Not according to Jean Chatzky, one of the most popular personal-finance experts in the country, who has advised millions through her regular Today Show appearances and her columns in Money magazine. Now she shares the good news about a groundbreaking study she did with the Roper Organization; the Happiness Assessment. Her research shows that amount of money you make has surprisingly little to do with how financially happy you are. But the happiest people in America at all incorme levels tend to use the money strategies that Chatzky calls the "Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness." For instance, they pay their bills as they come in rather than all at one and minimize credit and debt. The bottom line: you have to pay attention to your money-and Chatzky shows you how to make the most of what you've got. But you certainly don't have to be rich achieve financial happiness. 作者简介:Jean Chatsky is the financial editor for NBC's Today show, has a monthly colomn in Money magazine, and is a featu
From first-time newlyweds to people on their second or thirdmarriage, couples face an overwhelming task when it comes to moneymanagement. Nationally renowned financial advisor and bestsellingauthor David Bach knows that it doesn’t have to be this way. InSmart Couples Finish Rich, he provides couples with easy-to-usetools that cover everything from credit card management, toinvestment advice, to long-term care. You and your partner willlearn how to work together as a team to identify your core valuesand dreams, creating a financial plan that will allow you toachieve security, provide for your family’s future financial needs,and increase your income. Together, you’ll learn why couples thatplan their finances together, stay together!
The intimate, fly-on-the wall tale of the decline and fall of anAmerica icon With one notable exception, the firms that make up what we know asWall Street have always been part of an inbred, insular culturethat most people only vaguely understand. The exception was MerrillLynch, a firm that revolutionized the stock market by bringing WallStreet to Main Street, setting up offices in far-flung cities andtowns long ignored by the giants of finance. With its “thunderingherd” of financial advisers, perhaps no other business, whether infinancial services or elsewhere, so epitomized the American spirit.Merrill Lynch was not only “bullish on America,” it was a bigreason why so many average Americans were able to grow wealthy byinvesting in the stock market. Merrill Lynch was an icon. Its sudden decline, collapse, andsale to Bank of America was a shock. How did it happen? Why did ithappen? And what does this story of greed, hubris, and incompetencetell us about the culture of Wall Street that continues to
Diversification provides a well-known way of getting something close to a free lunch: by spreading money across different kinds of investments, investors can earn the same return with lower risk (or a much higher return for the same amount of risk). This strategy, introduced nearly fifty years ago, led to such strategies as index funds. What if we were all missing out on another free lunch that’s right under our noses? In Lifecycle Investing, Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres—two of the most innovative thinkers in business, law, and economics—have developed tools that will allow nearly any investor to diversify their portfolios over time. By using leveraging when young—a controversial idea that sparked hate mail when the authors first floated it in the pages of Forbes—investors of all stripes, from those just starting to plan to those getting ready to retire, can substantially reduce overall risk while improving their returns. In Lifecycle Investing, readers will learn How to figure out the level of