Elizabeth Warren - All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan

Also by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi

The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke

The names and identifying characteristics of certain individuals referenced in this publication have been changed.
This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its authors. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, tax, investment, insurance, financial, accounting, or other professional advice or services. If the reader requires such advice or services, a competent professional should be consulted. Relevant laws vary from state to state. The strategies outlined in this book may not be suitable for every individual, and are not guaranteed or warranted to produce any particular results.
No warranty is made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein, and both the authors and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

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Copyright 2005 by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-7974-1
ISBN-10: 0-7432-7974-3

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It is time to stop worrying
and start living.

Contents

Getting Started:
The Truth About Money

The rules of the game have changed.

Somewhere in your bones, you already know this. Hard work and good intentions are no longer enough. Security, comfort, lasting prosperityyou want it, you work hard for it, and yet the worry remains. Real financial peace seems so hard to achieve.

You cant count on good old-fashioned hard work the way your parents did. Go to school, get a good job, do your work, dont go crazy with spending, and everything will work out, right? Not anymore. That advice may have worked in your parents day, but today you have to be smart with your money. Not just a little smart, but super smart. You have to learn the new rulesthe rules nobody told you and nobody talks about. And you have to learn them fast.

Just for a moment, forget what you know about money. Forget about your bills. Forget the size of your paycheck. Forget your shopping trips and the shoes you just bought. We want to give you a new perspective on your money, a different way to think about it. We want you to explore new possibilities.

What if we told you that this book could show you how to cover your bills, without worry or fear? No more bounced checks. No more anxiety about how youll make it through the month. Just the power to pay your bills on time, and then to relax in security and comfort.

Now, what if we told you that on top of showing you how to conquer your bills, this book could show you how to have some money for fun? No living like a Scrooge. No asking yourself every minute, Can I really afford this? Just some cash in your pocket for plain old just-because-you-feel-like-it fun.

And now, suppose we told you that in addition to all of this, you could still have money to save? Money to get ahead, each and every month. Enough money so that you could finally start to dream a littleand make real progress toward those dreams. Enough to build some real wealth.

And what if we said you could do all this without counting pennies, without carrying around a calculator, and without thinking constantly about money? In fact, after a little up-front work, you could stop thinking about money altogether, and spend your days focusing on the things that really matter.

Would you keep reading?

Is This Book for You?

At this point, you may be thinking, Aw cmon. Ive looked at these financial books before. All windup and no delivery. They take your $26 and leave you no better off. All those get-rich-quick schemes that assume you have thousands of dollars lying around, just waiting for the right investment. All those chapters on how to buy stock options, how to choose a vacation home, how to plan your estate so that your kids can inherit millions without paying taxes. Who are they kidding?

Or maybe you bought one of those Billionaire Tells All books, which promised to unlock all the secrets to becoming fabulously wealthy. And here you are, still trying to figure out how the heck youre supposed to make your money work for you.

And then there are the lectures on what they think your problem is. Stop taking expensive vacations. Shift to a better mutual fund. But what if you havent taken a real vacation in ages? What if you dont have two nickels for a mutual fund, or maybe you arent quite sure what a mutual fund is?

Well let you in on a secret: Those books are not written for you. They are written for people who already have plenty of money, people who dont worry about making ends meet. Oh sure, the store is glad to take your money, but those books are written for people who are already rich and who want to get just a little bit richer. So, where is your book?

Right here. All Your Worth is for anyone who ever worries about money. For anyone who works hard and plays by the rules, but discovers that the rules have changed. For anyone who wants to build wealth, but isnt sure how to get started. In short, this book is for anyone who wants to get control of his or her money once and for all, to stop worrying and start living a richer, fuller life.

If you have already solved all your money problems, if you are secure about your future and never worry about money, if all you want is a book to help you get a little richer, then keep shopping. This isnt your book. But if you are like the rest of us, and if you are ready to take charge of your money, then this is your chance to make some profound changes in your life.

Building Your Worth Over a Lifetime
A Plan That Works

We want to be clear right from the start: We are not going to tell you how to get rich working ten minutes a day. We are not going to claim that you can live like a millionaire on $20,000 a year. And we are not going to pretend that you can retire at age 32. We figure you are too smart to believe that kind of twaddle anyway.

We are also not going to say that if youll just shift to generic toilet paper and put $5 a week in the bank, all your problems will instantly disappear. A few pennies here and a few pennies there, and the next thing you know, you will be debt-free, investment-rich, and lighting cigars with Donald Trump. Nope, were not selling that brand of snake oil.

In fact, you wont get any count-your-pennies advice here. And for a very good reason: Penny-counting advice is downright dangerous. Thats right dangerous. Trying to count every penny wont solve your financial problems. But it will distract you from the real issues. (It will also provide you with lots of opportunities to fight with your loved ones and make everyone miserable!) This book skips the pennies and goes straight to the heart of the mattergetting real control over your dollars.