Get Control of Your Money Now! by Blaine Harris & Charles Coonradt The Point The point of the book is to teach basic personal finance principles through a story about a guy in debt that is taken under the wing of an older lady who is very wealthy. She teaches him four principles of prosperity. The book is well written and the narrative style makes the material more enjoyable to read. The Four Laws 1. Track your spending, 2. Set targets or financial goals, 3. Trim your spending to achieve the goals, 4. Train your brain by learning about finance. I figure I’m pretty far along the path to financial…
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Book Review: Reverse Mortgages
How to Use Reverse Mortgages to Secure Your Retirement, by Wade Pfau This is an interesting book. It goes against much of the conventional wisdom I absorbed growing up. I read it because I was impressed by Wade Pfau’s other book on withdrawls in retirement. He does and in depth and academic review of the subject. Wade’s style might be a bit dry for some but I find that the genre of financial writing can be a bit hyperbolic, so I don’t mind an objective and academic style. Use early, use often The primary conclusions of the book are that many retirees could benefit from a reverse mortgage, and that…
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Book Review: WSJ Complete Retirement Guidebook
The Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook was published in 2007. It is a good overview of the issues that a soon to be retiree needs to consider. The book is split into two sections. The first one is about planning out what you want your retirement to look like. The second is about the money. Strengths The book has a very broad set of information. It goes into not just money issues but also the psychological and social aspects of retiring. The stories of successful and unsuccessful retirees are also valuable. Weaknesses This book suffers a bit from being overly broad in its subject matter. It does not delve…