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An Excerpt

Money In,
Money Out

“Duh,” you may be thinking, but managing money starts with understanding how this magical quantity gets into your hands.

It may appear on a regular basis because you have a job that gives you a periodic paycheck. Or it could arrive annually on your birthday because Grandma remembers you with a $10 bill and a sweet card. It’s possible that you check coin slots on vending machines and earn a decent few dollars a week.

Whether the sources of your money are reliable and regular or strictly by chance, it’s important you’re aware of them, because they help you budget.

Pizza, textbooks, cell phone bills, movie rentals…all that wonderful money has a knack for disappearing. Monitoring where it goes is very important in figuring out how much you’ll need tomorrow, next week or next month. Keeping track of what comes in and what goes out—and knowing how to plan accordingly—is called budgeting.

It’s a Jungle Out There!

You wouldn’t travel to a foreign country without checking a few things out first, would you? Maybe check out some online sources or take a travel book out of the library? Likewise, you shouldn’t head out into the wild world of finance until you’ve done a little background research.

This is your guide to surviving your next expedition into the wild world of finance. Take it with you, refer to it often and report back on the wild animals you see.

PURPOSE

The world of financial institutions can be stuffy and boring. From the outside looking in, it’s run by suits that only want to deal with high-net-worth clients—definitely not the 25-and-under crowd! This field guide is an insider’s track to dealing with and getting what you want from your financial institution.

STRUCTURE

Like planning a trip to a foreign country, the guide starts with the big picture (the world of financial institutions and the difference between credit unions and banks) and narrows down to the nitty gritty (information for readers to use for their specific needs). The structure is logical and easy to understand.

TONE

Think Crocodile Hunter in a Complete Idiot’s Guide book. The writing style is helpful with light humor. It is informal and conversational.