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439th out of 580 books
—
266 voters
Hot (broke) Messes: How to Have Your Latte and Drink It Too
by
Nancy Trejos
31-year-old Nancy Trejos was supposed to be an expert on handling her money - after all, she's the personal finance columnist for one of the nation's leading newspapers, The Washington Post. But a few months ago, she found herself in her own dire financial straits. Faced with a mountain of bills, debt, and no way to pay her rent, she was forced to call her parents to ask t...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
May 20th 2010
by Business Plus
(first published May 1st 2010)
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Glancing over many of the two- and three-star reviews, I can see where many readers are coming from. However, I can safely say I enjoyed this book on multiple levels and can comfortably give it 4 stars.
Yes, the title is bad, bordering on embarrassing, as is the cover design. For these reasons I never brought this book in to read at work, like I do with most of my reading materials, on or off the kindle. However, it does provide an accurate cue as to what is inside: this book is half financial ad...more
Yes, the title is bad, bordering on embarrassing, as is the cover design. For these reasons I never brought this book in to read at work, like I do with most of my reading materials, on or off the kindle. However, it does provide an accurate cue as to what is inside: this book is half financial ad...more
Sep 26, 2012
Gwen
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Gwen by:
browsing at the library
Shelves:
business-economics
Bottom line: thank goodness for my parents teaching me good money skills (even though my mother wishes I understood more about the stock market than I do) which were reinforced by the most useful class I ever took in college: personal finance.
I picked up this book while browsing at the library--I recognized the author's name from Washington Post travel chats. My expectations were low as I headed into this book, and the initial impression held true. There's precious little in this book that can'...more
I picked up this book while browsing at the library--I recognized the author's name from Washington Post travel chats. My expectations were low as I headed into this book, and the initial impression held true. There's precious little in this book that can'...more
Nancy Trejos was reporting on financial issues for one of the country's premier papers when she could barely handle her own finances or rather the lack thereof. She fell into many of the same traps that so many people in their 20s and 30s fall into including not managing school debt, not handling credit card debt, as well as also living outside their means. She lives in Washington, DC, a city known for being expensive where it's easy to drop $70 on dinner for two. She eventually realizes that sh...more
first of all, terrible title. kind of tacky cover design as well. both things immediately made me feel that i was not the target demographic. the fact that i am 31 also didn't help (even though the author is in fact a few years older than me).
this is a combo personal finance guide/memoir. the author writes about personal finance for the "washington post," but this did not prevent her from getting herself into some financial difficulties that necessitated her hiring a financial consultant & g...more
this is a combo personal finance guide/memoir. the author writes about personal finance for the "washington post," but this did not prevent her from getting herself into some financial difficulties that necessitated her hiring a financial consultant & g...more
6.2.10 - I finished reading this book this morning before rushing off to jury duty. This was somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me, but since Goodreads doesn't allow half stars, I went with a four. :)
While much of the book feels like "common sense" to me, I really did enjoy that she gave it a personal touch with stories from her own life and interviews with real people. I also really liked that she wasn't preachy about having to give up everything you enjoy when you're broke and that she showed t...more
While much of the book feels like "common sense" to me, I really did enjoy that she gave it a personal touch with stories from her own life and interviews with real people. I also really liked that she wasn't preachy about having to give up everything you enjoy when you're broke and that she showed t...more
I found this book while browsing the stacks for a new year's display. The title intrigued me, and the book appeared to be fun yet informative about personal finance. I can say I wasn't disappointed. I did learn some tips I am now applying. Although I commend the author for disclosing her own hot broke mess, the author, including some of the people featured, appeared to be making more than adequate money but making bad choices. Nevertheless, I think this book is appropriate for folks in their 20s...more
I picked up this book on a whim at the library--maybe the hot pink cover caught my eye. It's more of a personal finance history than a true personal finance "how-to" book.
I have to give the author credit for openly exposing her very poor financial moves. Honestly, reading it made me feel a LOT better about some of the iffy financial decisions I made in my twenties. I may have done the garden variety poor budgeting, but at least I didn't take a big loss on real estate, or have to borrow money fro...more
I have to give the author credit for openly exposing her very poor financial moves. Honestly, reading it made me feel a LOT better about some of the iffy financial decisions I made in my twenties. I may have done the garden variety poor budgeting, but at least I didn't take a big loss on real estate, or have to borrow money fro...more
First things first: I'm not broke. However, I'm not wealthy either, and I'm constantly trying to figure out how to save for retirement, save for big purchases (car, house), save a large emergency fund, and still have fun money to spend on the activities/things that make life enjoyable now. I realize what I need to do is make a budget and stick to it . . . but how? Are there any good tips for doing this? This is always what I'm looking for in a personal-finance book, and it's why I bought this on...more
Yes, you can afford to continue to buy your latte-a-day in this recession, you just need to budget for it and Nancy Trejos wants to show you how. Hot (Broke) Messes, which is a combination of Trejos' own journey to financial stability and the fruits of her research labor as a financial writer for The Post, is based on the principle of living within your means. This is great advice, but if you're looking for tips to help you do that on a day to day basis, this probably isn't the book for you. Hot...more
As a college administrator/counselor I am always looking for books to assign to my students who come in to my office in a variety of bad financial situation or some who just needed to be pointed in the right direction. I thought this book would be a good reading/reflective assignment for my students, however there wasn't much meat to the personal finance advice given in the book . For a book on money advice to a young person, I'd still recommended Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey over this one.
In addit...more
In addit...more
This one deserves a solid 3 stars. It's my least favorite personal finance book but it's one of my favorite chick lit memoir stories. I didn't learn much from Nancy Trejos, but I had fun reading her tale about climbing out of debt. If you're looking to learn about personal finance, like Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey, pass on this one. Trejos offers some tips on how to save money & conserve but I didn't get the "guidance" I was looking for from Trejos.
It's more of a confessional than a personal finance how-to book. But, it is a good wake up call and I would not hesitate to recommend it to a young person heading that way.
If they heed the wake-up call, they need another book with a better bibliography, e.g. something from Kathy Kristof or Jane Bryant Quinn. But this book is a good first baby step and doesn't overwhelm with details.
If they heed the wake-up call, they need another book with a better bibliography, e.g. something from Kathy Kristof or Jane Bryant Quinn. But this book is a good first baby step and doesn't overwhelm with details.
Most finance books are term heavy with no time real language used for the average person. Nancy Trejos writes as through I was listening to a friend. You get a personal understanding of her debt situation. I find it helpful and easier to get the connects to life and finances.
The provided information was 20% standard advice in any finance book but 80% was realistic. Just because she had when through it. I would recommend this boot for high school seniors and college students.
The provided information was 20% standard advice in any finance book but 80% was realistic. Just because she had when through it. I would recommend this boot for high school seniors and college students.
Hot (broke) Messes arrived yesterday. I've browsed several chapters--this is a subject where I could use some introspection--personal finance. So far, the tone seems to be for a twentyorthirty-something woman, not a woman ten years from retirement. I think it is a great book to hand off to my daughter-in-law. But there are lots of good tips and just bouncing my experience against hers will be valuable.
This review is just beginning...more to come.
This review is just beginning...more to come.
I thought I would find tips on how to afford SOME spending, not where to find bargains on "rich girl" items.
At one point she talks about how "keeping up with the joneses" mentality gets people in trouble and then proceeds to tell us how to save money while only APPEARING to keep up with the joneses. NO THANKS.
At one point she talks about how "keeping up with the joneses" mentality gets people in trouble and then proceeds to tell us how to save money while only APPEARING to keep up with the joneses. NO THANKS.
There's nothing like reading about other people's problems to make one's own seem not so big. I didn't learn a lot of new information from this, but it did give me some things to think about regarding my financial well being. It's easy to read and humorous. I think the book could use a different title, though.
This author did a good job of explaining modern finances in a really simple way to 20-30 somethings who need help with organizing that area of life...I just hated how overdramatic she was and how little self-control she had with her own money!
this was a quick/easy read...I learned a couple of things about personal finance....& liked the fact that it read like a memoir... think of it as chick lit for women in the 20s/early 30s who have a shopping/spending problem or who are interested in getting out of debt
I am not sure what intrigued me to read this book. I thought it was an interesting look into what many fen xers are facing. I didn't feel it offered any valuable advice that I didn't already know.
I liked this book and I think it would be GREAT for someone in their 20s. I pretty much knew all the tips except maybe a couple but I enjoyed reading about the author's experiences.
Sep 10, 2012
Amanda Jackson
added it
Trejos puts the big, scary world of finance into terms that the every-woman can understand. I wish I had read this book much earlier!
If you have a grasp of the very basics of personal finance, this book is not for you. It's a fast read in any event.
I went through a phase a while ago reading a lot of personal finance books, but haven't looked at one for a while, so I thought I'd give it another go. This book is written by a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post whose own finances are a bit of a mess, which was an interesting (and relatable for many) viewpoint.
The book was okay. I found her personal stories interesting, but most of the advice was for Americans (which I knew going into it), so not always applicable. I also found...more
The book was okay. I found her personal stories interesting, but most of the advice was for Americans (which I knew going into it), so not always applicable. I also found...more
nothing new to me in terms of financial info, but I liked her story and her writing style a lot.
I had to keep stopping, but could pick it up again for short times.
It was hard to be sympathetic to her at times.
May 03, 2010
Stacey
marked it as to-read
Won this in the first reads giveaway.
Didn't really learn anything new, but it was a good pep talk
I'm not sure I appreciated her telling me how she had to cut back from weekly to monthly pedicures, but I will give her credit for being very brave in revealing her finances. I mean, it's rare to tell anyone how much debt you have, and she tells us EVERYTHING. And she does a great job of explaining things like health insurance and retirement savings in a way that is easy to understand. All in all . . . my kind of finance book.
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Nancy Trejos has been a staff writer for The Washington Post for 11 years. She has covered schools, local government, and the Iraq war. In February 2007, Ms. Trejos joined the business section of the Post. She covered real estate as the real estate boom went bust. In November 2007, she became the Post’s personal finance writer. Ms. Trejos has also written pieces for Latina magazine, including one...more
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15. Mai, 16:18 Uhr