Are you a single mother who worries about your family's financial future? The Everything Guide to Personal Finance for Single Mothers has the savvy financial advice you really need. Packed with helpful tips and sound financial practices, this practical yet inspirational guide leads you on a step-by-step journey to financial independence and security.

This guide features tools to help you:

• Assess current financial health

• Set goals near and far

• Narrow the wage gap

• Conquer debt

From how to get out of debt, establish good credit, and qualify for a mortgage to opening a college fund, planning for retirement, and even starting your own business, The Everything Guide to Personal Finance for Single Mothers is the financial advisor you need to secure your future--and that of your children.

About the Authors:

Susan Reynolds is a journalist, author, businesswoman, and single mother who handles her own financial affairs, including managing her retirement fund. She most recently wrote Change Your Shoes, Change Your Life: Strut Your Way to a Fabulous New You! She lives in Pembroke, MA.

Robert A. Bexton, CFA, has been an investment analyst since 1999. Currently, he manages $70 million of clients' assets for Moirai Capital Management. He holds the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley. Mr. Bexton lives in San Francisco, CA.

A comprehensive guide to buying on the Internet, Online Shopper’s Survival Kit will teach you how to effectively and safely shop online for just about anything. With input from expert buyers and sellers, it discusses strategies for getting a great deal on online merchandise, including the top categories, like cars, real estate, and travel services. It reveals how to recognize and avoid scams and frauds and discusses consumer protection issues. Shopping online is the easiest way to find the lowest price for whatever it is you want. But there are plenty of ways to save money besides just getting a good buy.

Being invited into a secret gathering of millionaires in Maui is intriguing, yet as investment experts David Finkel (The Real Estate Fast Track) and Diane Kennedy (Loopholes of the Rich) point out, distinguishing millionaires as an elite group is the first barrier to be broken down. After challenging readers to question their beliefs and limitations about money (or "upgrade your wealth operating system" as they put it), the authors move on to their "25 keys to dreaming big," including instructions on how to build a group of mentors who will help make your dreams come true. Charitable giving and strategies for leaving a legacy round out the final chapters. While most of these ideas won't be new to self-help readers or Oprah fans, those who haven't considered the impact of negative childhood lessons about money or current limitations to dreaming bigger may find the book fairly insightful. For those who have encountered these ideas before but haven't implemented them, the exercises and suggestions provide a concrete call to action. Until readers have built enough wealth to attend the actual Maui Millionaire event (priced at $30,000), this book—and its frequently referenced online tools — provide a decent insight into millionaire thinking.

Too many people dream of becoming a millionaire but have no real plan for how to achieve it. Well, you can’t become a millionaire just by dreaming, wanting, or wishing for wealth. So many times we get caught up in daily tasks and activities that we forget about setting substantive goals for the future. But in order to accrue substantial wealth, it’s essential that you write out your short-, medium-, and long-range goals. Some of you may not have thought about your own goals much lately. Perhaps your life has been consumed by your children’s world; their needs and wants always come first, and you constantly put your desires on the back burner. It’s a mistake to do that. Financially speaking, you can get yourself so wrapped up in another person—whether that individual is your child, partner, or parent—that you neglect yourself and fail to engage in smart, practical financial planning. You don’t want to look up 20 years from now and think that you should have managed your money better when you were younger.

Personal finance guru David Latko cannot tell a lie, and he’s out to expose the liars behind today’s biggest rip-offs—from realtors and stockbrokers to car dealers, bankers, financial planners, and even predatory family members. What sets David Latko apart from other financial commentators? Just ask anyone who has listened to “Money & More,” the roof-rattling national radio show he co-hosts with “professional iconoclast” Earl Merkel. He is not a slick “talking head” delivering hot new stock tips. He’s not the Pollyanna commentator who reduces money management to a few too-good-to-be-true steps. Instead, he uses vivid, real-life tales from the trenches and down-to-earth scenarios to deliver the straight talk on financial issues that affect us every day. His delivery is jargon-free and packed with eye-opening facts the financial industry doesn’t want you to know. His goal is to empower you so that you can be an informed, savvy, world-wise investor who can spot a wasteful surcharge a mile away. With David Latko as the umpire, the game is up for that unscrupulous brother-in-law who wants you to buy into his get-rich-quick schemes or the investment counselor who stops returning your calls as soon as she’s cashed her commission check. David reveals the kind of information you can take to the bank—reaping the rewards for the rest of your life.

I grew up on a farm in Nebraska. My family had always worked hard for their money, and as a result, I always equated working hard with making money, with no idea that my beliefs could not have been further from truth. As I educated myself on human behavior and financial strategies, I learned that it’s actually the people who make their money work hard for them, rather than the people who work hard for their money, who end up with more of it. Since creating my millionaire-making program, I’ve learned that I was not alone. Much like our views about many things -- people, relationships, food, and health to name a few -- our beliefs came from our parents, our teachers, and other adults in our lives. These beliefs are ingrained, and because they’re usually subconscious, the cycles are continuous -- until someone breaks them. Beliefs about money are many and varied, but in my research, I’ve discovered that there are a few that predominate.

So your parents are retiring! What’s that got to do with you? Plenty, it turns out. Retirement is a change in life status that can affect the whole family. What’s at stake? Oh, not much—just money, health and relationships. Here are 20 questions to ask your parents, whether they are about to retire, or currently retired. But take it slowly! You don’t need to ask every question the morning after the big retirement party!

A comprehensive guide to buying on the Internet, Online Shopper’s Survival Kit will teach you how to effectively and safely shop online for just about anything. With input from expert buyers and sellers, it discusses strategies for getting a great deal on online merchandise, including the top categories, like cars, real estate, and travel services. It reveals how to recognize and avoid scams and frauds and discusses consumer protection issues. Shopping online is the easiest way to find the lowest price for whatever it is you want. But there are plenty of ways to save money besides just getting a good buy.

Let’s face it. Getting divorced is a financial blow to any family. It is quite a touchy subject. Even in the best of circumstances there are double the housing expenses because suddenly there are two homes to support. Ah you know, two phone bills, to cable bills, two water bills and so on. When there are kids involved and split-family living becomes the lifestyle of choice for the foreseeable future, finances can get even stickier. If you are on reasonable terms with your ex-spouse there are some ways to avoid common pitfalls of supporting your kids financially. If you are not, there are still limited actions you can take without having to involve the family lawyer, they just may not be as equitable.

According to Toledo attorney, Stephen Pennington, there are some fundamental legal concerns that every woman should understand, plan, and prepare for in order to best protect her financial assets in lieu of a possible divorce, death of a spouse, or for simple common sense financial survival. It is noteworthy that each of the potentially troubling monetary difficulties cited below arrives at a time when a woman is simultaneously coping with personal loss and pain, thus underscoring the need to take preparatory measures well in advance such major life events (upsets). For every woman who does prepare, there are countless more who do not and who pay the price both financially and emotionally.