Description
Book SynopsisDo you speak money? You should. It is the world's most important language. It's spoken everywhere. Speakingor at least understandingthis language allows you to follow the real conversations in politics, business, and at work. Understanding money and speaking the language fluently is critical to preparing for a comfortable retirement, building a small business, planning for college and a career for your children. Everyone speaks it differently, with different dialects. Some are riskier than others. Some want to save their money; others want to see it grow. There is no one accent, but understanding the differences will make couples, business partners, and coworkers happierand wealthier. Authors and CNN financial experts Ali Velshi and Christine Romans speak the global language of money and translate it every day for hundreds of thousands of viewers. And they are here to teach you, too. It's easier to learn than you might think.
Speaking money affects every area of your life. It's mor
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1 The Big Picture 1
Money Is Everywhere 2
Understanding Money 4
Where Are You? 5
Getting to Where You Want to Go 6
Getting Started 7
The Key to Wealth: Live Below Your Means 9
Change with the Times 10
It’s Up to You 11
Different Strokes, Different Folks 12
Making Your Plan 12
Chapter 2 We Fight About Money, Too 15
A Failure to Communicate 17
How Do You Have a Difficult Conversation? 18
Chapter 3 Gendernomics 27
Shifting Roles 29
Are You Sure We’re Talking about the Same Thing? 30
Why Do Smart People Buy Stupid Things? 32
Women and Investing 33
Gendernomics in the Workplace 35
Chapter 4 Speaking Money around the World 39
A Brief History 40
Climbing Up the Ladder 42
A Fish Story 44
Globalization: Good or Bad? 45
What Goes Around Comes Around 48
Who’s Zooming Who? 49
Chapter 5 Speaking Money at Work 53
Speak STEM 55
Dirty Jobs 57
Green Jobs 58
Women and Work 60
Getting a Job 61
The Long-Term Unemployed 65
You Wanna Start Something? 67
Not-So-Happy Campers 68
Chapter 6 Speaking Money on Campus 71
High School Then, College Today 72
A College Degree Never Hurt Anyone 74
The Future Starts in Grade School 75
Education for Life 76
How Should You Look at College? 77
Thinking of Changing Fields? 81
Chapter 7 Speaking Money in the Market 87
Cash Equivalents 89
Let’s Speak Bonds 91
Price versus Yield 92
The World of Stocks 94
International Investing 95
Stepping into the Market 97
Mutual Funds 98
Index Funds 99
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) 102
Do Your Homework! 102
Chapter 8 Speaking Money to Investment Principles 107
Principle 1: There Is a Direct Relationship between Risk and Return 107
Principle 2: Time Is Your Friend 114
Principle 3: Diversifi cation Lowers Your Risk and Improves Your Return 114
Asset Allocation: The Key to Results 116
Chapter 9 Speaking Money in Your Own Portfolio 119
Your Investment Questionnaire 120
Your Model Portfolios 125
The Importance of Rebalancing 128
Financial Advisors—Yes or No? 129
Chapter 10 Speaking Money on the Home Front 135
Buying a Home 138
Rent versus Buy: One Man’s Story 145
What If You’re Selling? 146
When Is the Best Time to Buy? 149
Chapter 11 Speaking Money on Budget 153
Software Makes Budgeting Easier 155
Here Comes the Rain 156
What Does It Cost to Live? 157
Getting Out of Debt 160
Chapter 12 Speaking Money in Retirement 163
The Historical Perspective 164
Retirement Is Expensive 166
Programs to Fund Your Retirement 168
Play a Waiting Game 171
Social Security: The Nation’s Safety Net 173
Summing It Up 174
Living Your Golden Years 175
Afterword 177
Bibliography 179
About the Authors 181
Index 185
