and financial guru is behind this work of art in nonfiction.

I recommend this highly to all my peers in the Generation X and all those followers of Tony Robbins.

I hope I get a chance to meet the author in the reading book circuit!

This is a must read, I've been recommending to all my friends.

I'll go back to it again to re-read.

This is one of the easiest to read and understadn investment books I've ever found. Teaching children the value of long-term investment and money is a wonderful gift to give anyone. Adults will find the clear explanations, sound advice, and tips on getting started no matter how much you have to be valuable as well.

This and Jason Kelly's "Neatest Little Guide..." series are my favorite introductory investment books.

This is the type of book I wish I had when I first became interested in investing. It is so elementary that I can actually understand what the stock market is all about, and how I personally can benefit from getting myself educated about investing. What's more my teenage daughter is learning about investing and investment clubs and students from her class are getting together weekly to talk about the stock market, using this book as a guide. This is a wonderful book to introduce kids and teenagers to investing.

I found this book to be extremely helpful in decoding a very intimidating topic. The forum in which the book was layed out made for an easy and exciting read. I finally feel comfortable and adept to invest, in addition to having various resources for doing research. I highly recommend this book and have bought several copies for friends and family with and without children.