52 Weeks to Financial Fitnessis your personal financial trainer -- a friendly and authoritative expert that will guide you week by week to manage your finances and make your money grow. In the current frenzied market it's hard to know whom to turn to for solid advice. Into this void steps the calm presence of Marshall Loeb, personal finance pioneer and former editor of two of the most successful magazines in history,FortuneandMoney. Personal finance and investments are a lot like doing exercise. Few of us are happy with our finances or our physiques. For many people, just getting started on a fitness program is the hardest part. But once you begin, you marvel at how easy it is and wonder how you ever did without it. Marshall Loeb's program for financial fitness, like any good exercise program, starts simply and moves gradually to heavier lifting, boosting your confidence as you move forward. Not only will you learn how to budget your accounts and get your insurance in order, but you'll also have a strong enough background to choose the investments that are right for you (stocks, bonds, or mutual funds) and the know-how to pick a financial planner and get the most out of his or her services. No matter what kind of financial shape you're in, Marshall -- week by week -- carefully brings you to the next level. 52 Weeks to Financial Fitnesstells you everything you need to know to become financially fit. With its comprehensive coverage and ease of use, the book will serve as your practical financial guide. Some examples: * Week 2: Ten ways to boost your savings. * Week 7: Design a realistic family budget with Marshall's three-stage method. * Week 11: Thirteen ways to cut your taxes this year. * Weeks 18 and 19: Get your debt under control and design a sensible borrowing plan. * Week 22: Start investing profitably in stocks. * Week 23: Look into investing in bonds. * Week 33: Cut the cost of your car insurance without cutting your coverage. * Week 46: Calculate and save what you will need to retire comfortably and without worry.

Marshall Loeb is a personal finance pioneer and has been managing editor of two of the most successful magazines in history, <i>Fortune </i>and <i>Money</i>. Under his leadership <i>Money</i> became the fastest growing magazine in America and Fortune was the first business magazine to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Most recently, he was editor of the <i>Columbia Journalism Review</i> and has been cited by the New York Times as "one of the most visible and influential editors in the magazine industry." He is now a columnist on Marketwatch.com and a commentator on CBS Radio and the television show Marketing Weekend. Marshall Loeb lives in Scarsdale, New York.<br>

Introduction

Look at this book as your personal trainer -- your friendly, expert, immediately useful, personal trainer.

You know that the time has come to get into better shape, financially.

For most people, just getting started is the hard part. But once you're on your way, you'll wonder how you ever performed at your peak without your personal trainer.

No matter what kind of condition you're in now, your trainer will -- week by week -- carefully bring you to the next level.

In sum, your trainer -- this book -- will show you, step by step, how you can become financially fit. Every week, you will have a measurable and reasonable task that you can accomplish -- or at least get a good start on.

The first week out, we'll get you to perform a little work on the treadmill. We'll do simple things like making sure that you are collecting the highest interest available on your savings and checking accounts. Then, a short time later, we'll go into a bit of weight training by having you learn to use some personal finance software. Soon after that, we'll make sure you are putting your money into the right IRA for your circumstances. Next, we'll do some heavier lifting by pursuing some profitable strategies for buying stocks and reinvesting dividends.

There's nothing extreme here -- no Triathlon spurts of futures or options. You don't have to take those kinds of risks.

Getting your personal finances into good long-term shape is a demanding and often daunting job. But the work needed is much easier -- and you are more likely to succeed -- if you do one task at a time.

We have divided your job of effecting a financial plan into 52 pieces, one week each. We do not expect you to complete everything involved with each task in just one week. We do expect that you will get a strong start on it, while recognizing that you will have to continue pursuing each specific goal for a long while to come.

As you follow the practical suggestions in this book, you will feel better with every passing day. At the end of 52 weeks, you should have considerably greater control of your finances. And you can build from there. Staying fit will be something that you work at every day -- profitably -- for the rest of your life.

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Excerpted from 52 Weeks to Financial Fitness: The Week-by-Week Plan for Making Your Money Grow by Marshall Loeb
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