Acknowledgments

Writing a book can be a lonely process, yet it requires a great deal of help and support. Many of the experts I interviewed in this book are colleagues within the personal finance community, and their encouragement has been invaluable.

My agent, Linda Konner, gave me a chance by saying yes to my proposal in the first place, and I could not have asked for a better first book experience than her guidance, combined with the team of supporters at Hachette Books, including my editor, Lauren Hummel.

J. D. Roth gave me an opportunity to write essays about money when I asked to contribute to his blog, Get Rich Slowly. There, I had the pleasure of working with editor Ellen Cannon, whose support made me a more confident writer. Edton Mock and Anand Sinha at Quinstreet kindly gave me permission to reprint some of those essays in this book.

Alan Henry and Whitson Gordon made me a better writer. They were not afraid to hold back and eviscerate my writing with markups, but they would always end their edits with a smiley face as if to say, “this is bad, but we like you.” I’m grateful for the time they invested in my improvement.

Thank you to Leah, my sister-in-law, who beta read this book and offered constructive and useful feedback. I still owe you dinner. Thank you to my friends Dara and Mike, who helped me brainstorm chapter titles and let me work on this book at their house when I needed a change of scenery. Sorry I ate all your chips. Thank you to my amazing friends of over a decade, Jessica and Eric, who were two of the first people to buy this book when the preorder launched. And thank you for always making me laugh. Fellow money geek David Goetsch has been a kind supporter of my writing. Thank you for agreeing to write the foreword and for sharing your story.

My brother Draden created the graphics for this book and also allowed me to share an embarrassing story about our childhood. He is my favorite brother. My parents (Penny and Darryl) and parents-in-law (Cathy and Dan) are gushing with support and enthusiasm for everything I do, even when I use phrases like “The ‘Oh Shit’ Cycle” (sorry, Mom and Dad). Thank you to my brothers-in-law Scott and James and cousin-in-law, Jenessa, for rooting for me throughout this process.

Most of all, I have to acknowledge my wildly encouraging husband, Brian. When I was knee-deep in my manuscript, I often didn’t acknowledge him at all. (I hereby apologize for the time you asked me a question and I replied with “uh-huh.”) You believe in me more than I believe in myself. I love and appreciate you.