Went to the library on Wednesday night and, among other good books I checked out, I picked up a copy of the book pictured here - "Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan," which should be subtitled "What, almost nothing in savings? Lots of credit card debt? YOU SUCK!"
(And to be very clear: That subtitle applies very much to yours truly.)
The good news is, I've found the advice to be pretty helpful. Besides reading lots of sites about organizing, I also like to read Web sites about debt-free living, money-saving tips, frugality and so on, and I do try my best to put some of those ideas into play.
I think the biggest thing I took from Suze Orman's 2009 book was that you HAVE to plan for the worst. Hopefully, Hubby and I will have our jobs here at the paper for a long time to come. Hopefully, no one will get seriously ill. Hopefully, our daughter will not need braces. (OK, not too hopeful on that last one, but that's another story.)
But the fact is, those hopes are just that. They're things we have no control over, and that means, no matter how much I don't want to give up certain expenditures, I need to - at least for a while - in order to build up a good savings account and pay down our credit-card debt.
And what can I say? As much as I might want to kick poor Suze in her smiling-book-cover face, it's not because she's wrong about any of this. It's just that the truth hurts.
If you're interested, besides her Web site, here are pretty much the top five money-saving blogs I like to read:
The Simple Dollar (this is my new favorite)
Get Rich Slowly
Man vs. Debt
Money Saving Mom (good for coupons)
Confe$$ion$ of a Coupon Queen
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