cover image The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream

The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream

Suze Orman. Random/Spiegel & Grau, $26 (304p) ISBN 978-1-4000-6973-6

With a clarion call to "stand in your truth," Orman (The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke) re-engineers much of the advice given in her previous works for her latest volume. Chock full of financial advice pertinent to the post-2008 economic landscape, the book addresses every age and stage of life. Organized into nine "classes," with each class/chapter further divided into related lessons, Orman's effort is characteristically upbeat and no-nonsense, offering lessons on family matters, homeownership, saving for college, emergencies, retirement, and more. Orman firmly guides readers when dealing with parenting issues or underwater mortgages. Orman declares herself "vehemently anti-allowance," opting instead for paying children to do household chores, and she explains how to implement such a policy. A class on careers gives honest advice for anyone facing continued unemployment or thinking of taking a lower paying position. And three of her classes focus on financial planning for the future and how readers as young as 20 can begin saving for retirement. After finishing Orman's book, and completing her exercises, readers will have a very clear sense of how they can achieve what she has rechristened the "New American Dream." (Mar.)