Smart Is the New Rich : If You Can't Afford It, Put It Down

by Romans, Christine

• ISBN13: 9780470642061
• ISBN10: 0470642068
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-12
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Author and CNN veteran money correspondent Romans believes people should live by three qualifiers: live within their means, live with less debt, and be less vulnerable. She explores how adopting a new approach to money can lead to a healthier financial lifestyle.

Author Biography

CHRISTINE ROMANS is the host of CNN’s Your $$$$$, as well as a featured correspondent on the network’s American Morning and CNN International. She is a former correspondent for both Moneyline and Lou Dobbs Tonight, and spent several years reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2004, she received an Emmy Award for her reporting on Exporting America, a Lou Dobbs Tonight investigation into the impact of globalization on U.S. workers. Prior to joining CNN, Romans reported for Reuters and Knight-Ridder Financial News.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Reset, Repair, Recover	p. 1
Pop!	p. 2
The Retro Reset	p. 4
Repair the Balance Sheet	p. 5
Recover	p. 8
The Payoff	p. 11
Spending Your $$$$$	p. 13
Going Retro	p. 14
Living Beyond Their Means	p. 18
The Value Consumer	p. 19
The Recession-Weary	p. 21
The Conspicuous Consumer	p. 22
A Fool and His Money	p. 22
Be a Good Steward	p. 23
Retro Spending Rules	p. 25
The Payoff	p. 29
Your Job	p. 31
Turning the Corner	p. 34
Top of Your Game Every Day	p. 36
Take a Pay Cut?	p. 40
Switching Careers	p. 42
Where Are the Jobs?	p. 45
Location, Location, Location	p. 48
Education	p. 49
Good Pay, No Degree	p. 52
Green-Collar Jobs	p. 54
You've Just Lost Your Job	p. 56
You Have a Job-Protect It	p. 65
You Think Layoffs Are Coming	p. 69
The Permalancer	p. 69
Long-Term Unemployed	p. 71
No Job Yet? Write It Off	p. 72
The Payoff	p. 73
Debt	p. 75
Miracle or Mirage?	p. 77
Sit on an Apple Box	p. 80
Generation Debt	p. 82
Respect Credit, Pay Off Debt	p. 84
The Dreaded Score	p. 86
Student Loans	p. 90
$200 Saved Now or Pay $396 Later	p. 96
Keeping Down College Costs	p. 99
Student Loan Defaults	p. 103
Mortgage Debt	p. 103
Will Borrowing Costs Rise?	p. 105
The Payoff	p. 106
Credit Cards	p. 107
Credit Card "Rich"	p. 108
New Rules, Rights, and Traps	p. 112
Credit Card Gotchas	p. 113
Debt Free in Three	p. 118
Card Payment Strategies	p. 122
Cutting Up the Cards	p. 123
Debt Revolt	p. 125
Boring Is Better	p. 127
Debtor Beware	p. 129
The Payoff	p. 133
Home Sweet Home	p. 135
POP!	p. 140
Affordability	p. 143
Mortgage Rate versus Home Price	p. 149
Getting a Loan	p. 151
The Fancy Kitchen Dream	p. 153
Renting	p. 155
Losing a Home	p. 157
The Inevitable Scams	p. 161
The Payoff	p. 162
Save, Invest, Retire	p. 163
Good Steward	p. 165
The Proverbial Rainy Day	p. 166
Getting Started, Starting Over	p. 169
Finding Your Magic Number	p. 171
Fixing Your 401(k)	p. 175
Sabotaging Your Retirement	p. 176
Stay Focused	p. 178
ETF	p. 180
The Payoff	p. 184
Family Money	p. 185
Lead by Example	p. 186
Take Out the Trash!	p. 187
Generation Y	p. 194
Paying for College	p. 198
Sandwich Generation	p. 200
Caring for a Parent	p. 203
'Til Debt Do Us Part	p. 206
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do	p. 210
The Payoff	p. 212
Health Care	p. 213
Reform and You	p. 215
Under 26 Years Old	p. 216
State Health Exchanges	p. 219
CLASS Act	p. 220
FSA Changes	p. 222
Hospital Responsibility	p. 223
Health Care as Livelihood	p. 224
The Payoff	p. 227
Small Business	p. 229
The Disappearing Banker	p. 231
"I Can Create Jobs!"	p. 233
Social Butterfly	p. 237
Shop Local	p. 240
Cupcake Sisters	p. 242
Yes to Carrots	p. 245
Find the Money	p. 248
The Payoff	p. 252
Government	p. 253
United States of Bailouts	p. 255
They Got It Wrong	p. 256
Spend, Spend, Spend	p. 262
The Payoff	p. 266
Cover Letters: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly	p. 267
Web Resources	p. 275
Notes	p. 279
About the Author	p. 287
Index	p. 289
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.