Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life


Gail Blanke - 2009
    Through poignant and humorous stories, she inspires us to get rid of the "life plaque" we've allowed to build-up there.That junk drawer (you know that drawer) in the kitchen? Empty it! Those old regrets? Throw 'em out! That make-up from your "old" look? Toss it! That relationship that depresses you? Dump it! Once you've hit fifty-you'll be surprised how easy it is to get there-and once you've thrown out that too-tight belt and too-small view of yourself, you'll be ready to step out into the clearing and into the next, and greatest, segment of your life.

Living with Less: The Upside of Downsizing Your Life


Mark A. Tabb - 2006
    In his candid and spiritually insightful Living with Less, he declares, “The only way to get more out of life is to choose less. Less stuff. Less activity. Less wanting more. . . . May God give us the courage to choose less stress in order that we might experience more of the life he has planned for us.”

The Elements of Investing


Burton G. Malkiel - 2009
    once taught composition to students at Harvard, using his classic little book, The Elements of Style. With great daring, Ellis and Malkiel imagined their own Little Red Schoolhouse course in investing for every investor around the world-and then penned this book.The Elements of Investing hacks away at all the overtrading and over thinking so predominant in the hyperactive thought patterns of the average investor. Malkiel and Ellis offer investors a set of simple but powerful thoughts on how to challenge Mr. Market at his own game, and win by not losing. All the need-to-know rules and investment principles can be found here.Contains sound investment advice and simple principles of investing from two of the most respected individuals in the investment world Burton G. Malkiel is the bestselling author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street and Charles D. Ellis is the bestselling author of Winning the Loser's GameShows how to deal with an investor's own worst enemies: fear and greed A disciplined approach to investing, complemented by conviction, is all you need to succeed. This timely guide will help you develop these skills and make the most of your time in today's market.

A Simplified Life: Tactical Tools for Intentional Living


Emily Ley - 2017
    With a growing family, increased work demands, and more, she understands the struggle it is to keep the plates spinning.In A Simplified Life, you’ll find Emily’s strategies, systems, and methods for permanently clearing the clutter, organizing your priorities, and living intentionally in 10 key areas—from your home and meal planning, to style and finances, parenting, faith life, and more. Emily will show you how to truly make the most of your days with realistic, achievable, and tactical tools.Walk alongside Emily through each page of the book, working through her simple strategies toward your own goals as you simplify and make space for what matters most.

The Intelligent Investor


Benjamin Graham - 1949
    Graham's philosophy of "value investing" -- which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies -- has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.Over the years, market developments have proven the wisdom of Graham's strategies. While preserving the integrity of Graham's original text, this revised edition includes updated commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, whose perspective incorporates the realities of today's market, draws parallels between Graham's examples and today's financial headlines, and gives readers a more thorough understanding of how to apply Graham's principles.Vital and indispensable, this HarperBusiness Essentials edition of The Intelligent Investor is the most important book you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals.

Living Debt-Free: The No-Shame, No-Blame Guide to Getting Rid of Your Debt


Shannon Lee Simmons - 2018
    But life happens and if you’ve got debt, life has happened to you. Whether you have a rolling balance of $2,000 on your credit card or an $80,000 line of credit you are positive you will carry to your grave, debt can be a huge cause of stress—affecting both your emotional and financial wellness.After working with thousands of financial planning clients, Shannon Lee Simmons knows that your only way out of the debt cycle is to truly understand all of your spending triggers so you can shut them down for good. In Living Debt-Free, she shows you that it is possible to have a life and pay down debt at the same time. In fact, that’s the only way your debt plan will work. You will learn to take control of your finances and pay down your debt in a realistic way that will keep you motivated long enough to see it through to the end. No shame. No blame. No scare tactics.In Living Debt-Free, Simmons focuses on creating a debt repayment plan that will motivate you for a long time, rather than an unrealistic one that’s strictly about paying the least amount of interest charges. (Collective gasp—how dare she!?) Listen, everyone knows that paying interest on debt is bad and to be avoided as much as possible, but human beings are complex. Life is complex. Debt is complex. There cannot be a one-size-fits-all plan, so Living Debt-Free will help you build your plan—the one that will help you finally put the debt behind you, start fresh and feel good about your money again.

The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life


Joshua Becker - 2018
    He both offers practical guidelines for simplifying our lifestyle at home and addresses underlying issues that contribute to over-accumulation in the first place. The purpose is not just to create a more inviting living space. It's also to turn our life's HQ--our home--into a launching pad for a more fulfilling and productive life in the world.

The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs


Jill Schlesinger - 2019
    So don't be dumb about money. Pinpoint your biggest money blind spots and take control of your finances with these tools from CBS News Business Analyst and host of the nationally syndicated radio show Jill on Money, Jill Schlesinger.Do you have a "friend" who is super smart, has a great career, holds a graduate degree, has even saved a chunk of money for retirement, but who keeps making the same dumb mistakes when it comes to money? Is this "friend" you?After decades working as a Wall Street trader, investment adviser, and money expert for CBS, Jill Schlesinger reveals thirteen costly mistakes you're probably making right now with your money without even knowing it. Drawing on heartfelt personal stories (yes, money experts screw up, too), Schlesinger argues that it's not lack of smarts that causes even the brightest, most accomplished people among us to behave like financial dumb-asses, but simple emotional blind spots. So if you've made well-intentioned mistakes like saving for college for your kids before you've saved for your own retirement, or taken on too much risk when you invest, you've come to the right place. And if you've avoided uncomfortable moments such as sitting down to draft a will or planning long-term care for an aging parent, this is the book for you.By breaking bad habits and following Schlesinger's pragmatic and accessible rules for managing your finances, you can save tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars, not to mention avoid countless sleepless nights.Practical, no-nonsense, and often counterintuitive, The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money tells you what you really need to hear about retirement, college financing, insurance, real estate, and more. It might just be the smartest investment you make all year.Advance praise for The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money "Common sense is not always common, especially when it comes to managing your money. Consider Jill Schlesinger's book your guide to all the things you should know about money but were never taught. After reading it, you'll be smarter, wiser, and maybe even wealthier."--Chris Guillebeau, author of Side Hustle and The $100 Startup"A must-read, whether you're digging yourself out of a financial hole or stacking up savings for the future, The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money is a personal finance gold mine loaded with smart financial nuggets delivered in Schlesinger's straight-talking, judgment-free style."--Beth Kobliner, author of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You're Not) and Get a Financial Life

Living The Savvy Life: The Savvy Woman's Guide to Smart Spending and Rich Living


Melissa Tosetti - 2011
    It's Not About Being Cheap.  Living the Savvy Life isn't about being a cheapskate, a miser or a tightwad.  It's about having security and peace of mind by spending less than you make.  It's about knowing where you stand financially on a daily basis so you can make intelligent fiscal decisions.  It's about being penny-wise on the things that are less important to you so you can spend money on the things that are important to you.  It's about choosing to purchase only the things that you love and make you happy.  It's about cooking at home more often so you can occasionally splurge on dinner at your favorite restaurant.  It's about creating an environment in your home that is warm, comforting, and expressive of  who you are.  It's about having a wardrobe made entirely of clothes that fit and look great on you.  It's about enjoying your time off even more because you planned for it and know you can “afford it.”  Although Living the Savvy Life is filled with ways to save money, it isn't about frugal living.  It's about finding, attaining and maintaining balance.  Are you ready to start Living the Savvy Life?

Your Money Life: Your 20s


Peter Dunn - 2015
    Many of us begin our twenties burdened with college loan payments, and it's not unusual to end them with even more debt, often in the form of a costly home mortgage. In this debt-bracketed decade, it's crucial to develop solid money-management skills that will see you into your thirties in sound financial shape. The more you learn about saving, budgeting, and other money matters during your twenties, the more solid a foundation you can create--a foundation that will support your financial life for the next seventy years! In this lively and fun book, personal finance expert Peter Dunn offers practical tips and strategies created specifically to address the financial concerns and goals of readers in their twenties. Learn to master the challenges of this crucial decade with YOUR MONEY LIFE: YOUR 20s.

Balancing It All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose


Candace Cameron Bure - 2013
    And it’s a question that women everywhere are asking themselves as we seek to balance all of our roles, responsibilities, and opportunities.So, how do we do it? Working since the age of 5, Candace has been in a balancing act for nearly her entire life. She is the first to tell you that there is no miracle formula for perfect execution in every area of your life, but there definitely are some lessons to be learned, lessons that come to life in Candace's story. Come along and dig into Candace’s story from her start in commercials, the balance-necessitating years on Full House, to adding on the roles of wife and mom while also returning to Hollywood. Insightful, funny, and poignant, Candace’s story will help you balance it all.

Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security


Charles Farrell - 2009
    Forget complicated, abstract philosophy—people need sound financial advice that's easy to follow and can be implemented immediately. For the first time, a leading financial adviser has developed a remarkable set of guidelines to give individuals the same kind of objective insight into their personal finances that successful businesses have. Your Money Ratios will help readers effectively manage debt, invest prudently, and develop a realistic and effective savings plan to ensure both financial success and security. Readers need only plug their income and age into Farrell's ratios in order to get an instant picture of their savings status and overall financial health, as well as a roadmap for the important choices they must make in the future. Here’s what you will find in this book:IF YOU ARE IN YOUR 20s OR 30s: Your Money Ratios will tell you how to get started and what you need to do over the next 35 years to stay on track. If you are lucky enough to read this book when you are young, you will have a clear vision for where you need to go throughout your working career. By setting yourself on the right path, you won’t have to work so hard later in life to meet your goals.IF YOU ARE IN YOUR 40s: You can benchmark your own financial circumstances against the ratios and see how you are doing with respect to your savings, debt, investments and insurance. You have plenty of time to make adjustments if necessary and plot out your path to retirement.IF YOU ARE IN YOUR 50s: The formula will provide you with a realistic assessment of your ability to retire. It will help you make the important decisions about how to allocate your financial resources over the next 10 to 15 years, and how to put on the final push for retirement.

Frugal Living for Dummies


Deborah Taylor-Hough - 2003
    While they're trying to decide between the ski lodge in Telluride and the Tuscan villa, for the rest of us, it's an endless litany of corporate lay-offs, stagnant wages, crushing credit card debt, skyrocketing medical costs, exorbitant utility bills, the high cost of higher education.... And they call this "the good life." Is there a better way to live? Can you get what you need and what you want without killing yourself to get it? "Absolutely," says frugal-living guru Deborah Taylor-Hough, and in Frugal Living For Dummies, she shows you how. In this warmhearted guide to living the good life on less, Deborah shows you how to live within your means and enjoy doing it. Among other things, she shows you how to:Eat like a king on a peasant's budget Take the sting out of gift-giving Dress well on a shoestring Save big bucks on family expenses Slash household expenses Save on medical expenses Involve the whole family in saving money Save more for the things you want From basement to attic, cradle to grave, Frugal Living For Dummies covers all areas of life with common sense advice and guidance on:Working with your partner to achieve financial goals Going to the grocery without being taken to the cleaners Quick and thrifty cooking techniques Providing kids the basics on a tight budget Putting kids through school without going broke Looking good and feeling good on a tight budget Frugal holiday fun year round Saving money around the house and driveway Finding quality in pre-owned merchandise Packed with tried-and-true techniques for cutting costs and stopping the insanity, Frugal Living For Dummies is the ultimate financial survival guide for the rest of us.

Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life


Gretchen Rubin - 2012
    Homesick—why? She was standing right in her own kitchen. She felt homesick, she realized, with love for home itself. “Of all the elements of a happy life,” she thought, “my home is the most important.” In a flash, she decided to undertake a new happiness project, and this time, to focus on home.And what did she want from her home? A place that calmed her, and energized her. A place that, by making her feel safe, would free her to take risks. Also, while Rubin wanted to be happier at home, she wanted to appreciate how much happiness was there already. So, starting in September (the new January), Rubin dedicated a school year—September through May—to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort, and love.  In The Happiness Project, she worked out general theories of happiness. Here she goes deeper on factors that matter for home, such as possessions, marriage, time, and parenthood. How can she control the cubicle in her pocket? How might she spotlight her family’s treasured possessions? And it really was time to replace that dud toaster. Each month, Rubin tackles a different theme as she experiments with concrete, manageable resolutions—and this time, she coaxes her family to try some resolutions, as well.  With her signature blend of memoir, science, philosophy, and experimentation, Rubin’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading just a few chapters of this book will inspire readers to find more happiness in their own lives.

How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets


Dana K. White - 2016
    White. “But that’s not how my brain works. I’m lost on page three.” Dana blogs at A Slob Comes Clean, chronicling her successes and failures with her self-described “deslobification process.” In the beginning she used the name “Nony” (short for aNONYmous), because she was sharing her deep, dark, slob secret. Now she has truly come clean—with not only her real name but the strategies she has developed, tested, and proved in her own home. She has learned what it takes to bring a home out of Disaster Status, which habits make the biggest and most lasting impact, and how to keep clutter under control.In How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, Dana explains that cleaning your house is not a onetime project but a series of ongoing premade decisions. Her reality-based cleaning and organizing techniques debunk the biggest housekeeping fantasies and help readers learn what really works. Chapter titles includeMy First Step: Giving Up on the FantasyThe Worst Thing About the Best WayJust Tell Me What to DoConquering LaundryGet Dinner on the TablePutting an End to the Never-Ending Weekly Cleaning TasksDon’t Get OrganizedHow to Declutter Without Making a Bigger MessFighting the Perceived Value BattleBut Will It Last?With a huge helping of empathy and humor, Dana provides a step-by-step process with strategies for getting rid of enormous amounts of stuff in as little time (and with as little emotional drama) as possible.