The stack of books for review on my desk is getting very high, so it’s definitely time to bring you another goodie this Sunday afternoon!
Today’s read is Get Financially Naked by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, which I received from the publisher (thanks!). In one sentence, this book is a personal finance primer with a couples-leaning perspective.
This book is for financial beginners and those either starting out in their new relationships, or who feel like something’s missing from their financial compatibility with their partner.
If you have a fair amount of financial self-awareness, and you can talk about money with your spouse openly, you can probably skip this book.
As the authors admit up front, the book is written with a female-leaning perspective, for various reasons. But I think it’s generic enough to be approached by both sexes without any issues.
The Material
At 186 pages, this is a pretty light read, but the authors manage to squeeze in a lot of material.
The book is set up in a format that integrates case-study examples, open-ended exercises for you and your spouse, and a review of personal finance basics sprinkled throughout the chapters.
You can expect to read about:
- What is financial strength and what does it mean to you?
- What are your financial beliefs and history?
- Talking about your beliefs with a partner.
- What financial compatibility means and how to get the conversation started.
- The “five power steps”–the biggest financial expenses in your life, and how to deal with them.
- Saving & investing basics.
- How to maintain a financial plan.
- Commonly asked questions about saving, investing, and protecting your finances.
My Recommendation
I have a fairly good command of basic financial concepts, and the financial communication in our family is excellent. In turn, I found myself nodding my head through about 95% of this book, and not only in agreement, but also because the information was not new to me.
But I don’t want to sell the authors short…for someone just discovering their financial blueprint (how they react to and deal with money) and how to make that click with a partner, this is an excellent starting point.
So if you’re just starting out on your financial journey and need a good overview of couples finance, pick up a copy of this book.
Buy The Book
The book is currently selling for under $10 at Amazon.com
Your Question Today
One of the easiest ways to judge a book for me is by how many questions it leaves me asking at the end (the more the better!). A couple came to mind with this book that I’d like to get your input on:
- What’s your spouses’ first response when you bring up the subject of money?
- If your spouse was gone tomorrow (by choice or accident), how would you fare with your finances?
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Fiscal Fizzle 
My wife and I balance out the finances in our relationship, so to answer the 2nd question, faring with finances would be the only easy part of her being gone.
In regard to the info in the book not being new, even if it’s painfully basic material, it’s still more comprehensive personal financial training than what young people get in 13 years of K thru 12, plus four years of college–which is none! Maybe that’s what the authors were targeting. If so, making it too complicated could lose more than a few readers.
.-= Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last post: Radical Self Reliance in the New Economy =-.
Hey Kevin, you make a few great points. As a former teacher, I can tell you that you can’t get too much of the basics. I’m all for simplicity too.
Here in Canada, our government has started looking into including some personal finance instruction, beginning at the elementary school level. I think they’re freaking out about the number of us (Canadians) who have woefully undersaved (is that a word?) for retirement. That’s going to put a huge strain on our gigantic Canadian social safety net and the CPP (Canada Pension Plan). I’m pretty sure the pension issue is a global problem as well.
.-= 2 Cents´s last post: Help for Haiti: Here Comes the Blogosphere =-.
Agreed on the simplicity. The only downside I can see is that sometimes instruction on the basics gets so concise that it ignores the fact that everyone’s situation is different and not everyone can follow rules of thumb.
This book was close to that point for me, but the authors did a good job of pulling it out and clarifying when needed.