One Paycheck at a Time

Rating:
Summary: A Hands-on Approach to Debt Reduction
Review: Almost all personal finance books tell you to eliminate your credit card debt . . . and to start by paying off the amount with the largest interest rate. Then, they almost all tell you to switch balances to take advantage of 6 month low, "teaser" rates from new card companies. Others go on to encourage you to save money in other ways, such as by refinancing your house, cutting up your credit cards, holding yard sales and carrying your lunch. One Paycheck at a Time has all of that advice, too. What makes this book different is that the advice is structured around a process for measuring, tracking and reducing your expenses. The center point of this material is a form that is applied to each paycheck that the reader receives each year.

In the beginning, you have to do a lot of work to get started. But if you hired a financial advisor, you would have to do the same work (or pay a lot of money to have the financial advisor do it for you). So the work is necessary. You set up a budget for each item you have to regularly spend money on, and then keep the remainder of each paycheck in cash to meet other routine expenses and to generate savings for rainy day items.

The system is one remarkably like the one that my parents used successfully for many years. For most of those years, they did not have a checking account. They would go to the supermarket to cash Dad's paycheck, buy some groceries, and keep the rest in cash which they allocated to different envelopes for different purposes. They kept track of what occasional expenses were likely to be (such as the annual car insurance premium) and saved the amounts needed in advance, one paycheck at a time. If you keep that concept in mind, you'll have the essence of this book.

The book assumes that you get paid twice a month (although you can calculate the amounts easily for a monthly paycheck), and takes you through 24 pay periods. In each pay period, there are extra little lessons on how to save or earn more.

Unlike most of these books where the author is a multimillionaire financial planner who has an accountant to do all of this nitty-gritty for them, Ms. Griffiths is a woman whose divorce left her at age 22 with $25,000 in credit card debt piled up by a gambling husband. It took her 15 years to eliminate that debt . . . and she has created this system to help you get faster results than she did. So she's been there . . . and done that. Despite that experience she doesn't personalize the story very much. This is a personal finance book rather than an autobiography.

If you are terrible with numbers, you will probably have to get someone to help you. Be sure to get a calculator to help you add up lots of numbers and later divide them.

After you've been using this system for 3 or 4 months, it shouldn't take long to apply it. One of the strengths of the approach is that it encourages you to see what you are spending. Seeing the details will probably help you identify lots of ways to save.

If you are looking for advanced tips on saving money, I didn't find any here that I didn't know about already (and I already use many of them). So I think the tips (beyond the system) will be new mostly to young people and to those who have not read other personal finance books . . . or simply haven't thought much about money management.

The book is thin and a quick read. If you actually apply it, you will be only reading a few pages during each pay period. So if you like to keep it simple . . . and want to system to provide some discipline, I think One Paycheck at a Time is a winner for you.

If you decide to read and use the book, I do recommend that you supplement it for investment advice as your debt drops and you have money to invest in areas other than company pension plans.

Rating:
Summary: A Hands-on Approach to Debt Reduction
Review: Almost all personal finance books tell you to eliminate your credit card debt . . . and to start by paying off the amount with the largest interest rate. Then, they almost all tell you to switch balances to take advantage of 6 month low, "teaser" rates from new card companies. Others go on to encourage you to save money in other ways, such as by refinancing your house, cutting up your credit cards, holding yard sales and carrying your lunch. One Paycheck at a Time has all of that advice, too. What makes this book different is that the advice is structured around a process for measuring, tracking and reducing your expenses. The center point of this material is a form that is applied to each paycheck that the reader receives each year.

In the beginning, you have to do a lot of work to get started. But if you hired a financial advisor, you would have to do the same work (or pay a lot of money to have the financial advisor do it for you). So the work is necessary. You set up a budget for each item you have to regularly spend money on, and then keep the remainder of each paycheck in cash to meet other routine expenses and to generate savings for rainy day items.

The system is one remarkably like the one that my parents used successfully for many years. For most of those years, they did not have a checking account. They would go to the supermarket to cash Dad's paycheck, buy some groceries, and keep the rest in cash which they allocated to different envelopes for different purposes. They kept track of what occasional expenses were likely to be (such as the annual car insurance premium) and saved the amounts needed in advance, one paycheck at a time. If you keep that concept in mind, you'll have the essence of this book.

The book assumes that you get paid twice a month (although you can calculate the amounts easily for a monthly paycheck), and takes you through 24 pay periods. In each pay period, there are extra little lessons on how to save or earn more.

Unlike most of these books where the author is a multimillionaire financial planner who has an accountant to do all of this nitty-gritty for them, Ms. Griffiths is a woman whose divorce left her at age 22 with $25,000 in credit card debt piled up by a gambling husband. It took her 15 years to eliminate that debt . . . and she has created this system to help you get faster results than she did. So she's been there . . . and done that. Despite that experience she doesn't personalize the story very much. This is a personal finance book rather than an autobiography.

If you are terrible with numbers, you will probably have to get someone to help you. Be sure to get a calculator to help you add up lots of numbers and later divide them.

After you've been using this system for 3 or 4 months, it shouldn't take long to apply it. One of the strengths of the approach is that it encourages you to see what you are spending. Seeing the details will probably help you identify lots of ways to save.

If you are looking for advanced tips on saving money, I didn't find any here that I didn't know about already (and I already use many of them). So I think the tips (beyond the system) will be new mostly to young people and to those who have not read other personal finance books . . . or simply haven't thought much about money management.

The book is thin and a quick read. If you actually apply it, you will be only reading a few pages during each pay period. So if you like to keep it simple . . . and want to system to provide some discipline, I think One Paycheck at a Time is a winner for you.

If you decide to read and use the book, I do recommend that you supplement it for investment advice as your debt drops and you have money to invest in areas other than company pension plans.

Rating:
Summary: Money Management for the Masses
Review: As someone reeling from both college graduation and divorce in the same month, this was just the book I needed to get my finances under control. The friendly step by step style offers both humor (if you have to- put your credit card in a bowl of water in the freezer!) and candor (now that Card #1 is paid off, cancel it!) while explaining how to be free of debt and create savings.

Rating:
Summary: Fearless Book Review
Review: I learned so much from this book - I was always "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and this book, step-by-step, helped me to stop my insanity!! It was helpful to know that someone really was in as much finanial trouble as I am/was and got out of it. It helped my husband and I see the light at the end of the tunnel!
The best tip I got from the book was to consolidate my debt - I started to feel like I was in control in Chapter 1.
If we can do it - anyone can do it! This book is a must read - it will give you the confidence to achieve freedom from debt. We called it the War on Debt. Good Luck!!!

Rating:
Summary: Money Management for the Masses
Review: ONE PAYCHECK AT A TIME covers all the usual culprits: lack of organization; impulse buying; too costly gift giving; out-of-control wardrobe.

It teaches about getting & paying for insurance; education; banking; investments; smart shopping; maintaining your automobile; making more money, & much, much more.

Rebeccasreads recommends ONE PAYCHECK AT A TIME for anyone in debt, especially those new to the workforce or parents whose youngsters are heading into the workforce.

Get a copy & start learning how to handle your hard-earned money, & check out Rebecca's interview with this author.

Rating:
Summary: What a unique and logical approach to money management.
Review: While the world is stuck on paying bills by the month, "One Paycheck at a Time" is providing an effective alternative, managing your money paycheck to paycheck.

Kimberly Griffiths, the author, is challenging you to look at your money differently and not be sucked in to allowing your creditors to dictate the terms of how you pay your bills. She shows you in great detail how this method can and will provide you with a better understanding of your complete financial picture with debt reduction and eventual elimination as the goal.

What really caught my eye was the enormous amount of money saving strategies found in this book. Each section provides you with tips, tricks and ideas on how to make managing your money a lot simpler and much more organized.

"One Paycheck at a Time" is not just for those experiencing money problems. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a better way to reduce their debt and get a handle on their finances.

Terry Rigg
Budget Stretcher

Rating:
Summary: What a unique and logical approach to money management.
Review: While the world is stuck on paying bills by the month, "One Paycheck at a Time" is providing an effective alternative, managing your money paycheck to paycheck.

Kimberly Griffiths, the author, is challenging you to look at your money differently and not be sucked in to allowing your creditors to dictate the terms of how you pay your bills. She shows you in great detail how this method can and will provide you with a better understanding of your complete financial picture with debt reduction and eventual elimination as the goal.

What really caught my eye was the enormous amount of money saving strategies found in this book. Each section provides you with tips, tricks and ideas on how to make managing your money a lot simpler and much more organized.

"One Paycheck at a Time" is not just for those experiencing money problems. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a better way to reduce their debt and get a handle on their finances.

Terry Rigg
Budget Stretcher