I’ve always been able to balance the checkbook and make a simple budget, but I’ve never really known much about finance and investing. This all started with the Parable of the Talents, where the master entrusts his servants with his resources while he is away. When he returns, he calls his servants for an accounting. The first and second servant both doubled what he had entrusted to them, and are called good and faithful, but the third hid the money because he was afraid of his master. This third servant is called wicked and is cast out.
Now, I’m not pursuing a theological point, but I have never really understood this parable. I always identified with the third servant, not because of fear of the master, but because I wouldn’t have had a clue how to make more money with the talents. No sermon or speaker has ever really helped me to understand it, either.
One day about a year ago, after once again not having the story explained well enough to satisfy my questions, I realized that my lack of financial savvy was no excuse for my lack of action. So what if I didn’t know about investing and such? I didn’t have to stay there. I’ve always thought it was too confusing and hard to figure out, but the only way to learn was to dive in.
I don’t remember how I started, because I discovered a lot of resources at the same time, so I’ll just share some of them with you.
Books
It would be the height of irony, I think, to go out and buy books on how to better manage your money. Especially since our public library is within walking distance of our flat. I perused the “section with all those money books” and checked out a few titles that appealed to me. I have checked out:
“Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make With Money” by Lois Frankel.
“Get A Financial Life: Personal Finance in your Twenties and Thirties” by Beth Kobliner.
“The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness” by Dave Ramsey.
“Die Broke: A Radical Four-Part Financial Plan” by Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine.
“You Don’t Have to Be Rich: Comfort, Happiness, and Financial Security on Your Own Terms” by Jean Chatzky.
There might be a couple of others that I can’t remember right now. It’s very possible there’s a Suze Orman book in there, but I can’t be sure without looking at it. I can tell you though, that’s it’s slim pickin’s right now at the library! It looks like most of the personal finance books are checked out.
Podcasts
Okay, so I only have one. I really like the Money Girl podcast, done by Quick and Dirty Tips. I’m a neglectful podcast listener, but she makes each topic easy to understand, even for me. I’d like to subscribe to more financial podcasts if I can figure out and remember how to navigate our system for connecting to itunes (don’t ask).
Blogs
I really wish I could remember how I found the blogs I read, but I can’t. Oh, well. I’m glad I found them.
That’s all I got for now. What resources do you use?