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How to Be the Family CFO: 4 Simple Steps to Put Your Financial House in Order
'How do I never find myself in this situation again?' With this life-changing question, author Kim Snider propelled herself from financial ruin to prosperity, security, and freedom. And in How to Be the Family CFO , she shows you how to do the same. Snider explains the basics of personal finance and investing in simple, easy-to-tackle steps that will lead you straight to financial freedom. If you want--or need--to get you financial house in order and keep it there, this guide offers clear-cut advice on planning, saving, investing, and managing risk. Applying the basic principles of how to manage a successful business, Snider teaches readers critical skills, such as No matter how poorly you've handled money in the past, Snider's straightforward approach will help create a life of financial control and prosperity.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2008
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 27, 2017
I think this is a good book that goes beyond creating a budget and staying within that budget. It covers 4 areas of finance for the more advanced: planning, saving, investing, and managing risk. In fact, I would probably recommend it to anyone in their mid-thirties who already have a small number of assets to consider (i.e. a retirement fund, maybe a house, maybe children) and want to learn more about staying on top of them and planning for the future. In fact, this was perfect for mine and my husband's situation. It was the perfect balance of topics I was already familiar with and those I knew nothing about, so I did learn quite a bit.
April 11, 2014
'How to be a Family CFO' by Kim Snider is my first personal finance book. It explains the requirements for financial independence in four key topics: Planning, saving, investing, and risking.
Before starting this book I did not know many of the terms like credit score, bonds, or IRA. By reading this, I have briefly learned these terms and their basic financial connections.
According to Snider investing in a retirement fund is critical because the money compounds throughout your life to yield magnificent returns. Most employers provide a fraction of your retirement fund to act as an incentive. Employers do this up to a maximum value. Starting very young is critical because the funds compound exponentially. Besides this retirement funds tend to be tax deferred so it is a good idea to take advantage of them. Secondly everyone should create as much passive income because you may lose your job or suffer from a future injury. Always research your insurance companies' policies and create personal income statements to review and keep track of your financial changes.
Snider also broaches the subject of tax determent. Nobody should ever be reluctant to sell property(bonds, real estate, or stock) because of high taxes. If you have a prominent and lucrative return just pay the taxes and do not brood over the tax expenses. It is an inevitable hurdle. She also explains that all investments are different. However that some people lose money by investing in low return but safe stocks because inflation rates are high.
Even though the book was very helpful there were some parts that bothered me a lot. I wished that the investment types (ETFs, dividend paying stock, and municipal stock) were more thoroughly explained. I did not understand the differences between some stock types except that they had different return values. Besides this Snider could have better explained what an IRA, SIMPLE, or 401K was.
Throughout the book the author alludes to the Snider investment method. She stated that is had promising returns but there was very little text dedicated to what it actually was. The problem state an investment methodology then not deign to explain what it is.
Before starting this book I did not know many of the terms like credit score, bonds, or IRA. By reading this, I have briefly learned these terms and their basic financial connections.
According to Snider investing in a retirement fund is critical because the money compounds throughout your life to yield magnificent returns. Most employers provide a fraction of your retirement fund to act as an incentive. Employers do this up to a maximum value. Starting very young is critical because the funds compound exponentially. Besides this retirement funds tend to be tax deferred so it is a good idea to take advantage of them. Secondly everyone should create as much passive income because you may lose your job or suffer from a future injury. Always research your insurance companies' policies and create personal income statements to review and keep track of your financial changes.
Snider also broaches the subject of tax determent. Nobody should ever be reluctant to sell property(bonds, real estate, or stock) because of high taxes. If you have a prominent and lucrative return just pay the taxes and do not brood over the tax expenses. It is an inevitable hurdle. She also explains that all investments are different. However that some people lose money by investing in low return but safe stocks because inflation rates are high.
Even though the book was very helpful there were some parts that bothered me a lot. I wished that the investment types (ETFs, dividend paying stock, and municipal stock) were more thoroughly explained. I did not understand the differences between some stock types except that they had different return values. Besides this Snider could have better explained what an IRA, SIMPLE, or 401K was.
Throughout the book the author alludes to the Snider investment method. She stated that is had promising returns but there was very little text dedicated to what it actually was. The problem state an investment methodology then not deign to explain what it is.
February 6, 2014
I usually say that there are two types of personal finance books: the helpful ones and the sales pitches. Helpful personal finance books try to convey the information that the readers need to know to manage their finances. The sales pitch books spend the whole book telling the readers that they can be super rich if only they use the secret method endorsed by the author of the book! You just have to give the author some more money to find out what that method is! I usually enjoy the helpful personal finance books and scoff at the sales pitches.
This book was unusual because it was a hybrid of the two. The author actually did convey a lot of useful information. I got pretty far into the book before I realized that she was promoting her "proprietary" investment method that she wasn't going to explain in the book. She gave a lot more disclaimers than the standard sales pitch book, so I felt less like the target of a scam. But she lost credibility with me every time she implied that she had some amazing secret method to make money that she wasn't going to share with me unless I paid her. I got the impression that her secret method involves purchasing stock options, which doesn't sound to me like it would outperform regular old stock investing.
If she had left out all the promotions of her own product, I still wouldn't love this book. It seemed to be aimed at people with higher incomes than mine, judging by the examples she was giving. I didn't agree with all her advice, but it was generally okay. I enjoyed reading the book just because personal finance is an interesting topic for me. I wouldn't recommend this book, but I don't think it's terrible.
This book was unusual because it was a hybrid of the two. The author actually did convey a lot of useful information. I got pretty far into the book before I realized that she was promoting her "proprietary" investment method that she wasn't going to explain in the book. She gave a lot more disclaimers than the standard sales pitch book, so I felt less like the target of a scam. But she lost credibility with me every time she implied that she had some amazing secret method to make money that she wasn't going to share with me unless I paid her. I got the impression that her secret method involves purchasing stock options, which doesn't sound to me like it would outperform regular old stock investing.
If she had left out all the promotions of her own product, I still wouldn't love this book. It seemed to be aimed at people with higher incomes than mine, judging by the examples she was giving. I didn't agree with all her advice, but it was generally okay. I enjoyed reading the book just because personal finance is an interesting topic for me. I wouldn't recommend this book, but I don't think it's terrible.
November 29, 2008
This is a wonderful introduction to Family Finances. It covers most of the basics in a straight forward and simple fashion. Most of the material is broken down into small pieces so that any time you have a few minutes, you can read a bit. This was a most pleasant change from several other finance books that require a lot of time to get through one topic.
The key things I learned were to keep finances simple, have a plan, remember to review progress towards the plan and to start saving today. Like in most things, it is better to start and fail to do well then wait for perfect conditions. If you simply save a few dollars a month in a savings account while trying to figure out the "perfect" investment plan, you will have many more dollars set aside than if you wait.
The one downside is the continual endorsement of the Snider investment methodology. Continually selling your own products gets old quickly and would make me question the validity of the advise in this book if it didn't match up so well with what I've learned from personal experience and read in many other books and articles.
The key things I learned were to keep finances simple, have a plan, remember to review progress towards the plan and to start saving today. Like in most things, it is better to start and fail to do well then wait for perfect conditions. If you simply save a few dollars a month in a savings account while trying to figure out the "perfect" investment plan, you will have many more dollars set aside than if you wait.
The one downside is the continual endorsement of the Snider investment methodology. Continually selling your own products gets old quickly and would make me question the validity of the advise in this book if it didn't match up so well with what I've learned from personal experience and read in many other books and articles.
August 3, 2009
I have to say that I just finished this and I loved it but that is how I feel about all financial books...I love them. It is like reading a novel that I can't put down but I know that not everyone is like that. My favorite part of this book is the reminder that if someone 19 years old puts away $2,000 a year in a high interest account for 7 years (and then stops) will have a million bucks at age 65. Someone else puts away $2,000 a year starting at age 27 and doesn't stop until age 65, will not have a million bucks. I should start this for one of my kids! Just a fun read.
April 3, 2009
A great book! I dont know if there was any new information in this book for me, but it was nice to have it all comprised in one spot. The author's tip to create a personal balance sheet. I did that and it is a great way to see where you stand as far as your Net Worth and what to do to get your net worth in the right direction. I would definitely recommend this book!
January 17, 2009
Good introductory book to personal finance. A fast, easy read and I appreciated that it was written by a woman.
January 21, 2015
good ideas around obnoxious sales pitch
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews