What To Do with Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide

Among the many “get your financial life in shape” books out there (recent examples include Tiffany Aliche’s Get Good with Money and Naseema McElroy’s Smart Money), this one stands out for its forthright advice, aimed at true hardship situations. In the introduction, Singletary (personal finance writer, Washington Post) describes her book as a collection of frequently asked questions, gathered during her many years as a financial coach and columnist. It is indeed made up almost entirely of questions posed and answered, organized into seven sections that address weathering unemployment, learning from past financial mistakes, determining priorities among financial commitments, saving versus investing, pros and cons of entering the gig economy, making quick money by selling possessions online, and avoiding financial scams. Singletary packs a lot into 200 pages (including a robust list of resources for further development across many categories), and she does not sugarcoat her advice. The format is simple, but this book makes clear that there are no quick-fix solutions.