Denver Financial Planning Economist Mary Kelly Shows Families How to Remove Stress from Money

DENVER, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Denver Financial Coach Mary C. Kelly has timely and useful financial planning tips for families struggling to make ends meet during these difficult economic times.

"Young families, 20- to 30-year-olds, need to know about personal finance. Money itself does not equate to happiness. However, it is hard to be happy if you are hungry, are financially stressed, or cannot provide for your family. Money is a tool used to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and then to help others," said, Kelly, Ph.D., an economist who speaks about personal finance, and author of the new book, "Money Smart: How Not to Buy Cat Food When You Don't Have a Cat."

"Most people don't understand money or they have inhibitions about money, so this book contains the least you need to know to be prepared, succeed financially, and live comfortably," said Kelly, a Denver leadership coach who presents keynote speeches and training sessions for financial services companies, associations, and conferences.

"This is the book I wish someone had given me when I was 18. And 20. And 25," said Kelly, founder of Productive Leaders (http://www.productiveleaders.com/) a consulting and training firm that helps educational, government, and business organizations achieve their profit and productivity goals faster.

The financial planning book is an Amazon best-seller, reaching the #1 position for "Consumerism" books and #2 for "Personal Money Management" books. The eBook version is free until the end of Thursday, April 18, 2013.

This personal finance book helps families learn to save money by:

• Developing a saving and spending plan.
• Getting out of debt and stay out of debt forever.
• Managing debt and credit wisely.
• Being prepared for financial emergencies.
• Being confident about your ability to maintain a quality standard of living throughout your working and retirement years.
• Never fighting about money with the person you love.

"As an economist, I don't want you to waste money on a book that you don't need," said Kelly, who has written many other books, including "360 Degrees of Leadership" and "15 Ways to Grow Your Business in Every Economy."

She offers these tips to help families remove stress about money:

• Save 10% of your income, always, regardless of how much you make. "It is not what you make, it is what you keep. There are loads of people making a lot of money with nothing to show for it," she said.
• Start and fund your Roth IRA, which allows you to invest money now and it grows tax-free forever. Your Roth IRA can be stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or even property. Once you get beyond a certain income level you are not allowed to contribute to a Roth. It is just too good a deal.
• Pay off credit cards in full every month. No, you do not need credit card debt to build credit. Be responsible. "Most people don't realize there is ZERO grace period on new purchases if you have a balance on the card. So if you still have $10 on your credit card from last month as a balance, and you buy a new washing machine, you start paying interest charges on that day," she said.
• Your retirement is your responsibility. Pensions are largely a thing of the past, and few people can live on social security. What is the most common mistake about planning for retirement? "People wait until their mid 30s to start saving for retirement, and by that time they have other pressing bills, such as daily living expenses and thinking about how to fund their childrens' college funds," she said.
• View eating out, even at a drive-through, as a luxury.

Proceeds from this book are donated to:

The Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org

Take Me Home Pet Rescue www.takemehomepetrescue.com

Together We Can Change The World www.twcctw.org

For information about Mary C. Kelly's keynote speeches or leadership consulting services, go to www.ProductiveLeaders.com 

About Mary C. Kelly

With over twenty years of leadership experience and a diverse background leading teams in the U.S. and abroad, Dr. Mary Kelly makes productivity and leadership a reality for all levels of an organization. She trained over 40,000 military personnel and led multi-cultural teams in 11 countries.

Dr. Kelly delivers tools that increase productivity and profits.

She is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and spent over 20 years on active duty in intelligence and logistics. She has masters' degrees in history and economics, and a PhD in economics.

She is the author of more than 10 books, including Master Your World.

SOURCE Mary C. Kelly