Generation Y has entered he workforce and has brought a new attitude and lifestyle to the work/life balance.  Work and career advancement are important but we don’t want to dedicate our lives to working, we want to enjoy our lives, especially in our 20’s and 30’s.  Of course having a good time sometimes requires spending money, as our social lives and material wants are important to us.

That doesn’t mean you have to go broke to have fun and buy what you want.  Catey Hill, money editor of nydailnews.com presents a way to save and spend in her book SHOO, Jimmy Choo! Now I am clearly not the target audience for this book as it is described as The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less and Saving More, but that doesn’t mean a lot of the practical advice wouldn’t apply to everyone in this age range.

She takes personal financial advice and writes it in a fashion (pun intended) that is engaging and fun.  She strips down the intimidation that finance usually bring and uses situations that are very realistic to girls like shopping and going out for dinner that girls can relate to.

The book is full of good advice with regards to saving for the future both retirement and general investing funds and even offers recommendations and steps on going about setting accounts up.  There are even pages designed and set up for you to input your own data to help you budget better and get a better idea on your own spending to help keep yourself organized.  This book really is the keys to drive for your financial success.

I compare this book to Ramit Sethi’s “I Will Teach You to be Rich” in how it relates and speaks to a generation Y audience.  The toned down information in this book is perfect for any girl in her 20’s and mid 30’s looking to get a handle on their personal finances.

Check out the book and let me know what you think.

Some try to live by the phrase “if you ain’t cheating, then you ain’t trying.”  Phil Villareal author of Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel and writer for the Consumerist may not live by that motto, but doesn’t stray too far from it when trying to save money.

There are tons of money saving advice books out there offering their two cents, but Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is unique, fresh, and ultimately a fun read that will have you thinking twice about certain tactics.

This is a finance book like nothing I have read before, and written by Phil who is just an average Joe Blow guy trying to damn the man and better his situation like the rest of us.

The book is full of funny tips on how you can save money on little things and stretched over certain categories.  Everything from personal finances, to eating, relationships, households, entertainment, and more, his suggestions written in a dry and sly manner depicting sometimes activities that dangle on the borderline of legal and moral ethics, will have you laugh out loud.  Nothing is down right illegal although could get you dirty looks by some and slaps from friends.

For example he talks about staying in the movie theater for an extra show to see a double feature, borrow money from friends and pay back in other ways, of things like I have actually done myself like get the free 2 weeks of rentals from Blockbuster and then cancel the subscription.  He manages to take a lot of saving tricks that people think of and put them down on paper in one quick, funny, and informative read.  I recommend reading it, but try to borrow it so you can save money on not actually having to buy the book, ha.  Phil would understand.

One of the things I love to do more than anything is to travel.  It’s almost like a drug to me.  Ever since I studied abroad in Spain I just want to travel to new places, learn about new cities, cultures, mingle with the locals and of course eat the food.  Traveling is a life experience that many share the same passion for it as me and believe it is something worth spending money on.  I agree, life experiences are worth the money and the memories are truly priceless, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be frugal and enjoy yourself as well.

I recently read “The Little Budget Travel Book” by David Ning (@moneyning), writer of the very informative and helpful personal finance blog www.moneyning.com.  He was inspired by his own love for traveling and after getting many questions and requests from users about tips, he put together this little book to help everyone.

The book consists of short tips about various aspects of a whole trip and covers everything from planning, how to get places, and what to do when there.  Broken down in sections keeps things organized.  If you are looking are looking for a specific tip for example on renting a car, you can look it up and see what may be applicable.  The book works best for quick tips on the go when you may need one.

The tips are very simple and can be used by anyone from families to backpacker’s.  The tips are designed to save some time and a few bucks and in some instances can even improve your vacation experience, like finding a hole in the wall restaurant from mingling with locals opposed to going to the hotel recommended expensive touristy restaurants.

A few tips he mentions I have practiced on my own travels in the past to save money, and they are true.  Something as simple as taking the bus from DC-NY instead of by train or plane makes sense and saved me money.  Or when in another country I would eat larger lunches and smaller dinners because dinner can be expensive and add up.

What’s great about the book is that its small and compact so you can actually travel with it without it being a burden, and you can easily access it when needed.  He also does a great job at reviewing multiple sites where you can save money on your travels from flights, hotels, and more, helping you decipher which site may be the best to explore for your needs.

If you love traveling and like saving money, check out this book.

The book  “The 101 Things You Haven’t Learned in Harvard Business School”  by Laura Bell is a what makes Economics uncomplicated science and gives details of parameters which runs business, economics and money market in a very unfussy and settled way.

The book gives much elaborated details with great examples from next-door about economic policies, functions, its movements and impact on life. The elastic effect of money and market on economics is very seamlessly explained with interesting examples spread across the whole book.  The example provided using a lady shopper in grocery store explains how hard the price rise hits a customer depends on how much the customer can take or the marginal cost.

 Not to forget to mention the interesting bit about the economist John Maynard Keynes’s  and how his theories were  tuned with economic scenarios by different political era’s including the current economic scene  where all his theories seems to have failed.

I have always liked to read about economics in regards to entrepreneurship and marketing and I have gotten great knowledge and facts sorted out with the help of this book.  I would highly recommend all to read these sections which stands for  all times.

 Personal finance has always been one of my favorite sections, just to mention that I have comprehended some known facts in a more improved and fine manner. The emphases on saving and issues related to savings are well put along with ideas on ways to cut back spending. The book very rightly said that saving and spending should be inculcated right from childhood in all possible areas and a deliberate effort should be made to make it a habit. The personal finance section also gives the consumers’ physiological aspect on time saving and convenience, and how one should use this to fullest from business aspect. 

 The section about teaching our children about work and economics is true and I certainly agree with the author that our education system is only getting the facts and concepts put across in school but not being taught about the real work world. We need to instill these skills and get children to use economics and money skills for their regular routine right from beginning.  The age old concept that “foundation needs to be strong” will help coming generation not to face the same economic disasters. 

 I would highly recommend this book because of it puts economics in simple terms and guides the usage of economics in every aspect of life.  It does so without having to go through the tedious job of studying economics in literal sense. The book has a very great value on sections like personal finance , entrepreneurship and marketing for all who are into starting business and do not have time to go to a business school to learn the ropes of picking up business. At the same time I would have appreciated if we could have some more insight into the ways to face the current economic scenario.

Check out this book and let me know what you think?

I have randomely selected one lucky winner, and that person is Christin Banda.  Congratulations and I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I have.  The book is very enjoyable and a fast read, and suggest it to everyone else.

We will be having more book giveaways and other contests in the future, so keep an eye out for more to come, as well as future posts.

The economy today has everyone questioning their finances and decisions they have made or walked away from in the past.  People are looking for ways to boost their income, or at least learn tips on how to secure the money that they have.  Good advice is hard to come by, and you certainly don’t want to pass on it when it comes by.

            I recently finished reading Ryan D’Agostino’s new book called “Rich Like Them” which is a very different finance book them some may have been expecting.  He took a unique approach of getting information directly from the source to bring their stories to you.

            Ryan set out on an adventure to visit the wealthiest communities in the country, and to go up to random houses asking the owners the simple question of “how did you get to where you are?”  By determining the wealthiest zip codes in the country, he would enter each community and trek by foot from house to house hoping to find kind enough people to let him in on their personal journeys to how they became wealthy.  He talks in details of how he performed his research and understands that the sample size is small and basically random.

            Each chapter begins with a cliché line that has been heard many times before.  Although repetitive, it is a nice way to open each chapter and they fit in with the message of the individual’s story.  Clichés are there for a reason, mainly because they are true to an extent.  Some of the lessons that can be taken from the stories may seem a bit obvious, but they are good lessons regardless.  Here are a few lessons you will encounter.

• Look for opportunities in areas that are not hot yet
• There are creative ideas everywhere, sometimes you have to take a risk
• Good karma can help in the long run
• Have patience
• Take care of customers
• Do one things and do it well
• Never stop being a student.

Some of the lessons counteract others in the book but the stories offer a full broad range of lessons that are meant to be interpreted by the reader, not pushed onto the reader as the end all to succeed.  The book is entertaining and amusing for a fun light and quick read.  This is not a self-help book and shouldn’t be read for advice on how to get rich fast.  The book closes with a nice chapter on humility with a lot of the people he met saying how they still have the drive to work hard even though they are rich.  I would have liked to have seen closing commentary by Ryan summing up his experience more, and tying everything together.  I would recommend this book as a fast read for anyone interested in reading personal stories, just don’t expect to become wealthy afterwards.