“Who’s your personal finance guru? - Mother Nature Network” plus 1 more

Who’s your personal finance guru? - Mother Nature Network

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Although personal finance is personal, millions of Americans look to the experts for advice and guidance when it comes to spending, budgeting and saving their money. If you want to get a handle on your finances but aren't sure which personal finance guru is for you, allow me to help. Although the main goal of these personal finance experts is to help you get a handle on your finances, each takes a little different approach to achieving the same goal.

Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey's best selling book The Total Money Makeover walks you through the Baby Steps. After completing Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, which include starting a beginner emergency fund and putting 15 percent into your retirement account, you will find yourself with a paid off mortgage, a healthy retirement fund, savings for your kids college and more.

My big takeaway with the Dave Ramsey plan is the guy thinks debt is evil. The only debt that he won't yell at you about is a mortgage and then only if the mortgage payment is no more than 25 percent of your monthly net income on a 15-year fixed note. The no credit and conservative mortgage guidelines aren't for everyone but Dave Ramsey fans love him, to the tune of more than four million listeners for his daily radio talk show.

Suze Orman

With her telltale blonde locks and upbeat yet sometimes boisterous attitude, Suze Orman is one of the most popular personal finance gurus out there. Orman is the author of a bevy of personal finance books including The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom and Women & Money. She is also the host of The Suze Orman Show, which appears on CNBC.

While Suze Orman also encourages viewers to get out of debt, especially in today's economic climate, she doesn't take the hard line approach to debt that Dave Ramsey does. Ramsey loathes the FICO scoring system but Orman understands that for the vast majority of Americans, having a good FICO score is a necessary.

David Bach

David Bach is the new face of Equifax, one of the three main credit bureau reporting systems. Bach recently released his newest book, Debt Free for Life, which includes an easy to follow system to help Americans get out of debt. Like Ramsey and Orman, Bach encourages Americans to get out of debt sooner vs. later.

In addition to his newest book, Bach is also the author of the Automatic Millionaire, Start Over, Finish Rich and Go Green, Live Rich. Bach's eco-friendly personal finance book helps demystify the "going green is expensive" myth. Achieving better financial health while keeping the environment in mind doesn't have to be mutually exclusive and Bach helps you reach both goals.

Clark Howard

Host of The Clark Howard Show, Howard helps Americans make better financial choices and avoid getting ripped off. Howard is a consumer advocate that offers practical and easy-to-implement financial advice via his daily radio show as well as his HLN weekend television show.

Clark is also the author of several popular books including one specifically for parents – Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids: Teaching Kids of Every Age the Value of Money. If you are a parent and struggle with personal finance, start teaching your kids about money and how it works now so they can avoid those same struggles in their future.

There are more experts in the personal finance world than just these four, but if you want to make a change in your finances and want some guidance in making this change, one of these books is a good place to start. The good news is, your library should have a copy so you won't have to shell out any dough to help you get your financial house in order.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Personal Finance: Valentine's and prenups go together - Sacramento Bee

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Valentine's Day: That heartfelt time of rings, romancing and oh-so-many wedding proposals. And a day when three little words just might be whispered in your ear.

No, not those three little words. The I-love-yous aside, we're talking these: a prenuptial agreement.

As the busy summer wedding season approaches, it's a good time to consider a document with a decidedly ominous reputation.

"It sounds so unromantic," said Beth Appelsmith, a Sacramento family law attorney, who's done dozens of premarital agreements. "But the negative connotations come from celebrity cases, the ones that go bad," she noted, like that of San Francisco Giants baseball player Barry Bonds, whose last-minute premarital document was contested all the way to the California Supreme Court.

Or the current, contentious case of Los Angeles Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, whose prenuptial agreement has been at the heart of the couple's multimillion-dollar divorce.

In fact, the term has become so synonymous with loveless legalese that veteran family law attorneys like Hal Bartholomew in Sacramento prefer to call them "marital agreements" – "because it's a more positive word."

Nationally, the number of couples signing prenuptial agreements appears to be growing and the economy could be a factor.

In a survey of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) members released last September, 73 percent said they've seen an increase in so-called "pre-nups" during the past five years. Also, 52 percent reported more women requesting prenups and 36 percent said pensions and retirement benefits are more commonly cited.

Stephanie Barber, a claims analyst with the State Compensation Insurance Fund in Sacramento, said she and her fiancé drew up a prenuptial agreement prior to their marriage four years ago "because I had a vested retirement and savings and he had a home with a lot of equity. It was so simple and it separated the financial from the emotional."

Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last, but the couple's prenup, Barber says, made the divorce amicable enough that "we're still friends."

Who needs one?

"If all you have is an apartment and a paycheck, then you don't need a prenup," said attorney Appelsmith. "But if you have real estate, a business, children from previous relationships, then you do need one."

Appelsmith, who's seen a slight increase in prenup requests the past few years, said it might be worthwhile for a couple to have a one-hour consultation with an attorney before deciding whether a prenup is needed.

Berkeley-based Nolo Press, which published a how-to book on prenups (see box), recommends that couples do some homework together, writing a draft of their financial preferences before heading to a lawyer's office.

Basically, a prenuptial agreement states your wishes for how your marital assets and debts would be handled, in the event of divorce or death. Some couples don't want to be bound by California's community property laws, which generally divvy up all assets and income earned during a marriage in equal portions. Some couples waive spousal support in case of divorce. Older couples with children from previous marriages, established businesses or complicated investments may want to spell out which assets go where, often as part of their estate planning.

It's all about how you approach it, says longtime lawyer Bartholomew, who's done 50 or 60 prenuptial agreements over the years. "Too often I've seen agreements where one side has a buddy who's a lawyer. The agreement is very sterile or approached like it's a business arrangement."

But prenups are not an emotionless contract. "This is different: This is a couple in love with each other. … I like the empowerment of couples making these (financial) decisions together," said Bartholomew, past president of the AAML's Northern California chapter.

He and Appelsmith are advocates of so-called "collaborative" agreements, where a couple sit down, each with an attorney, to amicably devise a financial agreement that works for both sides. The emphasis is teamwork, not adversarial.

Appelsmith said it can also be helpful to have a neutral financial planner or adviser on hand to discuss the tax implications and financial strategies that might be involved.

And while it's commonly assumed that prenups are only for the wealthy – who want to shield expensive homes, cars and bank accounts in case of divorce – that's not necessarily so, say family law attorneys.

Sacramento attorney Dena Bez, who executed five or six prenups last year, said many of her clients are blue-collar couples with modest incomes.

The recession, she says, has driven more couples to seek out premarital agreements as protection from financial harm.

"Because of the economic climate, they're hesitant to get into a relationship that could affect their credit scores or expose them to debt collection," said Bez. "They want to insulate themselves from a partner's debts."

In one case, a middle-aged couple wanted a prenup because one had a clean credit history but the other had large amounts of credit card debt. Their prenup stipulated that each person's income and debts remain separate.

Another, a 20-something bride-to-be, sought a prenup to make it "abundantly clear" that her expected inheritance would remain her separate property. Even though inheritances and gifts are not considered shared assets in a marriage, she and her parents didn't want any uncertainty in case the young marriage didn't last.

What's required in a prenup? It must be in writing. Both sides must wait seven days before signing. Each person must fully disclose all their assets and their debts.

In addition, if alimony or spousal support is involved, both sides should have an attorney's advice. And if one party's primary language isn't English, the prenup should be translated so there's no misunderstanding of what's in the document.

It's also recommended that couples review their prenuptial agreement periodically, especially after 10 years or so, to be sure the terms still suit their circumstances.

Perhaps the best outcome of a prenup is that it gets couples talking about their finances before saying "I do."

"If a couple has a chance to talk about their expectations around money, they should be able to minimize conflict and surprises during their marriage," said Appelsmith, who's seen how financial differences can lead to divorce.

"Some people think it's kind of crass to talk about money," she noted. But if two people have completely different ideas about how to handle their finances, the process of setting up a prenuptial agreement "can actually generate harmony."

Ultimately, a prenup is insurance in case happily-ever-after doesn't happen.

"I've seen so many people go through horrific situations in a divorce because they didn't have a prenup. It gets ugly and emotional," said Barber, 39. By contrast, she says her split was clean, simple and friendly, thanks to the prenup: She kept her CalPERS pension; he kept his house.

"It was a no-brainer for us. I would definitely do another prenup, if I were to consider remarrying. Absolutely."

Have a personal finance question? Call The Bee's Claudia Buck at (916) 321-1968.

Personal Finance

Wednesday, February 16, 2011