Financial Fresh Start sifts through the jargon of significant but little-understood changes to the US financial landscape--including the Dodd-Frank Act, the Making Home Affordable program, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--to shed light on financial reforms and, ultimately, help you reach your financial goals. By taking a big-picture lens to a wide spectrum of money matters, the book provides answers to questions such as: How can you repair your credit quickly and avoid high costs? What are the safest places for saving and investing? Can you legally avoid repaying what you owe? Will your home ever be worth what you paid for it? Is there life after foreclosure? Are you missing out on programs that can put money in your pockets? And is it possible to make up for recent losses and still retire on time? By learning all this and more, and by gaining a deeper understanding of what the new rules and reforms really mean, readers will find the motivation to shake off their malaise and make significant financial changes. Through the application of Shari Olefson’s sound legal, financial, and real estate expertise, those changes will not only result in positive financial decisions--they’ll lead to greater financial freedom.Your credit, savings, employment benefits, real estate value, and investments can be complex and confusing. But successful navigation of financial systems isn’t just for major corporations and the mega-wealthy whose professionals keep them abreast of significant changes. The expert guidance and practical solutions found in Financial Fresh Start offer readers an unprecedented opportunity to right their finances today and improve their outlook for the future.

Do you want to build a budget that actually works for you? Are you ready to transform your relationship with money? This New York Times bestseller has already helped millions of people just like you learn how to develop everyday money-saving habits with the help of America's favorite personal finance expert, Dave Ramsey. By now, you've already heard all of the nutty get-rich-quick schemes and the fiscal diet fads that leave you with a lot of quirky ideas but not a penny in your pocket. If you're tired of the lies and sick of the false promises, Dave is here to provide practical, long-term help. The Total Money Makeover is the simplest, most straightforward game plan for completely changing your finances. And, best of all, these principles are based on results, not pie-in-the-sky fantasies. This is the financial reset you've been looking for. The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition will give you the tools and the encouragement you need to: Design a sure-fire plan for paying off all debt--from your cars to your home and everything in between using the debt snowball method Break bad habits and make lasting changes when it comes to your relationship with money Recognize the 10 most dangerous money myths Secure a healthy nest egg for emergencies and set yourself up for retirement Become financially healthy for life Live like no one else, so later you can LIVE (and GIVE) like no one else! This edition of The Total Money Makeover includes new, expanded "Dave Rants" that tackle marriage conflict, college debt, and so much more. The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition also includes brand new back-of-the-book resources to help you make The Total Money Makeover your new reality.

Three years after the economic meltdown began, many of us are still reeling from its devastating effects. Maybe you're among the millions of homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages or you lost your home to foreclosure. Maybe you lost your job and have struggled to find a new one, meanwhile struggling with a drastically reduced income. Or perhaps you're one of the roughly 1.5 million Americans filing each year for bankruptcy. Or maybe you emerged from the meltdown relatively unscathed, but you've been recently divorced or widowed. Now, along with all the other accompanying emotional hardships, you must deal with a household budget that is dramatically changed. Maybe you experienced an unexpected health crisis that drained your savings or retirement account. Or perhaps you've simply grown tired of having so much debt. As tough as these situations are, they aren’t hopeless.. You have options. When the old \ rules for managing your finances no longer apply, you can take control of your situation, wipe the slate clean, and start over. Here, in the accessible, empathetic, and easy-to-understand style the Wall Street Journal Guidebook series is known for, veteran WSJ personal finance reporter Karen Blumenthal walks you through everything you need to know to leave the past behind you and get your financial life back on track. This includes how to: -Build a trusted team of professionals to help you navigate your new financial landscape -Get your credit record - the support beam of your financial scaffolding - back in order -Recalibrate your budget and weigh your big ticket expenses -Determine whether you can afford to stay in your home -Adjust your debts to your new situation -Assess your health coverage and other necessary insurance -Invest for your future retirement and other needs -Craft a sustainable plan for long-term financial health Whether you're recently divorced or widowed, or have declared bankruptcy or lost your home to foreclosure, or simply want to start with a clean slate, you can make a fresh financial start. Covering housing, insurance, health care, investing, debt, taxes, wills, and more, this book shows readers at all life stages and income levels how to adapt and adjust their finances to their new circumstances and get on the path to a better financial life.

If you've ever worried about money, you are not alone. For most people, worry and finances are tied up together, but it doesn't have to be that way. It's not about making more money but rather about three simple, biblical steps that apply to all of us, no matter our income. This book will unpack the principles that allow you to lay a strong financial foundation, manage your resources wisely, and receive the blessings that come with living a generous, open-handed life.

Does fear and insecurity keep you from looking at your bank account? Is your financial anxiety holding you captive? You don’t have to stress about money anymore. YOU can take back control. As a newly divorced single mom making $24,000 per year and facing down $77,000 in debt, Kumiko Love worried constantly about money. She saw what other moms had—vacations, birthday parties, a house full of furniture—and felt ashamed that she and her son lived in a small apartment and ate dinner on the floor. Worse, when her feelings began to exhaust her, she binge-shopped, reasoning that she’d feel better after a trip to the mall. On the day she needed to pay for a McDonald’s ice cream cone without her credit card, she had an epiphany: Money is not the problem. Self-Doubt is the problem. Shame is the problem. Guilt is the problem. Society’s expectations for her are the problem. She is the solution. Once she reversed the negative thinking patterns pushing her toward decisions that didn’t serve her values or goals, her financial plan wrote itself. Now, she’s not only living debt-free in her dream home, which she paid for in cash, but she has spread her teachings around the world and helped countless women envision better lives for themselves and their families. Now, building on the lessons she’s taught millions as the founder of The Budget Mom, she shares a step by step plan for taking control back over your financial life—regardless of your level of income or your credit card balance. Through stories from navigating divorce to helping clients thrive through recessions, depression, eviction, layoffs and so much more, you will learn foundational practices such as: How to use your emotions to your financial advantage, instead of letting them control you How to create a budget based on your real life, not a life of self-denial How to create a motivating debt pay-off plan that makes you excited about your future, instead of fearing it My Money My Way will give you the tools to align your emotional health with your financial health—to let go of deprivation and embrace desire. Love’s paradigm-shifting system will teach you how to honor your unique personal values, driving emotions, and particular needs so that you can stop worrying about money and start living a financially fulfilled life.

The bestselling mother/daughter coauthors of "The Two-Income Trap" now pen an essential guide to the five simple keys to lasting financial peace.