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30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances Sharon A. DeVaney Author: Christine Benz Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2010) ISBN 978-0-470-48157-8
Christine Benz is Director of Personal Finance for Morningstar, the well known Chicago investment research firm. She was motivated to write this book after noticing that investors reacted to the 2008 bear market with denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Benz' five stages sound like the five stages of grief identified by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in the late 1960s. Because many people believe that managing their finances is an impossible job, Benz decided to suggest a simple plan of action using manageable steps. The book includes 11 parts; each part includes between two and five chapters. In addition, there is a free Web site at www.morningstar.com/goto/30MinuteSolutions. At the site, a person can download worksheets, use financial calculators, and view lists of the best investments for various goals.
Part One: Find Your Baseline. The first step in Benz' plan of action is to create a net worth statement. There is a worksheet on the site to help readers record taxable accounts, retirement accounts, the market value of assets such as a home and cars, the face value of life insurance policies, and debts such as outstanding credit card balances, the amount remaining on a mortgage, auto loans, student loans, and home equity loan statements. Is it reasonable to think that a person could develop a net worth statement in 30 minutes? Probably not, but it would be possible to get started.
The second step is to develop a personal cash-flow statement. This worksheet is also available at the Web site.
After recording cash in and out, a person is asked to determine what percent of income should be saved. The third step is to set financial goals. The Web site includes a goal planning worksheet. After completing the worksheet, readers are encouraged to prioritize their goals. Then they are encouraged to quantify their goals using calculators available on the site (e.g., calculators for retirement, college, and other goals).
The fourth step is to create a budget. A budget worksheet is available on the Web site. In summarizing this first part of the book, Benz reminds everyone that they have developed...