Make Money, Not Excuses

"Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever"
Jean Chatzky
Crown Business, $24.95



Jean Chatzky, an editor for Money magazine and the Today show wrote "every woman's guide to getting really, really rich," according to the cover of her book, "Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever."

"Make Money" is a great resource for any woman who wants to get really, really rich. The book is split into chapters labeled by different excuses women give for not saving their money or investing. Each chapter is further split into two sections: Don't Bitch, and Get Rich. The former goes into the excuses women make for not doing what they need to in order to save and invest, and the latter explains what women can do to get past the excuses to make money.

Chatzky addresses a variety of excuses and fears, from "I don't know where to begin" to "I don't have any time" to "I'm too old — it's too late for me." She gives details for how women can overcome these fears: sign up for a 401(k) at work, think twice before buying, prioritize, stop procrastinating, get help if you need it.

And she makes it seem EASY. It's not too hard to eat out one day less a week, and instead invest that money in an account that gets an 8 percent return. Clean out your house, have a garage sale and invest that money in an account that gets an 8 percent return. Cancel your landline and use only your cell phone, and invest the money you would have spent on a phone bill in an account that gets an 8 percent return. And when you retire in 15, 20 or 30 years, that money will have added up to a nice chunk of change.

Each chapter also includes a "Map to a Million," which takes a point she homes in on and puts it into real terms:

Jane is 30 years old and earns $35,000 a year. If she puts 10 percent of her gross income into a stock market index fund each year for the next thirty-five years, she'll have a bundle at retirement. That's assuming she gets absolutely no raises in pay. That's not factoring in any matching dollars from her employer. Add in a 5 percent match from her employer, and watch what happens.

Start at age 30
Invest 10 percent of $35,000 salary a year
Retirement savings: $457,254

Invest 10 percent of $35,000 salary plus 5 percent employer match
Retirement savings: $685,881 (184)

The "Map to a Million" is laid out at the end of the book, suggesting expenses that can be cut out and invested using real examples and real numbers that will make sense to readers.

Another helpful tip from Chatzky is the "Questions from the money group," something she suggests all women join. A money group can include all types of women in all types of jobs at all different ages, and they can get together and talk about money — either just with themselves or with financial experts as guests. Having a money group can give women the push they need to start investing, give them advice and tips on how they should go about doing so.

Chatzky also includes a "Get Rich Spending Tracker," a "Ballpark E$timate of Your Retirement Needs" created by economists at the American Savings Education Council and an index of financial terms — something tremendously helpful for one just getting started. All the tools will help readers see how much they spend, how much they need to save, and what type of investment will best suit their needs.

The only excuse that remains at the end of Chatzky's book — one that remains unaddressed — might be the biggest roadblock for most women: "I just don't want to." There are very few people who would say that they don't want any more money or to have enough for a retirement they truly can enjoy

While I don't think it helped me overcome my financial fears forever, it did make amassing the amount needed to live comfortably seem a lot easier. It's just too bad Chatsky can't actually give women like me the final push to doing everything she suggested. She offers great advice and makes everything seem easy, but I'm sure there will be people like me who read her book and still think, "I can't do this on my own."