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Hot (broke) Messes:
How to Have Your Latte and Drink It Too

16 reviews

$ 19.99

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In HOT (BROKE) MESSES, Trejos takes readers along on her journey. She meets with a financial planner to deal with all the issues young people face today — from credit card debt and student loans, to impulse buying and emotional spending, to the cost of having a social life, to buying a house with someone during a potentially impermanent relationship and more. Trejos learns what causes these problems in herself, how she can fix them, and how she can pass that advice on to other young people going through the same experiences.Even better, she shows readers how they can address these problems without completely giving up their lives. Trejos’ personal and unique voice, along with her experiences that everyone can relate to, will lead readers to relatively painless financial security.

31-year-old Nancy Trejos was supposed to be an expert on handling her money – after all, she’s the personal finance columnist for one of the nation’s leading newspapers, The Washington Post. But a few months ago, she found herself in her own dire financial straits. Faced with a mountain of bills, debt, and no way to pay her rent, she was forced to call her parents to ask them for a loan. That night was a wake-up call – she vowed to get herself out of debt and into financial solvency.In Hot Broke Messes, Trejos takes readers along with her on her journey. She meets with a financial planner and a therapist to deal with all the issues young people face today – from credit card debt and student loans, to impulse buying and emotional spending, to the cost of having a social life, to buying a house with someone during a potentially impermanent relationship and more. Trejos learns what causes these problems in herself, how she can fix them, and how she can pass that advice on to other young people going through the same experiences.

Even better, she shows readers how they can address these problems without completely giving up their lives – no “give up your latte a day” type advice here! Trejos’ personal and unique voice, along with her experiences that everyone can relate to, will lead readers to relatively painless financial security.

C. Rogers

January 11, 2011This book is a good Personal Finance book; however, it is not a good book for those who already possess personal finance knowledge. I didn’t learn anything, but I LOVED the point of view (financially struggling finance writer). She was able to step back and look at herself and determine where she went wrong. At several points throughout, it seemd that she was advertising brand names and websites. This was a little distracting.

When reading this book it is important to keep in mind the big picture, budgeting, frugality, personal goals, and most importantly don’t follow her bad (past) examples. Don’t get too caught up in the details of who’s who and their back stories.

Her best move was obtaining a financial adviser. For me, this is where a big chunk of the valuable information starts.

In addition, if I were advising someone financially, I WOULD give this to them to read. Why? Because it clearly shows her financial mistakes which anyone should be able to learn from.

Kay in DC

June 29, 2010Not anymore. This memoir/financial advice book made me gasp and giggle. I’m past the age group targeted by this book (20 to 30-somethings), but I still enjoyed it cover to cover. I was astounded at how frank the author was about her own mistakes and weaknesses, and amused by how long it took for her to identify her own pitfalls. I even learned a thing or two along the way. This is an easy, short read that can help any of us stay on a path to financial security. I can recommend this one without reservation.

Dr. Mary Gresham

May 23, 2010I read this book over the past weekend and must say that it sounds familiar. I see so many young adults who have gotten into debt during college and then made it worse just after college. The problem with most money books is that they all give the same technical information and ignore the emotional issues that drive difficult money behaviors and attitudes.Nancy Trejos writes her personal narrative and at the same time weaves into it money management information and research, making it more interesting and more personal for the reader. You can read the book slowly and do the program that Nancy does as she does it, working on a spending plan and looking at how emotional spending operates in your life. She illustrates the dilemma of having a social life that can depend on going out to bars or restaurants and what a challenge that can be to the budget. Many tips and internet resources related to living well but less expensively are presented in the book. I am sure that a number of young women will see themselves portrayed in the story she tells and her path to financial health can work for them as well.

K. Caffarella

May 23, 2010I enjoyed this book a lot, and I feel that it will help me if not make better decisions so that I dont end up in some of her situations, at least really think about everything before making emotional decisions.

While I’m not near the age of buying a home, and hopefully my car lasts another 5 years, I recived good insite into how to save money, budget, plan. I feel like I’m armed with a better perspective on living now.