$ Personal Finance $

On My Own Two Feet : A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance

By: Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar (2007)

I checked this book out from the library during the summer and really enjoyed it.  This book touches on everything - from simple budgeting to buying a home.  This is a short, easy read.  Good for someone who would like to learn a little bit more about finances, budgeting, and planning for big purchases or the future in general.  I would advise someone to read this before they purchase a house or car since there is very helpful information on both.  One of my favorite things about this book was the "break down" of a "good" budget.  They refer to this as your "Power Trio of Budgeting" - your total income should consist of 45% foundation (All bills - NEEDS), 15% fun (vacation, dining out, clothes, etc - EXPENDABLE), and 15% savings (emergency fund, retirement, etc).  There is even a chart in the appendix that breaks down different income ranges and what you should be spending in a black and white $ amount for each percentage in the "Power Trio".  Not only can you most likely find this book at your local library for free but it is under $5 with shipping on Half.com!  I actually copied several pages from the book and saved them to refer back to in certain financial situations.  You gotta read this book ladies!

***HELPFUL INFO***

Power Trio of Budgeting :

25%  Foundation

15% Fun

15% Savings

Monthly car related expenses should not exceed 10% of your total monthly income (fuel, oil changes,insurance, car pymnt etc) and included in this 10% is your monthly car pymnt which should be less than 7% of your income