One Paycheck at a Time
Kimberly A. Griffiths
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2003 Booklocker.com
ISBN: 1591133327

A guide to reaching debt-free status. How to take personal responsibility for your wealth & get out of being broke & in financial trouble.

Most of us start out living from paycheck to paycheck. As a neophyte London secretary, without any training from either my family or schools -- even my secretarial college only taught me how to take care of the books for the businesses I would work for, no one taught me how to handle my personal finances. Each week I would cash my paycheck, hurriedly allot coins for the electric & gas meters -- yes, I came up in the stone age! None of my contemporaries had telephones, we all used public coin operated ones. Each week I never had enough money. My diet consisted of baked beans liberally spiced with curry seasoning & raisins, all heated over a gas ring, or company cafeteria food, sandwiches from local pubs or the fine fare from fish & chip shops. For gifts I always asked for clothes to build up my work uniforms. I got a weekend job at a laundromat so I could keep them clean.

& I had to play -- TGIF was alive & well even in those “once upon a time” days. Luckily I didn't drink & wasn't interested in cosmetics, however, a gal had to play & I loved to dance, go to concerts, movies & plays until the money ran out -- each & every week. It wasn't until I got to America that I had my first checking account, & 3 years later the bank exhorted me to use their credit card. When I'd racked up a few thousand dollars & was having nightmares about being smothered by debt, I cut up my card & went on a minimalistic lifestyle until I'd paid it off, often with every paycheck, sometimes doubling my payment. I swore I never would do that again. One always pays one's “nevers”!

So Kimberly Griffiths' One Paycheck at a Time really comes close to home. Much of what she explains I have had to learn by myself. Now, you have the advantage in this slim, useful, intelligent guide to learn how to own your money & your spending habits.

One Paycheck at a Time is a teaching book: how to look at your income, how to understand the way you spend money, & ultimately, how to become debt-free.

When I went to my bank 20 years ago to plead for my first loan -- I wanted to buy a beautiful used 30 foot travel trailer, the loan officer looked at my decades of finances with his company; saw how much I earned & simply said: “I'm sorry. Even though you've put your children through high school, you owe no one any money. You're not a good candidate because you don't have a credit history.” I was shocked into blurting out: “Are you telling me that because I don't have any debts I'm no good for a loan?” He replied that that was the way it worked. “The more debts you have the better your chances of getting a loan.” I could not grasp that idea, departed his office in a huff, promptly went to a teller & closed out my accounts.

Now, of course, credit cards are the bane of all wage earners. It's just too easy ... until you realize that
a) you'll be paying off the interest for years before ever reaching the principle -- the price of your original purchase &
b) you've become addicted to spending plastic, “make-believe” money.

Everything One Paycheck at a Time teaches is grounded in good solid financial management. Kimberly Griffiths teaches us how to be pro-active in paying off what we owe. Her book is for those who want to haul themselves out of the bottomless pit of debt, paycheck by paycheck.

It covers all the usual culprits: lack of organization; impulse buying; extravagant gift giving; paying for insurance & education; wimpy banking techniques; making your wardrobe work for you; what is smart shopping, how to make more money; handling your investments; your automobile & so on. It's primary focus is on how to pay off your debts, one paycheck at a time!

One Paycheck at a Time is a good book for anyone in debt, especially those new to the workforce or parents whose youngsters are heading into the workforce. Get a copy & start learning how to handle your hard-earned money.

One Paycheck at a Time at $13.95 is an investment which will pay you back again & again!

www.onepaycheckatatime.com

Do catch my Interview with Kimberly Griffiths, you will learn a thing or two!
(03/14/04)

Rebecca