Stacy Johnson is the author of two books written specifically for a public that for countless reasons has been made to believe making and saving money is mysterious and out of reach... unless, of course, you pay someone to do it for you.

"It just isn’t that difficult. Who wants to read 1,000 pages on saving and making money?" is how he started the whole process of writing Life or Debt (Ballantine, 2001 Hardcover). And quite honestly, as far as Stacy is concerned, managing your money and investing it for financial freedom is as easy as pie.

That same logic is the basis for his second book, Money Made Simple (Ballantine, 2004 Paperback).

Perhaps, in yet another media arena, that is one reason Stacy's Money Talks is the longest running, most respected consumer and personal finance television news series to date. His approach to illustrating and effectively teaching "mysterious money matters" to the news-viewing public has won him Emmys for service news.

As a credit counseling agency, you may already know Money Talks. The news series currently airs in nearly 90 cities nationwide, and in about 30 of those cities non-profit credit counseling agencies are the sponsors.

As a credit counseling advocate, Stacy has used his authority in the media to shed light on fly-by-night outfits that prey on people who are desperate to dig out of debt. More important, though, he has brought positive attention to the credit counseling industry in dozens of his news reports in the last 14 years.

Stacy has also placed dozens of local non-profit agencies into high-cost TV advertising blocks for a fraction of the cost. As you may well know, it's not easy to get prime television advertising at low rates. But, Stacy developed a unique partnership between non-profits, local TV news and Money Talks seven years ago that does just that.

Stacy received his degree in accounting in 1977 from the University of Arizona, and his CPA certificate in 1981. In 1981 he began a career as an investment advisor and over the next 11 years worked for three of Wall Street's largest firms: EF Hutton, Shearson-Lehman, and Prudential Securities. Along the way, he added to his CPA with licenses in life insurance, commodities, mutual funds, and real estate.

His career in television news started during the stock market crash in 1987. The local ABC affiliate in Tucson put him on the air as an expert interview on the topic. A few days later the station hired him as a regular for daily stock market reports and analysis.

His book writing career started in 2000 when paging through ridiculously thick, verbose books on debt reduction and "simple" money management.

If you really want to get to know Stacy, and you should, read Life or Debt.