I like Ramit's style. Personal finance can be a boring topic, but Ramit spices it up with Indian flavor (which he does refer to in print!). He address...moreI like Ramit's style. Personal finance can be a boring topic, but Ramit spices it up with Indian flavor (which he does refer to in print!). He addresses his mom, tells anecdotes about his friends spending thousands of dollars on shoes, and keeps the topic light while dropping knowledge on you.
Having already read The Wealthy Barber and constructed my own budget, I was already familiar with the basics of personal finance going into this book. However, what I really liked were his specific pieces of advice. In The Wealthy Barber, mutual funds are pushed hard. "Find a good fund manager with a strong track record," the barber instructs. In contrast (and I think correctly) Ramit says, "screw that. Fund managers never win over the long term. Also, you have to worry about allocation; if you want the 85% solution get a lifecycle fund and forget about it." He pimps online banking, gives step-by-step instructions on how to get the most out of your credit cards, helps actually set up a budget ("don't forget the 15% stupid-shit-happens tax!").
I have tons of TODOs coming out of the book, and would highly, highly recommend it to anyone I know.(less)
This is the first personal finance book I've ever read, and I'm really, really happy to have done it. By presenting a boring topic in a conversational...moreThis is the first personal finance book I've ever read, and I'm really, really happy to have done it. By presenting a boring topic in a conversational format--including lots of baseball chiding--Chilton makes personal finance accessible to anyone and everyone.
He presents a really simple system that anyone can follow, starting today, to get your finances in order. Put 10% into a "I'm going to be rich someday" fund. Put another 10%+ into retirement. Do whatever you want with the rest (essentially). He even describes dollar cost averaging and the power of compound interest so that the reader can left really understanding the importance of both.
What I found really interesting were the sections on insurance, wills, and other elements that I consider to be in the weeds. A few years ago I started taking out some whole life insurance to supplement my company's group policy, but, according to Chilton, I shouldn't have been doing that at all, for reasons that are made really clear in the book!
I do, however, fundamentally disagree with his stance on mutual funds. I think if you're a layman, you should be investing in indexed funds, no question. Absolutely no question. This is the one major knock I have on the book.
If you're in your 20s, I'd recommend picking both this up and I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which is more current and relevant to 20-somethings in the 2000s.(less)
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