title: The Cure for Money Madness: Break Your Bad Money Habits, Live Without Financial Stress--and Make More Money!
author:  Spencer Sherman 
description: Sherman, founder and CEO of a small financial firm, offers sage and soothing advice for taking the emotional factor out of making money decisions. Money madness is the author's diagnosis for the unhealthy behaviors that stem from seeing how money was handled in childhood households and linger long into adulthood: e.g., the inability to talk about money, compulsive spending and debt, the conviction that no amount of money can keep one secure enough, ruthless self-measurement in terms of wealth. Sherman describes how these neuroses can impair income and undermine net worth by adversely influencing the financial decisions people make and keeping them in a state of anxiety, avoidance and fear. A series of scripts and charts offer strategies for tackling such common issues as credit card debt and portfolio diversification. Less a treasure trove of new information, this book provides a sensible framework to understand&mdash;and conquer&mdash;the emotions and habits that hold individuals back from financial freedom and security. <I>(Feb.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: TO MY CHILDREN,
  
  Jeremy and Talia—
  
  AND TO ALL CHILDREN:
  
  may they feel joy, peace, and abundance,  
  regardless of how much money they have
  
  > > > >  _“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in
  > escaping old ones.”_
  
  > > > >  _—John M. Keynes_
  
  > > > >  _“October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to
  > speculate. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May,
  > March, June, December, August, and February.”_
  
  > > > >  _—Mark Twain_
  
  > > > >  _“Behind the complicated details of the world stand the
  > simplicities.”_
  
  > > > >  _—Graham Greene_
  
   **CONTENTS**
  
  Acknowledgments
  
  The Unchallenged Assumptions of Money Madness
  
  Spencer's Seven Simple Rules for Achieving Money Wisdom
  
  Introduction: Money Madness and Its Cure
  
  > Chapter 1 Money Madness: What It Does and How It Works
  
  > Chapter 2 Contracting the Condition: How We Get Money Madness
  
  > Chapter 3 Money Madness in Action: How the Money Monster Operates in Your
  > Life
  
  > Chapter 4 Free Y