Pound Foolish Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry

• Small pleasures can bankrupt you: Gurus popular­ized the idea that cutting out lattes and other small expenditures could make us millionaires. But reduc­ing our caffeine consumption will not offset our biggest expenses: housing, education, health care, and retirement.
• Disciplined investing will make you rich: Gurus also love to show how steady investing can turn modest savings into a huge nest egg at retirement. But these calculations assume a healthy market and a lifetime without any setbacks—two conditions that have no connection to the real world.
• Women need extra help managing money: Product pushers often target women, whose alleged financial ignorance supposedly leaves them especially at risk. In reality, women and men are both terrible at han­dling finances.
• Financial literacy classes will prevent future eco­nomic crises: Experts like to claim mandatory sessions on personal finance in school will cure many of our money ills. Not only is there little evidence this is true, the entire movement is largely funded and promoted by the financial services sector.

—The New York Times

“Have you ever met anyone who has grown rich just by saving? Probably not. But you may well have met someone who has grown rich looking after other peoples savings. That dark secret lies at the heart of ‘Pound Foolish, Helaine Olens excellent book, a contemptuous exposé of the American personal-finance industry.”

—The Economist

“A cautionary tale that you need to read.”

—The Washington Post

“Dishy dirt on the ‘financialization of American life and the hordes of carrion-pickers who swarm us in the hope of lifting still more dollars from our pockets.”

—Kirkus

“This thought-provoking book alerts us to important issues in todays post-recession economy.”

—Booklist

“A highly readable antidote to the snake oil of the personal finance industry. Suze Orman, watch out!” —GREG CRITSER, author of Fat Land   “Wow, does personal financial advice need debunking. And Helaine Olen does it like an old master. Clear, witty, takes no prisoners, and right as hell. Olen will wake you up. There is no financial trick to make you rich.” —JEFF MADRICK, author of The Age of Greed and senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute   “Helaine Olen explains in simple language why most Americans are never going to understand the myriad complexities of investing and borrowing, leaving us all vulnerable to being ripped off in oh so many ways. Combining thorough research with passionate writing, Pound Foolish tells us what to do to protect ourselves and our hard-earned money.” —DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fine Print   “As Helaine Olen shows in this powerful exposé, ‘personal finance is the ultimate oxymoron. The financial challenges that most Americans face are not simply personal—they reflect the failure of our polices and our leaders to tackle growing middle-class insecurity. And the advice that self-proclaimed money experts provide is far from sound finance. Too often, its snake oil that only adds to the problem.” —JACOB S. HACKER, director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University, and author of The Great Risk Shift   “Pound Foolish is a fabulously well-reported, lucid, and witty tour of the train wreck that American finance has become. Olen has the rare ability to demystify the countless swindles and frauds that lately comprise the basic operations of the investment scene. As a kind of bonus, she depicts with verve and intelligence the panoramic freak show of personalities who infest the money scene.” —JAMES HOWARD KUNSTLER, author of The Geography of Nowhere and Too Much Magic   “In this gripping account, Helaine Olen pulls out the rug from under the finance industry, and does so in time for at least some of us to find alternative solutions to financial security.” —DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF, author of Life Inc. and Present Shock   “The world of personal finance is an economic sideshow filled with illusionists, conjurers, and snake-oil salesmen of every stripe. Thankfully, Helaine Olen has spent enough time inside the circus to be able to guide us wisely and wittily through the hall of mirrors—and come out smarter on the other end.” —JAMES LEDBETTER, opinion editor, Reuters, and author of Unwarranted Influence   “The cult of ‘personal finance sells itself—and preys on pocketbooks—with a wildly false message: that American middle class families only have themselves to blame for their economic troubles. With wit, simple math, and relentless sleuthing, Helaine Olen shows how the personal finance industry has led savers and investors astray, and what you can do to avoid its traps.” —ALYSSA KATZ, author of Our Lot

An exposé of the personal finance industry and the irrational choices it leads us to make.

When Helaine Olen joined The Los Angeles Times, she was flabbergasted to be asked to write a "Money Makeover" column. Knowing nothing about personal finance, she gave it her best shot and soon realized that her ignorance barely mattered. Pretty much anyone could fashion themselves as a money expert.

This experience inspired Olen to investigate the transformation of personal finance-from a few practical, well-meaning, post- Depression advice givers to a multibillion-dollar industry predicated on the promise of quick and easy wealth for everyone.

Weaving together behavioral economics, psychology, and her own reporting, Olen exposes all the ways we've allowed ourselves to be duped-whether by listening to so-called advisers whose main objective is to get rich themselves, placing risky bets on the stock market, or cutting out lattes in an effort to save while ignoring ever-increasing income inequality. Full of shocking stories and data, Pound Foolish will allow us to make smarter choices about money by opening our eyes to the realities of where wealth comes from.

expose the myths, contradictions, and outright lies it has perpetuated.

Olen calls out some of the biggest names in the business, revealing how even the most respected gurus have engaged in dubious, even deceitful, practices—from accepting payments in exchange for promoting certain products to blaming the victims of economic catastrophe for their own financial misfortune.

“Its rare to come across a realistic and readable book about personal finance . . . Helaine Olen . . . offers an exception.” —The New York Times

Financial decisions arenand#8217;t really about money. They're decisions about how we spend our lives. When most financial professionals talk about planning, however, they focus on numbers and technical details. Enter The One-Page Financial Plan.

Too often, the complexity of the planning process paralyzes people before they even begin. Carl Richards sweeps away that complexity and reframes these discussions to focus on the things that actually matter to real people. Rather than identifying arbitrary and impersonal goals (such as trying to beat the market or knowing exactly how much money youand#8217;ll earn years from now), he empowers readers to identify the goals that align with their values. Through a series of steps, he shows readers how simple these decisions can beand#151;once readers are clear about what matters most.

Based on Richardsand#8217;s twenty-plus years of working with clients, The One-Page Financial Plan refocuses readers away from useless financial plans and on the incredibly helpful process of true financial planning. Using his popular sketches that break down big concepts into easy-to-remember visuals, the book is a provocative, even fun, exercise that moves people toward the lives they want.

Monks is determined to help investors get out of their unhappy dream state. His experiences in the financial sector—both as executive and customer, investor and creditor—give him a unique perspective on how we got to this point and how to fix it. He also draws on original research and interview with key figures such as Vanguard founder Jack Bogle, legendary investor Carl Icahn, and former Congressman Barney Frank, co-author of the Dodd-Frank Act. Monkss conclusion:

“When we outsource our investing, whether we use a money manager or a mutual fund, we sacrifice control—but not responsibility. My goal in writing this book is to convince you that the best (and only) way to fix this broken system is to awaken a critical mass of engaged investors and recruit them to participate more fully in the investing process. I want to empower investors by enhancing their understanding of what really happens.”

This book is for anyone who cares about their own financial future, as well as the broader problems facing our economy and society.