Pull up a chair.Make a plan.

You will learn

• Why money worries are common, and what helps
• The five steps of the Kitchen Table Method
• How this book is organized and how to use it
• Setting up a regular money night at home
• What this book is, and when to call a professional

Sections

1. You're in Good Company
2. It's Never Too Late to Start
3. The Kitchen Table Method
4. Set Up Your Money Night
5. Education, Not Advice

You will learn

• The 30-day spending snapshot: paper, spreadsheet or app
• Reading bank and credit card statements
• Fixed, flexible and irregular expenses
• The subscription and autopay audit
• What your numbers are telling you, without guilt

Sections

1. The 30-Day Spending Snapshot
2. Reading Your Statements
3. Sorting Your Spending
4. The Subscription and Autopay Audit
5. What the Numbers Tell You

You will learn

• Four budget styles explained plainly, and how to choose
• The 50/30/20 rule of thumb and where it falls short
• Budgeting on irregular income or a fixed retirement income
• Sinking funds for bills that arrive once or twice a year
• Making a budget work for two, and the monthly check-in

Sections

1. Start With Your Real Numbers
2. Four Budget Styles, Explained Plainly
3. Budgeting When Income Bounces Around
4. Budgeting on a Fixed Retirement Income
5. Sinking Funds for the Bills That Ambush You
6. Making It Work for Two or More
7. The Monthly Money Check-In

You will learn

• Why a cushion turns a crisis into an inconvenience
• Three common milestones, from starter to six months
• How much makes sense for your household
• Where people keep it, and how deposit insurance works
• Building it a little at a time, on autopilot
• What counts as an emergency, and refilling afterward

Sections

1. Why a Cushion Matters
2. Three Common Milestones
3. How Much Is Reasonable for Your Household
4. Where People Commonly Keep It
5. Building It a Little at a Time
6. What Counts as an Emergency
7. Refilling It After You Use It

You will learn

• How to call a provider and ask for a lower bill
• Energy, grocery and car savings that don't feel like deprivation
• Assistance programs worth a phone call
• Savings traps: buy now pay later, warranties and membership upsells

Sections

1. The Phone Call That Pays
2. Warm, Cool and Connected for Less
3. Groceries and the Kitchen
4. Getting Around for Less
5. Help Worth a Phone Call
6. Savings Traps to Sidestep
7. Put the Savings to Work

You will learn

• Putting every debt on one page
• APR and compound interest in plain arithmetic
• A worked example of the minimum-payment trap
• What your credit report says and who reads it
• Credit scores without the mystery
• Finding and disputing errors, step by step

Sections

1. Put Every Debt on One Page
2. How Interest Really Works
3. The Minimum-Payment Trap
4. Your Credit Report: The Record Lenders Read
5. Credit Scores Without the Mystery
6. Finding and Fixing Errors

You will learn

• Snowball and avalanche, compared as options
• Talking to creditors and asking about hardship help
• What nonprofit credit counseling and debt management plans are
• Red flags of debt-settlement and debt-relief scams
• Your rights with debt collectors, and how medical bills differ
• What a bankruptcy attorney does, and when to ask

Sections

1. Start With Your Monthly Number
2. Two Popular Ways to Order Your Payments
3. Talking to Your Creditors
4. Nonprofit Credit Counseling and Debt Management Plans
5. Red Flags: Debt-Settlement and Debt-Relief Scams
6. Your Rights With Debt Collectors
7. Medical Bills Are a Special Case
8. When to Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney

You will learn

• What each common kind of insurance is for
• Medicare's parts and the long-term care gap
• Premiums, deductibles, limits and exclusions, decoded
• A once-a-year insurance review at the kitchen table
• Questions to ask an agent before you sign
• Shopping for coverage without the pressure

Sections

1. The Basic Bargain
2. What Each Policy Is For
3. Reading a Policy Without Nodding Off
4. The Annual Insurance Review
5. Questions to Ask an Agent
6. Shopping Without Pressure

You will learn

• How money scams work and the pattern they share
• Account alerts, a credit freeze and a trusted contact
• A two-person rule for big transactions
• Warning signs of financial exploitation, and where to report
• What to do the day you realize money is gone

Sections

1. How Money Scams Work
2. Lock the Doors on Your Accounts
3. Two Sets of Eyes
4. When Someone Takes Advantage
5. If Money Is Already Gone

You will learn

• The papers every household should be able to find
• How to build a Where-Is-Everything file
• Why a beneficiary form can outrank a will
• Wills, trusts and powers of attorney in plain words
• Leaving digital accounts and passwords safely
• How to talk it over with your family

Sections

1. The Papers Worth Gathering
2. Where to Keep Them
3. Build Your Where-Is-Everything File
4. Beneficiary Forms Can Outrank Your Will
5. Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney
6. Digital Accounts and Passwords
7. Talking It Over With Your Family

You will learn

• The five pieces of retirement income and how they fit
• How Social Security claiming ages work, in plain numbers
• Spousal and survivor benefits every couple should understand
• Required minimum distributions, and why withdrawals need a pro
• Medicare's enrollment clock and budgeting for health costs
• Questions for a fee-only fiduciary and how to check backgrounds

Sections

1. The Five Pieces on the Table
2. Social Security: How Claiming Age Works
3. Spousal and Survivor Benefits
4. Pensions and Retirement Accounts
5. Required Minimum Distributions
6. Medicare's Enrollment Clock
7. Getting Good Help

You will learn

• A three-habit method for any big decision
• Cars and home repairs: what they really cost
• Downsizing and moving: the numbers to run first
• Helping family without hurting yourself
• Reverse mortgages and other high-stakes products
• Saying no to high-pressure sales

Sections

1. Three Habits for Any Big Decision
2. Cars: Repair, Replace or Keep Going
3. Home Repairs: Roofs, Furnaces and Foundations
4. Downsizing and Moving
5. Helping Adult Children and Grandchildren
6. Reverse Mortgages and Other High-Stakes Products
7. Saying No to High-Pressure Sales

You will learn

• How the thirty days are organized
• Week 1: see where your money goes
• Week 2: build a plan you can live with
• Week 3: start your cushion and tackle debt
• Week 4: protect it, then review
• A year-round money calendar

Sections

1. The Year-Round Money Calendar