{"id":460,"date":"2012-03-26T17:14:24","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T17:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=460"},"modified":"2012-04-29T21:19:20","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T21:19:20","slug":"book-review-jean-chatzkys-money-911-is-a-great-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"BOOK REVIEW: JEAN CHATZKY&#8217;S &#8216;MONEY 911&#8217; IS A GREAT TOOL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/money\/books\/2010-03-08-money911-book-review_N.htm\">Read Published Article<\/a><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/images\/stories\/usat_logo2.gif?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/astore.amazon.com\/kerrhann-20\/detail\/006179869X\">Buy this book\u00a0on Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To be a standout in the pack of personal finance books on the market today is no easy task. Jean Chatzky, author of<em>Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved<\/em>, knows that well. Several of them are her own, including\u00a0<em>Pay it Down!<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Make Money, Not Excuses<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>The Difference<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: x-small;\">Her solution: an uber-personal finance guide, one that sweeps the landscape from dealing with debt to paying for college to saving for retirement. Chatzky&#8217;s new offering is a comprehensive compilation of SOS cries posed by viewers of her corresponding &#8220;Money 911&#8221; series on\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"More news, photos about NBC\" href=\"http:\/\/content.usatoday.com\/topics\/topic\/Organizations\/Companies\/Publishers,+Media,+Music\/NBC\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: x-small;\">NBC<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8216;s\u00a0<em>Today<\/em>, where she is financial editor.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There&#8217;s advice here for practically every challenge you might face \u2014 even questions to ask a potential nanny. And that&#8217;s quite a feat.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Despite this &#8220;everything but the kitchen sink&#8221; approach,\u00a0<em>Money 911<\/em>\u00a0is orderly, accessible and user-friendly. She presents a series of 130 basic questions organized into 15 chapters \u2014 insurance, taxes, saving and investing \u2014 and so on. She parses each to the appropriate bin and tackles them one-by-one in a calm, steady voice of an expert friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After each question, Chatzky follows up with a series of related ones about other things you also need to know. For instance, Question 16 is, &#8220;Should I bank online?&#8221; She answers, &#8220;In a word, yes. I pay all my bills online, and I love it. It saves me time, it keeps me organized, and it saves money on stamps.&#8221;<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then she follows up with a string of extra questions and answers:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Is online banking safe?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022How can online banking help me get a grip on my finances?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022What about online savings accounts?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Which financial papers should I keep?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Do I need a shredder?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Are the contents of my safe-deposit box protected by the\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"More news, photos about FDIC\" href=\"http:\/\/content.usatoday.com\/topics\/topic\/Organizations\/Government+Bodies\/Federal+Deposit+Insurance+Corporation\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: x-small;\">FDIC<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">And as the additional queries are tacked on, Chatzky&#8217;s chapters, build into mini-tutorials on a range of inter-connected concerns. Consider, for example, one question in the &#8220;Budgeting and Cutting Spending&#8221; chapter: How can I cut my utility bill? She begins with heat \u2014 &#8220;The absolute easiest way is by lowering your thermostat. \u2026 For every degree down, you&#8217;ll shave 1% off your bill.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">This discussion is followed by: What should I look for in a new appliance? First, a straightforward explanation of the two labels \u2014 the EnergyGuide, required by the Federal Trade Commission on nearly all home appliances and the Energy Star logo, which the government slaps on products that have tested to be energy-efficient.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: x-small;\">Next, Chatzky provides the formula from the\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"More news, photos about U.S. Department of Energy\" href=\"http:\/\/content.usatoday.com\/topics\/topic\/Organizations\/Government+Bodies\/United+States+Department+of+Energy\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: x-small;\">U.S. Department of Energy<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u00a0to estimate how much an appliance will cost you in energy, accompanied by a chart of the typical wattage used by everything from a coffee maker (900-1,200) to a clothes iron (1,000-1,800. It&#8217;s uncertain how many consumers will actually run those numbers, but she gamely shows you how if you do.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">In many ways, the questions are boilerplate fare. But that&#8217;s the point. These are real concerns people have day-in and day-out in a course of a lifetime:<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022How do I deal with bill collectors?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Which credit cards should I pay off first?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022I&#8217;d like to hire a financial adviser, but after all the frauds in the news recently, I&#8217;m nervous. Can you help?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022What&#8217;s a good credit score?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022Where should I live when I retire?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022How can I save money on my wedding?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">\u2022And, of course, a real beauty \u2014 How long will I live? Her answer: &#8220;That is the million-dollar question.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: x-small;\">Chatzky doesn&#8217;t leave it at that. She provides the U.S. Census Bureau average life expectancy table. She points out the roles health and genetics play in the outcome, and refers to a life calculator available on the\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"More news, photos about University of Pennsylvania\" href=\"http:\/\/content.usatoday.com\/topics\/topic\/Organizations\/Schools\/University+of+Pennsylvania\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: x-small;\">University of Pennsylvania<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0website.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">M<span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ost of these questions are softballs, by design, one would surmise, to not scare readers away with intimidating money talk. As silly as the highlighted question might sound, she keeps drilling and, presumably, readers keep reading, and, before long, there are nitty-gritty tips and hard-core financial guidance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The life-expectancy query is, in reality, an important consideration when it comes to making your retirement funds last as long as you do. And, yes, you guessed it, she&#8217;s got plenty of charts and stats and websites, such as the Choose to Save Ballpark E$stimate, www.choosetosave.org, to help you identify how much you will need to save for retirement.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As a final stroke of salesmanship, Chatzky spins her book into one-stop Yellow Pages for personal finance resources. Each chapter concludes with several pages of sources to turn to for more help. It seems as if every useful website, government agency and non-profit association is provided for each category. Moreover, Chatzky recommends books by other authors for more in-depth reading on specific topics such as managing a windfall, how to save money on insurance or overcoming overspending.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It takes a team to write a book like<em>Money 911<\/em>. There are roughly two pages of these helpers thanked in her acknowledgements section \u2014 from credit and financial experts to bankruptcy and matrimonial attorneys to financial planners and tax pros. Chatzky has churned out a solid guide gleaned from advice proffered by a Who&#8217;s Who of personal financial gurus \u2014 and it shows.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"BOOK REVIEW: JEAN CHATZKY&#039;S &#039;MONEY 911&#039; IS A GREAT TOOL\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read Published Article Buy this book\u00a0on Amazon.com &nbsp; To be a standout in the pack of personal finance books on the market today is no easy task. Jean Chatzky, author ofMoney 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved, knows that well. Several of them are her own, including\u00a0Pay it Down!,\u00a0Make Money, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"BOOK REVIEW: JEAN CHATZKY&#039;S &#039;MONEY 911&#039; IS A GREAT TOOL\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[337,338],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-usatoday","tag-book-review","tag-usatoday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YFQS-7q","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}