Hot (broke) Messes: How To Have Your Latte And Drink It Too (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I enjoyed reading this book from a memoir perspective. Ms. Trejos' style of writing is humorous and inviting. However, I was also hoping to get some concrete advice on how to better manage my money. Unfortunately, this book falls short of this expectation. While there are money management tips sprinkled throughout the book, I don't feel like I walked away with anything new regarding budgeting and personal finance. first of all, terrible title. kind of tacky cover design as well. both things immediately made me feel that i was not the target demographic. the fact that i am 31 also didn't help (even though the author is in fact a few years older than me).this is a combo personal finance guide/memoir. the author writes about personal finance for the "washington post," but this did not prevent her from getting herself into some financial difficulties that necessitated her hiring a financial consultant & getting a bail-out from mom & dad.i would probably limit my recommendations of this book to people who are pretty young, or older people who haven't even mastered the very basics of personal finance. there was very little in here that was really all that helpful or applicable to me. there's a lot about the importance of sticking to a budget. the author recommends things like watching movies on DVD or netflix instead of seeing them in the theatre (i already do that), doing your best to pay off your entire credit card balance each month instead of making minimum payments & allowing interest to cause your balance to balloon out of control (i already do that), etc. just really basic stuff. there was some useful information about, say, the difference between a 401k & an roth ERA, & how various elements of new legislation under the obama administration is going to impact consumers when it comes to things like health care costs & credit cards. but most of the information was very basic, & interspersed with memoir that made it very difficult to feel like trejos was in any kind of position to be writing a book like this.still, there are a lot of grown people in my life that have really fucked up relationships with money, who could really benefit from a little practical advice. this book is for them, not for me. i guess this book is like therapy, in that the people most likely to pick it up are the last people who really need it.
What do You think about Hot (broke) Messes: How To Have Your Latte And Drink It Too (2010)?
nothing new to me in terms of financial info, but I liked her story and her writing style a lot.
—salina_hawkins
Wow, this sure made me feel a lot better about my personal finances.
—docjon
I had to keep stopping, but could pick it up again for short times.
—Mia
