Paul Van Bueren Van Bueren itibaren Khargupur, Uttar Pradesh 271204, India
re-read re-read again Oct 2013 re-read January 2016
Good nothing read. A little hard at the start but then blood is shed and its on.
If you're new to Suze Orman, this one is as good as any to start with (because it's the most up-to-date). If you're already familiar with her, this book might be useful if you have been affected by the financial crisis of 2008 or the events that followed... or if you have found yourself unable to follow her past advice and are looking to give yourself another kick in the butt. Otherwise, just borrow a copy and skim through it quickly, because most of it is a repeat of things she always says. This was my third Suze Orman read, and 7th or 8th book on personal finance in general. What struck me is what always strikes me about Suze (that's right, we're on a first-name basis). What Suze Orman understands is that to be a financial advisor to the masses is to be a therapist with a specialty in personal finance. She is very good at addressing those in denial. And that's what this book is really about - admitting that what we have been striving for might not be what is truly right for us on an individual basis. It's about making sure we are finding happiness in the right places. At one point, she does admit that maybe we're not creating a "New American Dream" as much as we are getting back to the original one. You know, the cash-based world of our grandparents, where you actually saved up money for things before you bought them? That one. And this is the context in which she tackles "finding your truth", family, home-buying, employment, and retirement. The section on retirement planning is split into three parts by age: 20-30-somethings, 40-50-somethings, and those already in retirement. Within the section for 20-30-somethings, the lesson on Investing Your Retirement Money is what I found the most useful. I'm no stranger to basic personal finance, but I still have difficulty deciding how to invest the money in my 401ks and IRAs. Suze spends just a page and a half talking about ETFs, but I found that it was enough to get me started on my own research. So that was my takeaway. Overall, interesting to see how she has decided to adjust her advice in consideration of the current economic climate. Good-to-read if you are "new"; quick-skim if you are not.