Great Book And Resource! Let's All Make A Difference.

I just finished reading The Difference by Jean Chatzky and what a great resource this is!  The subtitle is: How Anyone Can Prosper In Even The Toughest Times and it's mostly about prospering financially.  What I always like about Chatzky's books though is not only are they very readable but they go beyond the usual dry financial advice you usually get in books like these.  You know what I mean;  explanations of compound interest and how your money grows when you invest when you're young rather than when you're older (like me).  Chatzky explains a lot of research she has done on the attitudes and habits of wealthy people vs. those who struggle financially and then challenges the reader to develop similar behaviors.  Here's one of my favorite activities she suggests, it's a written visualization exercise: 

Today I am:
I got here by:

Five Years from now I will be:
I got there by:

Ten Years from now I will be:
I got there by:

Twenty Years from now I will be:
I got ther by:


I am Most Proud of:   


Try writing it down and then referring back to it regularly... I plan to myself.  Here's the affiliate link if you'd like to purchase from Amazon:

I must admit I never realized how much advice there is in the Bible about money, debt and managing your finances. Part of my reading today was Proverbs 22:26-27," Unless you have extra cash on hand, don't cosign a note. Why risk everything you own? They'll even take your bed!" Now that's the voice of someone who's been there and lived through the experience.

On another note, there are so many little ways to save money that take very little effort, yet few people use them. Today I sold two textbooks, one for my daughter and the other for her friend. One of them was brand new still in the shrink wrap but the college bookstore would only give her one third of what she paid for the book when she tried to return it. Believe me, I remember the day of paying a fortune for a textbook and getting little to nothing in return. However, on Amazon.com I was able to sell it almost immediately and I got back more than double what the bookstore was willing to give her. It was not the full price that she paid, because Amazon takes commission and there was the postage to pay, but still a much better return than what she would have gotten. There is always such satisfaction in getting a good deal!