7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life

The Baltimore native and financial consultant offers down-home reasoning about reining in your spending and planning for your financial future. The program starts with ideas about extreme penny-pinching. Just as these ideas begin to grate, the audio moves into more interesting matters--credit management, insurance, wills, and trusts. The presentation is about handling money like a grown-up rather than about tax strategies, getting rich, or going into business for yourself. Singletary's point that people spend too much for things they don't need is expressed well as a theme, even if the supporting suggestions are often thin. The advice on borrowing and credit records is especially well done and will help listeners pay more attention to their borrowing and payment behavior. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

December 1, 2003
"If it's on your ass, it's not an asset";"Sweat the small stuff";"Priorities lead to prosperity." Singletary's no-nonsense approach to personal finance is inspired by her own experience, the advice of a thrifty grandmother and the knowledge of financial experts, which she encapsulates into mantras she says readers ought to tape to the dashboard"of that luxury car you can't afford." Doing without and saving are the keys to prosperity, she says, not fancy financing or investments. Such advice isn't unique (nearly every personal finance guide boils down to the same basic principles), but her spirited voice is. Raised by her grandmother, Big Mama, who brought up 5 grandchildren on $13,000 a year and still managed to save enough for a comfortable retirement, Singletary draws on homely examples of frugality to illustrate her points. She also speaks to financial issues she says are particularly relevant to other African-Americans, such as the need to support extended family members (one study found that 27% of black households supported friends and family under other roofs) and the risks of foregoing health insurance. Refreshingly, Singletary eschews wealth-building formulas that rely on consistent 10% returns over 30 years and instead concentrates on ways to sock money away. This is probably a more realistic approach to retirement for most Americans, particularly given the recently revealed riskiness of 401(k) and pension plans. Singletary's emphasis on simplicity and common sense make this an excellent primer for the novice financial planner.

Saving money is the fixed focus of this financial guide. But listeners will want to sort out the techniques that will work for them--such as talking to their partners about money--from the ones that seem, to this listener, uncomfortably miserly--such as mashing old bits of soap together to get the most use out of a bar. Singletary admits that people who know her consider her VERY frugal. Once, when she found herself bidding at an auction, townspeople teased her about actually spending money. The author reads in a strong--sometimes too strong--Southern accent, and it gets stronger when she talks about her "Big Mama," who taught her the basics of good finances. Still, a few of the tips and all of the Web sites given are beneficial to anyone looking for extra ways to "put a little aside." J.F.M. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine