Dave Barry's Money Secrets: Like: Why Is There a Giant Eyeball on the Dollar?

but I say that lovingly as his humor is simple and harmless and you have to laugh.

I laughed on literally EVERY page of the first half of this book! Then I laughed at something on about every other page . . . This book is a hilarious parody of financial advice from books, shows, and 'experts.' Somehow, Dave Barry brings Coca-Cola executives, a man getting a very sensitive part blown off by fireworks, and The Louisiana Purchase into educating his readers about finances. Photographs of Donald Trump, Suze Orman, Prince Charles, Alan Greenspan and Punxsutawney Phil add to chapters with titles like "Providing for Medical Care; You'll Need Some Leeches," and "How to Argue With Your Spouse About Money; The Nuclear Option; Tampons." This gift is a great gift for someone who knows nothing about finances, or knows everything but chooses to follow none of the "professional" advice, and it's perfect for those people who know and FOLLOW all of "the rules" about finances. ENJOY!

How do you plan to finance your retirement? 1. Savings 2. Social Security 3. Sale of kidneys You need to be honest in your answer. If you lie, you'll only be lying to yourself. And, according to advice given in DAVE BARRY'S MONEY SECRETS (from which this question was taken), "The place to lie in on your federal tax return." This is a very funny guide that spoofs much of the personal financial advice that can be found in other books, TV shows and online . . . save your money on them; buy this one instead . . . you may not get rich if you do, but you will certainly laugh a lot. Barry has previously written on such other topics as politics, fitness and parenting . . . I enjoyed those, but this latest one may well be his very best--especially because it will make you wonder why people behave the way they do when it comes to money. For example, in the above quiz, he states, "That if your answers are all threes [on all the questions], be advised that we're having a minor technical problem calculating your score because of Nigerian red tape. To smooth things out, we need you to send us an 'advance fee' of $5,000, which you will get back many times over." The amazing thing is that many people do just that! There were many other hilarious tidbits; among them: * Many children learn about money by starting their own businesses, the classic example being the sidewalk lemonade stand. This is an opportunity to teach your child fundamental economic principles. I'm not suggesting that you encourage your child to have a lemonade stand; that's WAY too much work. I'm suggesting that you explain to your child that if he buys lemonade from some other kid's stand, and then happens to choke on a lemon seed, they you would be in a position to sue the other kid's parents for thousands of dollars. That is what I mean by "fundamental economic principles." * One way to take money is in the form of traveler's checks. The way these work is, you give a traveler's check company a bunch of money, and the traveler's check company gives you some checks. You cash some of these checks on your trip, and when you get home you put the rest of them in the back of your sock drawer for safekeeping, and then you forget all about them. Eventually you die, and the traveler's check company gets to keep the money you paid for the uncashed checks forever. And this final one that--while presented in a humorous fashion--makes much sense at least to me: *Presidential Election Campaign Fund checkoff box: If you check this box, $3 of your taxes will be earmarked for a special fund to pay for presidential campaigns. Notice that the government does not permit you to earmark money for poor people, or sick people, or national defense. No, the government permits you to earmark money only for the purpose of enabling politicians to produce TV commercials designed to appeal to voters who have the IQ of a Vienna sausage. To make matters worse, some of this federal campaign money goes to candid

I admire people who don't take themselves or life in general too seriously. Dave Barry fits the bill and does so while giving us all a few chuckles. I wouldn't call "Dave Barry's Money Secrets : Like: Why Is There a Giant Eyeball on the Dollar?" comedy although it is funny. Dave has a special wit I've enjoyed for years, and what I like the best in this book is his ability to make fun of the most mundane topic and his talent in making us all laugh at ourselves. Dave Barry's humor can be compared to Bill Maher or Jerry Seinfied, but with more of a family focus. Recommended for light reading and laugh out loud fun.

Sadly enough, Barry makes more sense than most of the economics professors, money managers, and state financial officials who I have met. Barry is indeed smarter than a monkey and funnier than Karl Marx. In the financial world, these are two wonderful qualities! His analysis of Social Security only has one major flaw, a better job than our federal friends have done, although I am sure he did not intend to be accurate. Frankly, pointy headed economics instructors should make this title required reading. Although most economic students are too boring to laugh, their boyfriends/girlfriends might get it. As difficult a task as it is to be funny throughout an entire book, Barry does a good job. Think about it. Who would you rather have telling you how to manage your money: some certified money flushing financial planner, or Dave Barry? Yipes! Watch out for the squirrels!