Get smart with money books

Get smart with money books

There are some really good personal finance books on the shelves these days — volumes that can help you manage your money better, earn more on your investments, or plan a good retirement. But those books are surrounded by dozens of others that are less good — so choosing the right one becomes the key to success.
A good money book is a great gift for yourself, especially if you’ve received any book-store gift cards during the holiday season. If not, try your local library.
Here’s an admittedly idiosyncratic roundup of some of the best of the current crop:

“Making the Most of Your Money” by Jane Bryant Quinn (Simon & Schuster, $35). At 1,242 pages, this hardcover isn’t just a financial book, it’s a fitness book, too. Do 10 reps lifting it over your head and you’ll build muscle. Read 10 pages, at random, anywhere in the book, and you’ll learn something smart about how to handle your finances. Quinn is, of course, the queen of personal finance writing and this newly updated classic covers everything from credit scores to interest rates to tuition to bond mutual funds. The advice is wise and consumerist, and you can use it like the encyclopedia that it is.

“10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget” by the writers of Wise Bread (Skyhorse Publishing, $14.95), is a nice hands-on book for how to save money on everyday life. Wise Bread (www.wisebread.com) is a frugal living website and this books includes lots of specific resources and tips on items like inexpensive romantic dates, cheap dinners, free health care and travel deals. It’s a little less specific and more generic in its sections on investing. Alas, the publisher may have gone too far down the bargain route itself by having the book printed cheaply in China. Though attractively laid out, the volume has a stiff spine and is difficult to hold open.

“Stop Getting Ripped Off” by Bob Sullivan (Ballentine books, $15). Sullivan blogs the “Red Tape Chronicles” for MSNB (redtape.msnbc.com/) and he’s a wonderful pro-consumer storyteller. This book tackles banks, insurance companies, cell phone services and more. Learn the questions to ask and the deals to cut so you can stop being a patsy.