What is Gotcha Capitalism? Coughing up $4 fees for ATM transactions. Iron-clad cell phonecontracts you can’t get out of with a crowbar. Paying big bucks forinsurance you don’t need on a rental car or forking over $20 a dayfor supposedly “free” wireless internet. Every day we use banks,cell phones, and credit cards. Every day we book hotels and airlinetickets. And every day we get ripped off. How? Here are just a few examples of how big business can getyou: · You didn’t fill up the rental car with gas? Gotcha! Gas costs $7 a gallon here. · Your bank balance fell to $999.99 for one day? Gotcha! That’ll be $12. · You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan? Gotcha! That’ll be $512 extra. · You’re one day late on that electric bill? Gotcha! All your credit cards now have a 29.99% interestrate. But not for much longer. In Gotcha Capitalism, MSNBC.com’s “RedTape Chronicles” columnist Bob Sullivan exposes the way

With words like “recession” and “record unemployment” fillingthe air, the typical family–regardless of how the economy istreating them–will be paying attention to the budget. That’s why 99 Ways to Stretch Your Home Budget will receive a warmreception as it delivers scores of practical ideas to save casharound the house. Cheri Gillard , formerly an obstetrical and NICU nurse, is afreelance writer and editor, plus the mother of quadruplets.

Retire Young Retire Rich is about how we started with nothingand retired financially free in less than ten years. Find out how you can do the same. If you do not plan on working hard all your life, this book isfor you. Why not Retire Young and Retire Rich?

The internet can be the greatest tool ever invented for the enrichment of investors--or the fastest way to be misled, cheated, and relieved of your hardearned dollars. It all depends on where you go on the net and who you listen to. For mutual fund investors, the path to safe and successful online investing is now clear: The Sage Guide to Mutual Funds gives you everything you need to research, choose, buy, and sell mutual funds--and it puts the vast resources of the internet at your fingertips. Written by Alan Cohn and Stephen Cohn, the savvy founders of Sage Online, America's largest and most dynamic online mutual fund forum, The Sage Guide offers fresh and trustworthy information for newbie and experienced investors alike. Inside, you'll find everything you'll need to Find the investment style and fund categories that fit your goats Screen for and select winning funds-using Sage's recommended websites Construct the ideal personal fund portfolio Track your funds online Determine the best times to

Let’s face it: you can't avoid death or taxes. But you can create an estate plan that will make both a whole loteasier for your loved ones and put you in control of howyour assets will get passed to your heirs. Here, Wall Street Journal personal-finance reporter RachelEmma Silverman walks you step-by-step through the process.Chock-full of clear and solid advice on how to get the most out ofthe main estate planning tools - including wills, trusts, lifeinsurance, guardianship papers, and powers-of-attorney documents -the Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook will help make your estate-planning process as simple, smooth, andunintimidating as possible. This book will help you: · Clarify your estate-planning goals,such as dividing up property for heirs, reducing taxes or leavingmoney for charity · Understand the key estate-planningdocuments you’ll need, including wills, beneficiary-designationforms, powers-of-attorney and health-care advance directives · Decode the

For as little as $30, anyone can try their hand at investing, say Teenvestor authors Modu and Walker. Building on their previous book, the husband and wife team (he's a former v-p at J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank, and she's an attorney) explains the basics-and some advanced techniques-of investing money in money market accounts, stocks, mutual funds and more. Targeted at the under-18 investor, Modu and Walker's advice is appropriately youth-oriented. For example, the section on goals asks readers if they're investing to save for a college education or a new car, or if they want to have "$100,00 by age 33." A chapter on savings distinguishes between "plain-vanilla savings" (e.g., savings and checking accounts) and "spiced up" savings, such as CDs. Throughout, the authors explain concepts like index shares and profit margins and include worksheets and sidebars listing Web sites to help the younger set manage their finances.

“Ann Holmes has created the perfect guide to help women turntheir dreams into a reality.” –Donna Mullen Good, CEO of the Center for Women Enterprise If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own business, or ifyou’ve ever wondered about how to build up the business you alreadyrun, but worry because you don’t have an MBA or a couple of yearsof college business courses, this book is for you. Based onextensive interviews with more than eighty women entrepreneurs fromaround the country, There’s a Business in Every Woman offersinspiring success stories (and instructive missteps) in a widerange of businesses–from catering, landscaping, personal training,and wedding and events planning to interior and clothing design,staffing, manufacturing, and product design. What the trailblazing women in this book have in common is a goodidea and the courage to turn a dream into a money-making realitythrough hard work, passion, and drive. Take, for instance, thewoman who started an IT cons

You don't need a belt-tightening budget. You don't need a second job. You don't even need a raise. What you need is the down-to-earth money strategies explained in this book. Carol Keeffe has helped thousands of people take control of their financial future and realize their fondest dreams. Her money solutions are inspiring, easy to do, and instantly practical. She explains how you can: ·get out of debt by paying the minimum on your credit cards ·save money by paying yourself first, not your creditors ·and much more... Sound too good to be true? Then listen to some of the people who have benefited from Carol's money strategies: "Before, we just barely got by month to month. We had no savings and no plan. In three years my husband and I have had two children, gone from two incomes to one, and have saved $12,375! We're not only managing on one income, we're saving to reach our next goal!" -Teresa and Peter Sparling "I went to Europe and Disneyland and paid for everything in cash. My

What would you do if you received a sudden financial windfall? David Brancoaccio，whose ability to clarify economic matters has made public radio's Marketplace a hit，set out to discover where，why ，and how people are spending their riches-whether it's proceeds from stock options，profits from the sale of a house，or an unexpected inheritance or bonus. His journey takes readers from Minnesota's Mall of America to the financia caveerns of Wall Street，to a college sge among the oil wells of West Texas.He gathers wisdom on money and its uses from Calinfornia entrepre-neurs，a drifter in the desert，a U.s.threasury secretary，and many others from all walks of life.The resuli is at once a delightful adventure and an eye-open-ing report on America's attitudes about spending，saving，and investing. 作者简介： DAVID BRANCACCIO is host and senior editor a Marketplae，pub-lic radio's award-winning business program.Abroadcaster and peporter for more than twenty-five years，he lives in Los

Whith their trademark irreverence and plainspokenness.David and Tom Gardner,besttselling arthors and cofounders of The Motley Fool,answer this critical question and recommend ten important yet quick steps readers can take to survive economic uncertainty ,secure their pesonal finances,and fortify their portfolios.Along the way ,they address such important issues as: Is this time to snatch up stock market bargains? Are any mutual funds sure bets? Is short-term debt dangerous? Bonds,T-bills,CDs,savings accounts-does it make to be conservative? Why you should believe in America now more than ever. The Gardners offer a snapshot view of business and the finacial markets at the dawn of the word's “new economic reality”-all While looking ahead to the future With some timely and timeless guidance for investors. No matter age or level Of investing experience,The Motley fool's What to Do with Your Money Now is an indispensable survival manul for our unpredictable economic time.

Synopsis: Jean Chatzky of NBC's Today and Money magazine offers a groundbreaking approach to personal finance, asking "How much money do you need to be happy?" Her research shows that the happiest people in America, at all income levels, tend to use the money strategies that Chatzky calls the ten commandments of financial happiness."The perfect book for these challenging times, as it offers readers the gifts of both wealth and meaning."QWayne Dyer. Synopsis: Chatzky of NBC's "Today" and "Money" magazine offers a groundbreaking approach to personal finance by asking, "How much money do you need to be happy?"

Laura Day has sold millions of copies of Practical Intuition and continues her advice here with tips for improving your career using your own intuitive skills. She says that people are more apt to use their intuition about commonplace issues than they are about investment or business practices, a horrible waste of intuitive powers. Through dozens of exercises, Day describes how you can boost your intuitive power, "become" your competition, and better predict the future. Day makes no guarantees that you'll pick the next blue-chip bond or invent the next wheel, but she does assert that your life can't help but improve if you take her ideas to heart. This book is a combination of Jon Kabat-Zinn's, mindfulness meditation theories and What Color is Your Parachute-ish self-reflection.

One of America's most respected and renowned financialplanners provides 1001 tips to help everyone--from CEOs tohomemakers--save money. Learn which corners to cut in various areasof everyday life. Take the revealing self-test and assess whereyour money is being spent. Then allow the expert to guide you tothe most effective and creative ways to save it.

As you think about retirement, you’ve got facts to face,planning to do, decisions to make and numbers to crunch. With theexperts at The Wall Street Journal to guide you, you’ll learn howto tailor a financial plan for the lifestyle you want. ? Answers your biggest question—How big does my nest egg need tobe?—by linking it to your particular hopes for how you want tospend your days in retirement ? Shows how to translate your dreams and interests into dailyactivities, whether traveling, opening a business, volunteering orgoing back to school ? Provides a timeline for decisions to make and steps to take tenyears, five years and one year before you retire ? Offers tips on investing wisely and working with the rightfinancial adviser ? Tells you how to maximize your benefits from Social Securityand Medicare ? Guides you through the intricacies of 401(k)s, IRAs, annuitiesand other financial tools and resources Today, the average person can expect to spend two d

ONE OF AMERLCA'S most respected personal finance experts tells the inspiring,hisarous ,and sometimes perilous tale of how he amassed dizzying (well,to him)wealth.with the same mix of wit and wisdom that distin-guishes The Only Investment Guide Yon'll Ever Need,he details the investments that paid off handsomely,the real estate deals that threatened to sink him,and more (oil in ?a musical about muns?).Then he describes how he's put his vast fortune to work-battling Ralph Nader over auto insurance in California ,waging a national canpaing against smoking in Russia,and tilting at all manner of windmills. More than just one man's route tofinancialsuccess,Tobias's advetues along the road from not-quite rags to not -quite vast riches will help you to invest wisely,live smartly,and have a good time while building a vast fotuneof your own.

If you are a baby boomer nearing fifty and you haven't saved adime, don't panic. Charles Schwab, one of America's most trustedand respected names in financial services will help you takecontrol of your financial life.In You're Fifty -- Now What? hewalks even the most inexperienced person through the process ofinvesting money to prepare for tomorrow, while offering solidanswers to tough questions. He helps you figure out exactly whatyou'll need for your retirement, how to maximize the best earningand investing years of your life, and how to work out your wisestbalance of asset allocation by offering straightforward advice thatenables you to put your affairs in order and your mind at ease.

Every month you spend money in twelve majorcategories. And at the end of each month, you scratch your head andwonder, Where did it all go? In The Little Book of Big Savings, America’sFinancial Expert, Ellie Kay, will help you uncover theextra cash just waiting to be found in every area of your life. Notonly will you never again wonder where your cash went, you willhave extra to save–and even to share. Don’t mindlessly let hundreds of dollars slipout of your ATM every month. Ellie’s practical advice will showyou: ?How one phone call could save you $500 a yearor more ?How your kids can get a great education withoutbreaking the bank ?Three ways your water heater can save youmoney ?Why giving away money is one of the best waysto save it ?How to save up to 50% on your onlinepurchases Plus hundreds of other tips that will loosenyour budget without sacrificing your lifestyle. Soon you’ll findwhat you want the most when it comes to your finances: peace ofmind.

This is an entertaining book that succeeds despite its author's missteps as a humorist. In presenting the odds of all manner of events both possible ("Dating a Supermodel") and improbable ("Becoming a Professional Athlete"), Baer (The Great Mutual Fund Trap) is clearly emulating the Worst-Case Scenario books, which have turned studying extreme real-life events into a cottage industry. Baer knows and expertly uses statistics and probabilities: it is fascinating to learn, for example, that the chances of dying by being hit by an asteroid are three times greater than dying in a train crash or an earthquake and are 250 times greater than dying from a shark attack. He also provides some revealing sidebars on certain topics, such as his look at how the odds of celebrity divorce are even worse than the already horrible odds of divorce for newly married couples ("about even money, 1 to 1"). Baer sometimes interrupts his statistical analyses with attempts at Dave Barry-style one-liners, but they fall flat, such as whe

“Money may not be able to buy you love, but conflicts about itcan certainly bankrupt your relationship.” –Michelle Singletary Here at last is the lowdown on how to manage your finances withthe man in your life. Money is the #1 problem couples fight about,says beloved Washington Post financial columnist MichelleSingletary. Acknowledging that most fights about money are usuallyabout something else–like feelings of fear or resentment–Singletarystresses the value of open dialogue. In her trademarkno-holds-barred style, she shows us how to handle the entire rangeof financial issues couples face–from splitting the dinner billwhen dating to planning for retirement together after years ofmarriage. Singletary speaks to the hearts of women as they try tosuccessfully merge their money and future security with those oftheir man. Acknowledging the emotional weight of sharedinvestments, she brings her own experience as a wife and mother tothe table and doles out advice in a voice that,

Seth, a certified genius, and Miriam, a Saudi Princess, findthemselves thrown together as fugitives in a high-stakes chaseacross Southern California. . . . but with no sleep and a massivemanhunt steadily closing in, their chances of surviving any futureare razor thin. Seth Borders has one of the world's highest IQs. Now he'ssuddenly struck by an incredible power, the ability to see multiplepotential futures. Then Seth stumbles upon Miriam, a beautifulSaudi Arabian princess who has fled her veiled existence to escapea forced marriage. Cultures collide as Seth and Miriam are throwntogether and forced to run from forces determined to kidnap or killMiriam. An intoxicating tale set amidst the shifting sands of theMiddle East and the back roads of America, Blink engages issues asancient as the earth itself . . . and as current as today'sheadlines.

No Matter Where You Start, David Bach Can Help You Live andFinish Rich With his national bestsellers "Smart Women Finish Rich"and "Smart Couples Finish" "Rich," renowned financial advisor andeducator David Bach has taught millions of people of all ages andincomes how to take control of their financial future. His message,that the key to building wealth is "values first, stuff second,"has inspired people all over the world. Now, "The" "Finish RichWorkbook" gives couples and singles alike a new opportunity totailor his advice for their individual circumstances. Combining thedown-to-earth, jargon-free approach that has made him so popularwith the hands-on practicality of a workbook, this new addition tothe "Finish Rich" series is like having a one-on-one session withDavid Bach. You will learn how to: - Use the power of the LatteFactor(TM), David Bach's international recognized approach tobuilding wealth on a few dollars a day. - Apply the Debt FreeSolutionTM, a powerful way to reduce debt quickly and repa

Your Road to Lifelong Financial Independence It’s about time you felt empowered tobetter manage your money because–in tough economic times more thanever–your financial freedom depends on making smart choices. Butit’s hard to know where to begin, especially when you’re juststarting out. And of course, it only gets more complicated as yougo through life: How do you establish good credit? Do you buy orrent? What kinds of health coverage do you really need? How do youactually stay afloat in an uncertain market? The Wall Street Journal Guide to Starting YourFinancial Life gets you off on the right financial foot, fromtackling everyday choices like cell-phone plans and pet ownershipto big decisions such as smart investment strategies and buying acar or a house. You’ll learn: ? How to open your first checking and savingsaccounts, get your first credit card, and establish goodcredit ? The ins and outs of starting a job, includinginformation about taxes, choosing health insurance options,