Smart Moves to Grow Rich: Q&A with Author Laura Adams

Q & A with Laura Adams, author of Money Girl’s Smart Moves to Grow Rich:

DINKS:  Why did you decide to write a book?

Laura Adams: Some of your readers may know that I write and host a weekly audio podcast called Money Girl on the Quick and Dirty Tips Network. The show’s been pretty popular; it’s been downloaded over 8 million times. It’s a great platform to help make complex personal finance topics easy for listeners to understand—but it’s only about 5 to 10 minutes long each week. So I knew I’d need to write a book to cover the topic more extensively. Money Girl’s Smart Moves to Grow Rich is a comprehensive guidebook that one reviewer on Amazon.com called a “Swiss Army knife for anyone wanting to brave the jungle of finances.” I love that!

DINKS: What can readers expect to learn from your book?

Laura Adams: In a nutshell, the book covers the major issues and strategies that everyone needs to know to accomplish their financial goals and build wealth. In chapter one, I explore your money mindset, which is a really important part of understanding why your finances may or may not be turning out the way you want. And I’ve gotten a huge amount of positive feedback about that chapter. Each of the following chapters shows readers in detail how to build wealth by creating a financial plan, earning more on bank accounts, investing money safely, getting rid of debt, creating better money management systems, reducing taxes, and lots more.

I’ve been told that the book makes complicated topics easy and fun to understand—even for someone who’s just getting started managing their money. Readers with more financial experience will get caught up on new financial rules, learn about up-to-date personal finance technology, find clever ways to save money, discover free online resources, understand how to improve their credit score, and much more.

DINKS: What’s an example of a smart move to grow rich?

Laura Adams: The book is loaded with practical advice and tips to grow rich. One of my favorite recommendations is to use the cash you already have to make more money. I list sites where you can find free high-yield checking accounts that pay over 4%. They’re FDIC insured, have no minimum balance, reimburse ATM fees, and offer free online bill pay—you can’t beat that!

Another smart move is to understand how to use retirement accounts to your advantage. Chapter 7 is packed with information about how to invest for retirement no matter if you’re employed, self-employed, or unemployed. You’ll learn whether you should have a traditional or Roth retirement account and what type of investments are right for you.

DINKS: If someone’s in financial trouble, how should they get out?

Laura Adams: Many people who are struggling financially simply don’t have enough information yet to improve their situation. It’s like being lost in the woods without a map or a compass. You have no idea where you are, how you got there, or which direction to go—a really helpless feeling. So the first step is to stop and re-group. In chapter two, I show you exactly how to see the “big picture” of your finances so you can master your cash flow, eliminate debt, and start to build wealth. Once you see a holistic view of your financial situation, it’s actually pretty easy to create a plan to get out of the woods and on the road to a more secure financial future.

My publisher has authorized me to give away chapters one and two. You can go to SmartMovesToGrowRich.com and download both of them for a limited time.

DINKS: How can a young person get started on the right financial foot?

Laura Adams: Something I always tell young people is to stay away from credit card debt. When I graduated from college and started working, I formed a bad habit of shopping and overspending n credit cards. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was buying lots of shoes and clothes because I could always count on them to make me happy—at least for a little while. Of course, it catches up to you and you have to dig deep and make sacrifices to pay off the debt, which isn’t fun.

DINKS: What’s the most common question you get as Money Girl?

Laura Adams: I probably get more questions about retirement accounts than anything else—like should I take a loan from 401(k) to pay off my credit card debt? But I also get questions about building credit, managing different types of debt, real estate, mortgages, and taxes.

DINKS: Where can readers find your book?

Laura Adams: It’s available as a paperback or e-book at all the major book sellers like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, and the Apple iBookstore. And as I mentioned, you can download two free chapters at SmartMovesToGrowRich.com.

Thanks Laura! Congrats on the new book :)