Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong: Overcome the Financial Myths Keeping You from the Life You Want - Hardcover

Karen Ramsey, a certified financial planner for more than 14 years, believes that Americans are financially stymied by the things they think they know about money. She takes a somewhat unconventional approach in her Seattle-based practice by first working to separate clients from these various misconceptions before setting them on the proper paths to fiscal happiness. Accordingly, in Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong, Ramsey begins by debunking 21 deep-rooted notions that she says are the cause of our poor national spending and saving habits--including notions such as "More money will make me happier," "I have to pay for my kids' college education," "I should buy a home because it's a great investment," and "I have to fully fund my retirement plan every year." She then follows up with commonsense suggestions for creating a realistic financial plan. "This isn't a book about how to become a millionaire or how to act like one when you're not," she writes. "It's about transforming your relationship with money so it can become a friendlier presence in your life." --Howard Rothman

Karen Ramsey is the president of Ramsey & Associates, Inc., a Seattle-based financial consulting firm. She speaks regularly, teaches workshops, and runs a Web site.