When searching for a book that discussed personal financial planning, I couldn’t find a more appropriate one. Right off the bat, the title caught my attention. “Your Money Your life” seemed pretty personal so I flipped the book over and the back read, “This new edition…explains their 9 step program and shows you how to: get out of debt and develop savings, make values-based decisions about your spending, resolve inner conflicts between values and lifestyle etc. The book now has my attention, I opened it up and began reading right there in the bookstore. Immediately at the beginning of the prologue of “Your Money Your Life” the authors started with a series of questions to ask yourself. Some of the questions included, “Do you have enough money, are you spending enough time with your family and friends, do you come home from your job full of life, do you have time to participate in things you believe are worthwhile and …show more content…
They covered a lot of the same topics including but not limited the financial planning process, income taxes, debt payoff, budgeting, investment issues, stock and market caps, mutual funds, retirement and life transition. In the book these topics were covered as more of a source of information as opposed to a source of advice and instruction. For example, when the book talks about the financial planning process it states that it’s made up of 5 steps. The first step being to analyze your current finances, the second step is to develop specific goals, the third step is to identify and evaluate possible strategies for meeting your goals, the fourth step is to establish and implement your plan and the final step is to reevaluate and revise your plan as needed. As this process is an important aspect of financial planning, it was revisited at the beginning of every chapter. This helped me evaluate my own financial process and compare it to that of the book, “Your Life Your
It can be hard to live in high poverty and come out and be highly successful, but the author Wes proves it can be done. I also think this book shows how important it is to make good life choices and to listen more to your parents when growing up, so you don’t stray on the wrong path in life.
I chose to do my book review on Brad and Ted Klontz’s “Mind Over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health” because I have observed, and participated in, bad financial decisions that have greatly impacted my family for decades. I’ve taken many personal steps to attempt to break the cycle of destruction that ended my parents’ marriage, and to raise my children in a debt free environment. Unfortunately, it has not been an easy task. I have read many financial self help books and attended seminars on the subject. This book caught my attention when it said that simply learning how to budget and pay off debt isn’t enough, that one has to first understand our psychological relationship to money, and then move beyond the financial constraints we put on upon ourselves. For years I had struggled with debt and money management. I had always assumed it was my lack of education that held me from moving forward. Reading this book has been a welcome eye-opener.
In conclusion this book had a big effect on its readers, and therefore accomplished the purpose of being written. It really made me think about the purpose of life and how to be happy in life. Overall it affected my personal beliefs greatly and made me appreciate what I have. By reading the teachings of a dying, wise, old man, trying to teach a young man how to be happy in life, you can learn a lot about how to do just that. Be happy.
...illionaire Next Door is insightful guide and story of how to reach your goals of becoming a millionaire. Through real life examples, these stories persuade us to walk the path of financial independence. American’s live lavishly and take vast amounts of debt; we have the illusion of these individuals possessing great wealth. The book says otherwise. The typical millionaire drives a used car, inexpensive items, and is frugal about saving. Throughout the book the main lessons were to be frugal, live well below you means, save violently, and to teach your kids how to be financially independent. If these principles are practiced in this book the possibility of someone becoming a millionaire is one step closer.
The most important point the book is making is as follows: The pursuit of material
At first, the narrator conforms to the uneventful and dull capitalist society. He fines success in his work at an automobile manufacture, has obtained a large portion of his Ikea catalog, and has an expansive wardrobe. He is defined by his possessions and has no identity outside his furniture, which he remarks, “I wasn’t the only slave of my nesting instincts” (Palahniuk, 43) and “I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things.” (Palahniuk, 146) For the narrator, there is no fine line between the consumer [narrator] and the product. His life at the moment is a cycle of earning a wage, purchasing products, and representing himself through his purchases. “When objects and persons exist as equivalent to the same system, one loses the idea of other, and with it, any conception of self or privacy.” (Article, 2) The narrator loses sight of his own identity; he has all these material goods, but lacks the qu...
“A Millionaire in Blue Jeans?” One of the most valuable principles is found in the very first chapter. Our authors do a wonderful job at dispelling any delusions we have regarding what a Millionaire looks like. I had long assumed, like many others, that the Millionaires of America were the hyperconsumers and elaborate spenders. In fact, we learn that just the opposite is true. I came to understand that, “Wealth is not the same as income”. (The Millionaire Next Door, p. 1, Stanley & Danko) In many cases, income is not at the forefront of relevancy when determining whether someone will become wealthy. There are several factors involved, but ultimately, if a person spends their entire income, the number value of said income simply doesn’t matter. The old age adage regarding spending less than you make is of much more importance. In the Church, this is referred to as ‘living below our means’. We have often been counseled to exercise restraint regarding our spending habits, and have also been commanded to obtain a level of financially secure by building up our savings, staying out of debt, and living within our means. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 11423) It seems rather silly that a large percentage of our population would be under the assumption that living a large lifestyle, along with the accumulation of fancy things, would somehow equate to wealth. After reading the book, I have come to understand that many of us have an extremely distorted relationship with money, in the assumption that money is to get and spend, while those who are authentic accumulators of wealth understand that money should be invested and stored up as a measure of safety and peace.
People spend money the way they want to spend it; they forgo expert advice and instead, rely on their own intuitions and judgments when making a purchase. However, the opposite occurs in all other aspects of dealing with money. They pay high sums of money for experts to advise them on how to save their money and before they invest their earnings. Elizabeth Dunn, an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, and Michael Norton, an associate professor of marketing at the Harvard Business School, decided that spending money should not be considered an “easy” task and wrote a book of expert advice on how to spend money. Using behavioral science research, Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending focuses on the relationship
It is lines like these that helped this novel soar in popularity among the Generation X' crowd. It is because people feel trapped in their jobs and material lives. We go to work, we do what we're told, we buy the things they tell us to buy, but seldom do these things bring meaning to our lives. Because the novel speaks to such a large audience of young people, it has become an important statement regarding modern culture.
Parents may not feel comfortable enough with their own financial situation to discuss personal finance with their children (Williams, 2009). Additionally, the parents, or other influencers, may not have a full grasp of certain concepts of financial literacy. In an article by Carlin and Robinson (2010) it was noted that “many retirement-age adults lack the financial literacy to understand the basic features of their retirement plans.” Financial literacy through socialization and practice may not be enough for students; whether it be “disadvantaged” youths who often lack a high quality of life at home, or youths whose parents have stable jobs with retirement
In conclusion, the best way to manage your money is to keep a budget and record all your transaction to see where your money is going. Living with a budget isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it can be a great alternative to worrying about how you are going to pay for your expenses. Budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your money; it ensures that you will always have money for the things that are important to you. Following a budget will also keep you out of debt. If you don’t balance your budget and spend more than you make, you will have financial problems. Many people don’t realize that they spend more than they earn and slowly sink deeper into debt every year.
Robert Kiyosaki said “You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You’ve done something” There is no way of becoming successful in life if you aren’t driven and don’t have determination in what you believe in. The main point of this book was that you need to make money work for you and not the other way around. It is tough trying to put your wants and fears to the side in order to get rich and stay rich. One tip given was that you need to stop what your doing if what your doing isn’t working for you. Robert Kiyosaki did a great job of taking us into his life and his journey into becoming successful.
Managing personal finances is an important skill to acquire. However, no where in school is this subject taught. As a result of a lack of preparation, our society is subject to a high percentage of people who lack financial success. Those who are successful at managing their personal finances will find that they are successful in many other areas as well. To learn how to manage personal finances there are books and web sites that provide a step by step guide to successfully managing personal finances. Those who lack financial success often possess many of the same traits.
Allers, Kimberly Seals. "How Fit Are Your Finances?" Ebony 68.9 (2013): 93-97. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Bauer, Gabrielle, and John Southerst. "A promising retirement: your life, your way." Maclean's 18 Feb. 2013: 37+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.