Real World Math : Money and Other Numbers in Your Life

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Summary: Real World Math
Review: Don't let the cover of this book fool you. At first glance, the cartoon characters and fun design give the impression that this book is intended for young audiences as a basic math primer with real-world examples and applications. It's not. In fact, a more apt name for this book might be: Surviving the Real World: Managing the Money in Your Life, and it is suited to an audience of eighth graders and up, with many examples that will appeal to high school juniors and seniors. The authors do a good job of presenting the major events in a person's life that require money management skills. These include: opening and using a checking or savings account; the uses and abuses of credit; purchasing and maintaining a vehicle; paying for higher education; investing; renting; and creating a budget. The chapters devoted to each of these topics include easy-to-relate to scenarios in order to teach the value of money management skills. For example, we learn how Josh can save more than $200 dollars on prom night by reviewing his before and after budget; and, we feel relief for Kate after she finds help and overcomes debt after maxing out her credit cards in her first year of college. In many of these chapters, the authors include a box that lists the major terms and jargon of each industry. Readers learn how to 'Speak' bank, car buying, credit, rent, and more. An especially important aspect of this book is the emphasis not only on how to manage money, but also on how to think about money. The authors mix in a good dose of frugality with their math formulas. Readers are constantly cautioned to think about the long term costs of making a purchase; in fact, a whole chapter is devoted to shopping for bargains, using coupons, and most importantly, using self discipline when spending. The authors employ their own variant of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) with K.I.C.S. (keep it cheap and simple). From there they list a number of ways to save money day-to-day, such as eating dinner at home and going out for only dessert, or having a VCR party at home with friends instead of paying for a movie ticket, that eventually turns into huge savings What this book lacks in depth it makes up for in breadth and a good resources section at the end for further reading. It's an excellent first introduction to money management in real world situations.