Money management by the book

I used to think that money was the most important thing inlife. Now that I am older, I know it is. Oscar Wilde

If paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a financial planis not for you, there are cheaper ways to get your finances in shape.

Several new books on the market can help.

Anne M. Lieberman, who holds the CFP certificate from theCollege of Financial Planning in Denver and an MBA from theUniversity of California at Berkeley, has written Mastering Money(Longman Financial Services Publishing, $15.95), a useful workbookdesigned to get people to think about finances and their future.

Like many of these books, Mastering Money helps you determineyour net worth and cash-flow, insurance and retirement needs,over-all goals and objectives and it offers an analysis of your taxliability.

Lieberman, who runs a financial planning business in California, said she is convinced that money and psychology go hand in hand:"Why people don't get ahead financially has to do with attitudes.Money can represent power, nurturing or security. People have to getrid of the emotional load of money and be rational."

The biggest mistake people make, she said, is starting too late."You should start in your 20s," she explained. "But most peoplestart thinking about it at 35, they cogitate a while and wait anotherfive years. I hope people will start earlier."

But if you are in your 30s or 40s and haven't done much toensure a cash-rich mid-life and retirement, there's a book for you,too. Richard Eisenberg, a senior writer at Money Magazine, haswritten How to Avoid a Mid-Life Financial Crisis (Scott, Foresman andCo., $18.95).

"I am denying this is a yuppie book. I am writing for people intheir 30s and their 40s who are not necessarily urban and notnecessarily professionals," Eisenberg said, who writes that "thebuilding of wealth and financial security is within the grasp ofanyone reaching mid-life today."

There are two other new books that deal with personal finance.In A Consumer's Guide to Financial Planning (Franklin Watts, $17.95),author Merle E. Dowd acknowledges that there are drawbacks to doingyour own financial plan.

"Your biggest hazard, if you attempt to develop your ownfinancial plan," he said, "is procrastination. Unless you are aknown self-starter, one who can set an objective and work steadilytoward it, then procrastination could be your biggest barrier."

And for lovers of books affiliated with the New York Times,there is the Complete Guide to Personal Investing (New York TimesBooks, $22.50) by financial reporter Gary L. Klott. The bookoffers a look at more than 70 personal investment options, fromannuities to rollover Individual Retirement Accounts to vacationhomes.

When shopping for a personal finance book these days, make surethe one you select has information on the tax reform laws that tookeffect this year. Otherwise, you might be throwing your money away.