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Overcome debt, make smart money decisions, and build a financially secure futureDo you support your family, pay your taxes, get the bills done on time-and yet still struggle to achieve financial security? If so, you're not alone. About one-third of all Americans have not saved for retirement, another third have no savings at all, and more than half have no budget. How did we get here? Two words: financial illiteracy. As money and finance have become more complex over the decades, the average American has not been able to keep up-in essence, leaving our personal financial decisions up to banks, bureaucrats, policymakers, and even fraudsters. Norm Champ, a former director at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), provides an in-depth primer on how money works, designed just for you-the non-finance reader. Champ shows how to:. Pay off your loans and stay out of debt for the long run
. Build savings that will see you through thick and thin
. Avoid financial disaster-from bad credit deals to outright scams
. Start building a safe, smart investing portfolioOur financial system is easier to grasp than you think-and armed with this new knowledge and insight, you'll finally take control of your financial future.When you know how money works, you make better financial decisions. It's that simple.
Mastering Money demystifies finance and provides plainspoken, straightforward advice for building a solid financial foundation you can count on in good times and bad.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 Taking Back Financial Control
PART 1
Take Hold of the Spending Governor
CHAPTER 2 Think Before You Click
CHAPTER 3 Debt Begets More Debt
CHAPTER 4 The Mortgage Trap
CHAPTER 5 The Lottery Disaster and Other Hidden Taxes
PART 2
Increase Inflow
CHAPTER 6 The Best Social Program Is a Job
CHAPTER 7 Saving Your Way to a Better Life
PART 3
Investing for the Future
CHAPTER 8 Investing Tax Free
CHAPTER 9 Become a Net Worth Warrior!
CHAPTER 10 Financial Literacy for All:
Let's Teach Our Children
Notes
Index
About the author
Norm Champ is a partner at the global law firm Kirkland & Ellis and the former director of the Division of Investment Management at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under his leadership, the SEC adopted a series of new regulations following the Great Recession. He led initiatives to enhance transparency of the SEC's actions to the public and industry. Champ regularly teaches an investment management course at Harvard Law School.
