Right on the Money: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances

Introduction The Right on the Money staff gathers every Friday for an editorial meeting. We talk about what we've done so far, exchange ideas about the programs we're currently creating, and discuss possible personal-finance topics for future shows. These meetings are lively. We all draw on our own money experiences and issues, as well as viewer e-mails, economic trends, and the news. Conversations similar to the ones we have about saving for retirement, getting rid of credit card debt, paying off student loans, investing in the stock market, and all the other pressing money issues of today are going on at the workplace and in homes all around the country. I broke into finance and economics journalism two decades ago, and since then I've witnessed a remarkable transformation in how money is dealt with in American society. Personal finance has evolved from being a tributary of our culture to being an everyday mainstream concern. Managing money is a growing worry for good reason. Our anxiety is the result of the financial upheavals caused by soaring inflation in the 1970s, the extensive layoffs of the 1980s, and the spread of self-directed retirement savings plans in the 1990s. Many of the things we associate with the good life, such as a home, a college education, and a decent standard of living in our old age, have became increasingly costly. What's more, we've moved at a quicksilver pace from a limited world of passbook savings accounts, 30-year mortgages, and whole life policies to a cosmos of almost infinite financial choices. And the rapid growth of the Internet suggests you ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to financial innovation. Still, the democratization of finance is an extraordinary force that has been mostly for the good, as finance for the elite turns into finance for the masses. But better money choices come with a steep price. It sometimes seems that managing our hard earned dollars threatens to become a full-time occupation. We worry about the choices we're making, and it's clear many people are unsure about their decisions. How much of my retirement portfolio should go into stocks? Should I invest in technology stocks? Why do I keep slipping back into credit card debt? How will I ever afford to send my kids to college, save for my retirement, and still pay our monthly bills and daily expenses? Right on the Money is designed to bring order to the confusion. We keep things simple. Our guiding idea is that you can manage your money and control your financial risks intelligently with good information, a thoughtful focus on your values and goals, and a commonsense appreciation of economic trade-offs. And we believe that approach leaves you the time to do the things that matter much more than deciding whether to buy a growth or value equity mutual fund. Every episode of Right on the Money starts with a family or an individual confronting a personal finance problem. Their stories are both intensely personal and very typical. We take their questions to several leading financial experts for their knowledge and insight. Then we give the family the expert advice, and return for a follow-up interview. For me, this is the best part of the show. I get to sit down with the family and find out what they learned, what information works for them and, sometimes, what advice doesn't. After all, the experts may tell them which ten things they should do, but a guest's individual lifestyle, values, and competing demands on available time may dictate that only three of those ten remedies make sense. It's their choice. Their decision. And that's how it should be. Just like our guests, you can benefit from the Right on the Money approach through this book. We deal with a number of different money topics, but underlying them all are some common principles. You're every bit as smart as the money elite and you know your circumstances better than any Wall Street mandarin. So take conFarrell, Chris is the author of 'Right on the Money: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances' with ISBN 9780375503696 and ISBN 0375503692.