Rating: 
Summary: Ms. Singletary is wonderful!
Review: Ignore the negative customer reviews as Michelle
Singletary truly speaks the truth about money in a fashion
that most readers can understand.If you were to see or hear Michelle on TV or radio, respectively, it would be clear that her easy-going, humorous style is adopted for the book as well. Ms. Singletary writes the way she speaks for the most
part, which is refreshing as she talks to the reader instead
of preaching like other books of this nature. She doesn't give financial advice. It is common sense
stuff that we all tend to forget when we lose our minds
over money! Bravo, Ms. Singletary
Rating:
Summary: Forget about the jealous haters!
Review: Michelle Singletary is no-nonsense when it comes to money matters. She is frugal and disciplined when it comes to spending and saving. Many of the things in the book may not apply to all individuals, but use what YOU can use and don't knock it for everyone else. It takes a lot to put all of that information together. Mrs. Singeltary should be applauded for her efforts. She is trying to provide a much needed service to people who honestly need help. The book wasn't intended to be an Investment tool. You haters are probably never satisfied with anyone or maybe you're jealous because you wish it were YOU people were writing great reviews about. If you think you can do better try it yourself. In the meantime keep your negative reviews to yourself. Don't be a stumbling block for someone else. Someone who's weak might buy in to your ramblings and never recieve the help they really need.
Rating:
Summary: Delivers what the front cover promises
Review: Ms. Singletary delivers what one of the titles promises: "How to Live Well with the Money You Have." This book is not about getting rich. It is about learning how to save more. She has many great ideas and instructions on how to spend less. I think her ideas will help many people reduce needless consumption. Where should you invest your savings? The author's answer? She tells you how to carefully select some mutual funds. However, I should note that careful selection of mutual funds won't protect you from risks that are inherent in the stock market.
Rating:
Summary: Delivers what the front cover promises
Review: Ms. Singletary delivers what one of the titles promises: "How to Live Well with the Money You Have." This book is not about getting rich. It is about learning how to save more. She has many great ideas and instructions on how to spend less. I think her ideas will help many people reduce needless consumption. Where should you invest your savings? The author's answer? She tells you how to carefully select some mutual funds. However, I should note that careful selection of mutual funds won't protect you from risks that are inherent in the stock market.
Rating:
Summary: Delivers what the front cover promises
Review: Ms. Singletary delivers what one of the titles promises: "How to Live Well with the Money You Have." This book is not about getting rich. It is about learning how to save more. She has many great ideas and instructions on how to spend less. I think her ideas will help many people reduce needless consumption. Where should you invest your savings? The author's answer? She tells you how to carefully select some mutual funds. However, I should note that careful selection of mutual funds won't protect you from risks that are inherent in the stock market.
Rating:
Summary: I am ashamed to admit . . .
Review: that I am a Washingtonian who had not read any of Michelle Singletary's columns until I heard her interview on the Diane Rehm show on NPR a couple of weeks ago. She was discussing this book. Everything she said made sense. Immediately I looked up old columns on the internet. I ordered her book because she was talking to me! I'm very pleased to say that I am not disappointed in her book. The way in which she spoke on-air is the same way she speaks in the book. Her mantras are ones that we all can understand. If I had an MBA and wanted someone to speak to me in MBA jargon, why would I want a book on money management at all? Surely my education would have already provided it! The 7 mantras are applicable to all of us. I must admit that there were sections of the book that did not apply to me--but isn't that true for most money management books? (I don't foresee taking in a family renter, for instance.) We are not all on equal footing when it comes to money. In recommending this book to friends, I have frequently used examples such as how much money one can save over a year if one doesn't use ATM's from other banks that charge a $2 fee. Singletary frequently breaks these and other fees down and shows us just how much we could save if we didn't choose to be so frivolous. How much we could have saved! How much we could have invested! How much we could have put toward our children's education or our retirement. Yes, it's true. I'm sure that there are other books that may give you more specifics, talk to you in jargon that you need a dictionary as well as an accounting manual to comprehend, but I don't believe that Singletary's aim was to write a book for MBA graduates. I think she intended this book to be read by the masses who might be floundering in a sea of debt or who might not have enough saved or who might need a little insight into how to deal with their income. I'm very glad that Michelle Singletary is willing to share Big Mama's money sense with us. I'm happily recommending it to everyone I see!
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing But Media Hype
Review: There are many investment books out there that tell people how to invest, but this is not one of them. The entire time I was reading this book I was asking myself: Where's the Beef? Poorly done and poorly written!
Rating:
Summary: More Marketing Than Good Information
Review: There is no new information here that is worth paying for. I could not find anything that has not been said in countless other investment books. What a waste of time! Such trite sayings as "Keep it simple" and "If it's on your ass, it's not an asset" are insulting to readers like me who look for good quality information about how to ivest their money. It is sad that publishers juice up books like this with cure all catch phrases that are expressed as investement advice. Save your money!
Rating:
Summary: A Whole Lot of Nothing
Review: This book costs 20 dollars, and the best financial advice you can get from it is YOU JUST WASTED 20 BUCKS. While her "Mantras" are more or less accurate, she relies on marketing rather than substance to sell her product. Given the vast numbers of financial books out there, you will do a whole lot better someplace else.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple Advice, But A Good Place to Start.
Review: This book is NOT a complicated or sophisticated guide to finance. I agree with some other reviews here that Singletary's advice is somewhat simplistic. Still, in my opinion, her easy, conversational writing style is what "saves" this book. Though the 7 Money Mantras are really nothing more than common sense, how many of us can say we actully use good common sense when dealing with our money? (Especially our use of credit.) It doesn't hurt to be reminded, every once in awhile, of plain and simple ways to save money, limit credit use, save for the future, and so on. The author gives us those reminders and the book is a good place to START learning about handling your personal finances. Reviewer: Linda Painchaud
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