Information is power — but when it comes to money, make sure it’s reliable
Information is power. When I ask people if they believe that, the answer is mostly yes. I’ve always thought so, too. But while I was taking a financial management class, the instructor challenged us. “What if the information is wrong?’’
We have been fed wrong information about many things concerning money. For decades, we were told a credit card was a great financial tool and that home values would always go up. If nothing else, the recession proved such information was not powerful. It was perilous. The challenge now is to obtain good financial information.
As I look back on a year in which so many people have lost so much — jobs or homes or financial peace — I wanted to put together a list of books you might give as gifts. My recommendations:
“Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties,’’ Beth Kobliner (Fireside, $16). Get the latest edition, updated last year. This is a wonderful money blueprint for the younger generation.
“Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done About It,’’ Mariko Lin Chang (Oxford University Press, $24.95). The male-female wealth gap matters because about half of all households are headed by single people. “My intention in this book is to shift the dialogue about women’s economic future toward one that includes the importance of building wealth,’’ writes Chang, a former associate professor at Harvard University.
“I Found a Job: Career Advice from Job Hunters Who Landed on Their Feet,’’ Marcia Heroux Pounds (Jist Works, $12.95). The stories and advice from people who have lost and found jobs in this gut-wrenchingly awful economy make this book interesting.
“The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means,’’ Jeff Yeager (Broadway Books, $12.99). Yeager is not ashamed to admit he sometimes boils his eggs in the dishwasher (bottom shelf for firm eggs). He interviews other penny pinchers and shares the common characteristics.
“Mimi, Money and Me: 101 Realities About Money Daddy Never Taught Me But Mama Always Knew,’’ Patricia A. Davis (Davis Financial Services, $19.99). This self-published book is a sweet testimony to the author’s mother, who had to raise the last three of her five children alone after her husband died in 1960. Davis channels her mother’s common-sense approach about money.
“Money Management: From Grade School to Grad School,’’ Ernest Burley (Vital Visions Publishing, $15). Burley, a certified financial planner, has written a guide for parents to teach children about money. “I recommend parents start teaching their children about money as soon as their children start asking them to buy things for them,’’ he says.
Michelle Singletary is a columnist for The Washington Post. 
