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

Nancy Trejos is the personal finance columnist for the Washington Post. She's been with the Post for nine years, and her column is extremely popular.

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.

Publishers Weekly

A new twist on the pink-covered “girl's guide to finance” trend is constructed by Trejos, a personal finance writer for the Washington Post, who herself hit financial bottom. Broke and deep in debt, she found herself having to call her hard-working, blue-collar, immigrant parents for money—all the while publicly advising others on their monetary well-being. She sheepishly admits having made every personal finance mistake under the sun, and through a myriad of stories from her own epic money screwups, she offers advice and resources for the similarly beleaguered. Trejos covers all the usual suspects of get-control-of-your-finances guides aimed at young women: credit scores, car payments, student loan payments, debt, health insurance, and accountability. What makes this one stand out is how relatable the author is and how poignant her situation: that someone ostensibly well schooled in the ins and outs of money wrangling can make the same mistakes as the rest of us. Peppy packaging and an encouraging tone should help this one get some traction. (May)