You Don't Have to Be Rich: Comfort, Happiness, and Financial Security on Your Own Terms

Money can't make you happy, but it can make you miserable, explains money maven Jean Chatzky in You Don't Have to Be Rich: Comfort, Happiness, and Financial Security on Your Own Terms. Her premise is provocative: the financial habits of people who believe that money equals happiness will stand in the way of achieving that happiness. Chatzey, a financial editor for the Today show and a columnist for Money magazine, leverages money smart habits of mind from her research with 1,500 Americans and their wallets.

She begins with short and savvy history of how Americans turned from market observers to "in the game all the time participants." Then, she focuses on how to use market down turns as an opportunity "to take back our money by living within our means." Chatzky's down to earth advice is practical and confronts the reader head-on with a non-nonsense approach: "five steps to wanting less," "Feng Shui finance to simplify," "advice for the organizationally dyslexic," "non-gaseous goal setting," or "how to stop digging a financial hole and spotting unconscious spending."

Chatzky illustrates with clear examples and includes survey questions so readers can assess their own money matters. Although some of the advice will sound familiar, (pay your bills when they come in), this is a priceless blueprint for balancing your checkbook along with your outlook. --Barbara Mackoff