- Smart
Couples Finish Rich
- Editorial Reviews Amazon.com
- Like many savvy business
people of the 21st century, David Bach offered his first pearls
of financial wisdom to women, in his bestselling book Smart Women
Finish Rich. Recognizing that these women are often accompanied
by significant others and that money arguments are the number
one cause of divorce in America, Bach has now broadened his scope.
Presumably intended to help change this depressing statistic,
Smart Couples Finish Rich is a well-written financial planning
tool, packed with useful charts and information, inspiring examples,
and practical advice. For people who've been disappointed by
the shallowness of some of the "quick tips" self-help
books out there, the subtitle of this book is a little misleading.
Bach's nine steps are not instant change techniques or chirpy
little quips to recite to yourself whenever you go to balance
your checkbook. Instead, the first few steps include a series
of exercises that will help you determine what you know (and
don't know, or understand) about saving and investing, what role
money should play in your life (which includes understanding
your values), and how to work together toward a common financial
goal. From there, Bach teaches his readers how to account for
"disappearing" money, how to build retirement, security,
and dream baskets of wealth (providing detailed options for all
three), and how to avoid the most common financial mistakes most
couples make. Though the focus of the book is predominantly on
working with your existing income, Bach includes a final chapter
entitled "Increase Your Income by 10 Percent in Nine Weeks."
Bach's writing style is engaging and his advice is user-friendly.
A successful financial planner, he obviously believes passionately
in all the "fringe" benefits of being financially responsible
but employs a no-nonsense approach that makes financial smarts
available to everyone. So whether you're 25 and just starting
out on the earning, saving, and spending road or you plan to
retire next year; whether you've recently got hitched for the
first time or you've just entered your fourth marriage; and whether
financial planning comes first or last on your list of fun things
to do, the advice in Smart Couples Finish Rich is worth heeding.
It's not about becoming a money-obsessed bore, it's about getting
smart... and rich. --S. Ketchum
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