Zombie Economics
A Guide to Personal Finance
How to Slay Your Bills, Decapitate Debt, and Fight the Apocalypse of Financial Doom
Lisa Desjardins and Rick Emerson

Penguin
May 2011/ ISBN 978-1-58333-427-0
Self-help/Personal Finance
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Authors Lisa Desjardins and Rick Emerson have done a brilliant job of taking the somewhat dry and uncomfortable subject of getting a hold on your personal finances, and making it into an interesting and compelling read.

Zombies are everywhere in our culture these days. Books, movies, TV, and even the CDC recently released a video on how to survive a Zombie Apocalypse. That was done with the intention of grabbing the public’s attention about disaster preparedness. Obviously these authors had this book written well before that and therefore show that they are visionaries and trendsetters. Who better to guide you on your road to financial survival in this disastrous economic climate?

The book is laid out in chapters that take you step by step through the skills you will need to navigate tough financial waters. You’ll learn the basics of budgeting, discovering your real monthly income, how to save money by paying yourself first, avoiding scams, getting rid of debt and much more.

Sure, a lot of those lessons are things we’ve been taught all our lives, or just plain old-fashioned common sense. Yet many of us let those things fall by the wayside as we struggle to get on with life the best we can. It’s not fun to make a budget and stick to it. There’s nothing pleasant about realizing the sum total of our bills and debt. Yet in “Zombie Economics,” the tale spun within these lessons about a survivor fighting off brain eating zombies makes it very entertaining to read.

I enjoyed the book for its wit and humor as well as the reminder of financial basic how-to lessons. I think that it would be a great investment to have on hand for parents to teach their teens how to handle their finances. For those in their 20’s and 30’s it is a book that might make them sit up, take notice and form an action plan.

Really I recommend the book to anyone and everyone who could use a kick in the pants about taking control of their money. With a list price of $18.00, it is currently $12 and change on Amazon and in my opinion, at either price, it is money well spent.