Money for Life.
This book gets read and acted upon. money for Life outlines a systematic approach to budgeting that is easy to follow and interesting to read. Not only does the story created internalization and identification for the reader, the principles are outlined at the end of each chapter, where each person reading can easily relate with the situations discussed.

It's written as a story, including the emotional elements of real life, love, frustration over money, and balancing of wants and needs, which draws readers in and truly motivates them to change. It also includes a free budgeting system, which contrasts a self-directed and paper-based system in the following ways:

• The circumstances of the book's characters are situations that we can all relate to. It makes it relevant to readers and elicits emotional reaction, which gives that much needed motivation to succeed at achieving financial fitness.
• The partnering of Money for Life and Mvelopes Personal together makes this a complete budgeting system, from theory and principle, all the way to execution and success. It's so simple.
• There is a 12-week checklist included. The timeline is laid out for you. The steps are clearly defined. Once the 12 weeks are up, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and control. You will know that you are on the right track to financial fitness.

Compare Money for Life to other books on budgeting . Many of the books on the market take a self-directed approach, rather than the systematic approach of Money for Life. In these books, the reader must be self-motivated. There is no timeline for how long the process can take. There are no clearly defined steps to go through. Budgeting can be overwhelming when there is not a clear system of benchmarks to measure progress and success by.

Pocket Idiots Guide to Living on a Budget-
A simplified textbook for setting up a budget. Contains sound principles for money management but does not follow the envelopes budgeting method. In comparison to Money for Life, the reader gets no emotional response from the book that is required to commit to a real long-term budgeting plan.

Bonnie's Household Budget Book-
Text Book approach. Paper-based budgeting system with no real time element to track actual spending. Unlike the Mvelopes Personal online budgeting system included in Money for Life, these theories will require the user to write everything down.

The Budget Kit: The Common Cents Money Management Workbook-
This book offers a self-directed approach to budgeting vs. Money for Life's systematic step by step approach. It provides brief discussion on traditional budgeting principals and offers supporting worksheets to help readers create and use a paper-based system. It also provides commentary on electronic based systems, including Mvelopes Personal, and helps users understand the pros and cons of each.

50 Simple Things You Can Do to Improve Your Personal Finances: How to Spend Less, Save More, and Make the Most of What You Have-
An educational approach to financial planning and budgeting. Text contains recommendations and tips for managing money, credit, and spending but there are no tools or application methods to apply what you have read about. Money for Life is a complete budget system, the tools come with it.

The Complete Cheapskate: How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out, and Break Free from Money Worries Forever-
Educational book full of advice and ideas of how to better manage your finances and spend less. Most things are common sense. There are no worksheets or other tools mentioned or included that will aid readers in executing these principles.