Stacey Tisdale & Paula Boyer Kennedy 
The True Cost of Happiness 
The Real Story Behind Managing Your Money

Personal money management advice that make sense

In The True Cost of Happiness, financial journalist
Stacey Tisdale and expert financial planner Paula Boyer Kennedy
combine their extensive financial experience with a powerful series
of interviews and real-world stories to help you make personal
money management decisions that make more sense.

They begin by discussing how the factors that drive our
financial choices and behavior not only run deep, but also
represent the way we define ourselves. From there, they reveal how
this truth will determine if you can create the kind of financial
harmony that not only supports the life you want, but also makes an
honest statement of who you really are. The questions they pose are
challenging, but essential, because if your financial choices and
behavior are not aligned with your true values, you’ll always feel
like ‘something’ is missing. And it is this disconnect that is at
the root of most anxiety and unhappiness over money.

* Reveals how the first lessons we learn about money as children
play out in our adult behavior

* Discusses how the messages that society sends us about the ways
in which we should behave with money affect our financial
choices

* Explores factors that can blind us to our true values, and
prevent us from making the best decisions possible on issues such
as debt, saving, and investing

* Illustrates how to create a financial plan that supports a
truly happy life

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The True
Cost of Happiness will put you in a better position to enjoy a
life that doesn’t compromise who you are.

Table of Content

Acknowledgments vii

Preface xi

Part I: A Look Inside

Chapter 1 Working Together 3

Chapter 2 A Little Awareness Goes a Long Way 9

Chapter 3 The Big Picture: What You’re Planning for 13

Chapter 4 The Price of Pleasing Mom and Pop: Are Your Early Lessons Working for You or Against You? 19

Chapter 5 Social Messages 31

Chapter 6 The Songs We Play in Our Heads 53

Chapter 7 Life Planning for Two 69

Chapter 8 Teach Your Children Well 81

Chapter 9 The Truth about Change 95

Part II: The Numbers

Chapter 10 Your Bottom Line 125

Chapter 11 Saving Money 139

Chapter 12 Debt: Wipe the Slate Clean 149

Chapter 13 Living Longer and Stronger: The New Retirement 165

Chapter 14 Covering Your Assets: How to Choose the Right Insurance 181

Chapter 15 Investing for Your Future 199

Chapter 16 The Real Cost of College 211

Chapter 17 Giving Back 225

Chapter 18 Estate Planning 237

Chapter 19 A Final Thought on Your Finances 245

Part III: Staying on Course

Chapter 20 Staying on Course 249

Chapter 21 Change Happens 259

Chapter 22 Getting the Help You Need 265

A Final Thought 273

Index 275

About the author

STACEY TISDALE has reported on business and consumer issues for nearly twenty years for some of the greatest news organizations in the world, including CBS News, Dow Jones, PBS, and CNN. A frequent financial expert on the Today show, Tisdale has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in O, The Oprah Magazine. A financial literacy advocate, Tisdale has created a financial education program that the White House is requiring Historically Black Colleges and Universities to offer students. She also creates financial education and life skills programs for professional sports teams. Before becoming a journalist, Tisdale worked for the commodities firm Balfour Maclaine International and on the floor of the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange.

PAULA BOYER KENNEDY, MBA, CPA, CFP¯®, PFS, CIMA¯®, AIF¯®, is Vice President, Investment Services, at Cammack La Rhette Consulting, serving as subject matter expert on communications and investing. She was named three times to the Worth magazine list of the best financial advisors in America. Kennedy has been writing and speaking on financial issues for more than sixteen years, and has appeared in many print and broadcast media. She is one of the coauthors of Ernst & Young’s Financial Planning for Women and contributed to Selling Your Business, both of which are published by Wiley.