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I have read a number of books on personal finance over the years because good money management is a key to happiness – it’s hard to really be happy when facing an endless mountain of debt. When I read Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People from Janine Bolon at SmartCents there were few really new concepts. Much of the financial advice is based on earlier works such as Your Money or Your Life, which I had read previously.
There was one major new principle though which goes beyond simple math and into the karma of financial decisions. That’s the 60/40 principle. I’ll leave the details to the book, but it was completely unique to find a book which acknowledged that financial success or failure is not exclusively tied to how much we earn and/or spend, but also to how we spend. Though she makes no reference to it, the sentiment is not unlike the invitation to:
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
If you want a real path to financial independence – something more dependable than winning the lottery – I recommend picking up this book. It distills the principles into a memorable formula and tells the truth about financial independence – it requires discipline in your spending habits and an accurate understanding of the difference between needs and wants.
So what does a book about personal finance have to do with conservative politics? Aside from the fact that all conservatives are either rich business people, stupid enough to think they can get rich, or just plain old ignorant bigots (tongue firmly in cheek), not much except that the principles of personal financial success and the principles of sound government seem to be equally misunderstood by the public at large. Also, I agreed to do a review on this book and it’s been a long time in coming.
4 replies on “Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People”
David:
Thank you for reviewing the book and spreading the message of debt-free living. I appreciate the time you took and hope that you find the principles helpful in your life as well as those of your readers. Have a terrific 2008,
Janine
Thank you Janine. I hope more people will catch your message.
Thanks for the review. I’ll pick it up.
I attended a course called the YES course, which is about general success in living, inclusive of financial success. One of the homework exercises is to give away 10% of what you make, preferably anonomously and without concern for how the money is spent. It’s actually quite fun but that is only understandable by actually doing it. I like to leave dollar bills attached to the branches of bushes and trees, – just to show, it isn’t true what they say,- that money doesn’t grow on trees.
What I get out of it is a realization that money is flow. What goes around comes around.
Your last sentence reminded me of Your Money or Your Life as it spends a good deal of time talking about our “dysfunctional relationship with money.”
The idea that money is flow is definitely not the way most people view money.