Purchase

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Indie BookShop

Ripped Bodice

Add to Wish List

Also by Carmen Wong Ulrich:

The Real Cost Of Living, January 2011
Paperback
Generation Debt, January 2006
Trade Size

THE REAL COST OF LIVING
By: Carmen Wong Ulrich

Making the Best Choices for You, Your Life, and Your Money

Penguin
January 2011
On Sale: December 28, 2010
288 pages
ISBN: 0399536442
EAN: 9780399536441
Paperback
Add to Wish List

Non-Fiction | Self-Help Money

Every decision, from buying a home to grabbing a daily latte, has costs and benefits-personal as well as financial. The Real Cost of Living helps you make better decisions, both big and small- decisions that involve money, but aren't all about money. Well-known personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich makes personal finance personal and takes into account that we all have motivations that go way beyond number crunching. From marriage and family to career, investing, and more, Carmen examines the "real cost" of the choices we all make every day.

• Is deciding whether to go back to work full-time after you have a child really all about money? Should it be?

• Is prepaying a mortgage a smart-money move, or is it really about craving security and stability-and which means more to you?

• How much do your bad habits really cost you? And is saving thousands of dollars enough of a motivation to get you to stop?

• Are college degrees really worthwhile? And if so, how can you maximize the odds of gaining all the benefits of a degree, both personally and financially?

• Is becoming your own boss the answer to your career malaise? Can you handle the costs?

The Real Cost of Living is a rare melding of personal psychology and personal finance at an important time when we have discovered that having more money may not bring more happiness, but knowing what really will make you happy can be worth any cost.

Media Buzz

The View - November 24, 2011
Early Show - October 27, 2011
Early Show - October 18, 2011
Today - September 29, 2011
Today - September 28, 2011
Marketplace - PRI - August 27, 2011
Today - August 23, 2011
Today - August 17, 2011
Early Show - July 26, 2011
Today - July 11, 2011
Today - July 6, 2011
Today - June 16, 2011
Marketplace - PRI - June 11, 2011
Today - May 11, 2011
Today - May 10, 2011
Today - May 4, 2011
Today - April 27, 2011
Today - February 24, 2011
Today - January 21, 2011
Today - January 19, 2011
Early Show - January 17, 2011
Today - January 2, 2011