Your Money Life: Your 30s

by Peter Dunn

Your Money Life: Your 20's You will learn the best method for paying off debt, including student loans. How to cut expenses while livng the you want to live. How to determine what percentage of your income to spend on groceries, housing and transportation. Whether you are ready to buy a house or whether you should stick to renting. Finally, what your credit score means for your fianancial life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Money

203 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning comedian and an award-winning financial mind. He's a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, six of which were featured in a nationwide launch at Barnes & Nobles stores in January of 2015. He is the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC FM and is a columnist for the Indy Star. Pete has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Fox Business as well as numerous nationally syndicated radio programs. Pete is regularly considered one of the top four national financial broadcasters in the nation.

Reviews

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like at this point in my life, career, and bank account, I know what I'm supposed to be doing in my 20s.  I mean, I'm 25, I just got my first professional job, and I've been watching The Financial Diet and reading financial self help books since I turned 23.  I know where my money should be going, and when, and why.  The problem, of course, is actually getting that money and saving it (something a little hard to do when up until now you've been making minimum wage)!  So now that I'm halfway through my 20s, I decided to take a peek at Peter Dunn's book and figure out just where my money should start going in a couple years.

Lighthearted and at times a little too dad-jokey, this book does make for a great workbook and guide for how to spend your money.  Think insurance, for example: of course, most of us need dental, health, car, or renter's insurance.  But what about disability insurance or life insurance?  Dunn makes a convincing argument for these.  And what about the age-old advice on matching your employer's max for giving to your 401K?  Down with that, go above and beyond that match for maximum retirement savings!  And how much should you have saved up by the end of your 30s, anyways?

It's a different look at finances in comparison to the usual millennial and zillennial suspects such as freelancing, YouTubing, and having some other side hustles in addition to your steady source of income, and that's what makes it practical in a very different way.  It's a good mix of explaining just why our parents' ways of saving money and their way of doing things is appropriate and how our expectations of money have evolved over the past generation or two.

Overall, this is a great resource if you're super into financial self help like I am and want to know what goals we should be setting for ourselves, and when to try to hit them.

Review cross-listed here!

[Dondria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical and informative. I love his candor as well; he keeps it fresh and light.

[Mark Hennion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased and read this entire book in one sitting. The advice contained within is practical, explained thoroughly, and utilizes a genuine humor that never dips into the cheesy/cliche range that so many writers of not inherently interesting topics try to do. Peter "the planner" offers exactly what the book offers, and the chapter arrangement and patient explanation made reading this book truly enjoyable.

Very grateful for the content and I hope to implement it in my life.

[Sean Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was such a random pickup by me, but because I love the topic, I was happy to read it. This would be a really great book to read for someone who is not familiar with personal finance, saving/investing, budget, etc., at all. Especially in their early thirties (obviously). I pulled a few nuggets from it myself. I like this guy’s approach to personal finance for the most part. My hunch is that it’s probably like a 80% copy/paste of the 20s and 40s one, with a few different sections added/subtracted. But, as I’m guessing is true of the other volumes, the really helpful stuff is the sections on age-specific items, such as good financial goals to complete by the end of your thirties. Overall, good!

“Some people may define financial progress as ‘being able to afford more.’ I define it differently, as ‘needing less money to live.’”

[Phobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book both irritated me and made me say "oooooh!" aloud, and then go change my habits. I'm a year from 40 and no stranger to books on financial health and money/emotional life, yet I didn't know many of the insights this book offered. So, Five Stars, even though I rolled my eyes at the dad jokes and bristled when the book's voice got straight-up bossy. The sections on debt and budgeting alone are worth this very readable (hello, 12-pt font and easy-on-the-eyes line-spacing -I could hug the type-setter) book's cover price, and that's before you get to the Choose Your Own Adventure section and tear out sheets at the back.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this book. I really enjoyed reading the first part and it is very easy to read. I got slowed down and lost interest towards the end where it discusses retirement, insurance, and financial advisors mostly because it's not relevant to me. The author tries to use realistic examples but saying that if you make 75k you should be saving 17k a year in retirement is way out of scale for someone who makes a third of that and couldn't possibly save the same ratio and live. Still it was all useful information to mull over and I reccommend to everyone to read about your finances now before you are close to retirement and it is too late.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his straight to the point style of writing. I also like he gives you the 'ideal' solutions along with realistic alternatives

[Amy Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this book was very helpful!!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read to get yourself organize with finances no matter what level you’re at

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic info. A good read for a novice to get you on the right track financially. However, this book was written quickly and many content errors were present, but none that defeat the purpose of the text.

[Tavanesha Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely a must-read for anyone approaching 30 or who is already in their 30's. The concepts in this book have empowered me to make a few immediate changes in my financial life that will benefit me tremendously in the future.

[Andrea Hunley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read with practical advice and goal setting tips. It motivated my husband and I to take a look at our finances, talk about long-term and short-term goals, and meet with our financial planner. Pete the Planner is about financial behaviors not budgeting, which I like.

[Aaron Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple to read, nothing I didn't already know, but a good re-enforcement. I think Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money was better for me, but Peter Dunn also knows his stuff.

[Evan Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical, everyday advice. Perfect for newcomers to the planning and budgeting game. Entertaining to read.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent book, but assumes that the reader is in a bad or poor financial state. Not helpful for the reader who actually is doing financially okay.