What Ruined Your "Financial" Future

Author: (American) Stein
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: "If you earn twenty pounds a year and spend nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings, and sixpence, you will be happy; if you earn twenty pounds a year and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, you will be miserable." — Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
Although everyone desires wealth, many do not have the money they need or desire. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of books tell people how to earn money, save money, spend money, and invest wisely. These books have served a purpose, though many people have learned these suggestions but still fail to understand how to manage their finances and control their economic lives, leading them into inescapable troubles. In light of this, I have decided to take a different approach to teach people how to manage their finances. I believe it is appropriate to offer some counteradvice. I want to write a book to tell you, the readers: what has ruined your "money" prospects. I think this will make you realize that your current actions are wrong, and how these mistakes will unmistakably lead to financial ruin. If you read this book, you will understand: perhaps 75% of your actions are harmful to your financial life. Then you might awaken and realize that your messy financial situation is not accidental. These bad circumstances occur because you are doing obvious, specific wrong things, and anyone who does these things will face trouble. If you realize that your actions inevitably lead to misfortune, you may no longer repeat these mistakes and take steps to put your financial life back on track. If you follow every rule in this book, you will ruin your "money" prospects. If you do the opposite, your "money" prospects will be bright. In short, this is the hope of this book. — Ben Stein
About the Author: Ben Stein was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. He studied economics at Columbia University, then entered Yale Law School, where he was fortunate enough to study finance. Stein has worked as an economist, trial lawyer, speechwriter, teacher of law and economics, a column writer for The Wall Street Journal, a writer for Barron's on financial issues (especially financial fraud), a financial commentator on television programs, and has attended numerous congressional hearings on financial matters. He has also published many books on personal finance. Among them, this is the best-selling and the most entertaining, highly praised by many readers. Ben is famous in Hollywood for his roles in many films, including the most famous Ferris Bueller's Day Off; he also played consecutive roles in The Wonder Years and Charles in Charge; he has long been a regular on the TV show Win Ben Stein's Money. Ben lives in Southern California, accompanied by his wife, son, and many beloved dogs and cats.