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55 reviews for:
The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs
Jill Schlesinger
3.65 AVERAGE
55 reviews for:
The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs
Jill Schlesinger
3.65 AVERAGE
Should be renamed "The Dumb Things Rich People Do With Their Money"
I felt that the target audience of this book was rich middle aged people, and I am sadly not rich. I liked Jill's writing, she's very conversational and funny. However I don't think any of the advice here is ground breaking, and I truly disagree with the notion that all rich people are smart. This book plays into the idea of "these people are smart, like you, and you too can do dumb things!!" Which I think is a politically correct way of saying that rich people can also be idiots. I get that this will be helpful to some people (and hopefully me one day once I, too, am a middle aged rich person muahaha) but I am currently clearly bitter about how elistest this book felt.
I felt that the target audience of this book was rich middle aged people, and I am sadly not rich. I liked Jill's writing, she's very conversational and funny. However I don't think any of the advice here is ground breaking, and I truly disagree with the notion that all rich people are smart. This book plays into the idea of "these people are smart, like you, and you too can do dumb things!!" Which I think is a politically correct way of saying that rich people can also be idiots. I get that this will be helpful to some people (and hopefully me one day once I, too, am a middle aged rich person muahaha) but I am currently clearly bitter about how elistest this book felt.
This was a good, concise book and I appreciate different views (for example, she is pretty pro-rent vs. pro-buying a home). However, I do think this book was pretty repetitive of the information out there. So I think this would be a great starter book, but doesn't add too much if you're fairly familiar with the topics.
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You can also watch it on Youtube
Read the full synopsis & review at the Digital Amrit
Overview
As the title suggests, this book explains 13 wrong decisions which otherwise-smart people make in financial matters. The kinds of mistakes and how to avoid them are explained using real-life examples along with a set of questions for each of these situations to help you. So, what are these pitfalls?
1. Complicated financial products
2. Financial advice from wrong people
3. Stressing too much on the importance of money
4. Too much college debt
5. Buying a house
6. Taking too much risk
7. Identity theft
8. Overindulgence in early retirement
9. Financial issues vis a vis bringing up kids
10. Plan for the care of ageing parents
11. Wrong insurance or no insurance
12. No will
13. “timing” the market
Complicated Financial Products
Let’s go through each of these, starting with complicated financial products. Almost all of us invest in some kind of financial product or the other. These can be simple stocks or (Read the full review at my blog)
If you liked this review, please support me on
Patreon
and/or buy the book through the affiliate links.
Amazon India
Amazon UK
Amazon US
You can also watch it on Youtube
Read the full synopsis & review at the Digital Amrit
Overview
As the title suggests, this book explains 13 wrong decisions which otherwise-smart people make in financial matters. The kinds of mistakes and how to avoid them are explained using real-life examples along with a set of questions for each of these situations to help you. So, what are these pitfalls?
1. Complicated financial products
2. Financial advice from wrong people
3. Stressing too much on the importance of money
4. Too much college debt
5. Buying a house
6. Taking too much risk
7. Identity theft
8. Overindulgence in early retirement
9. Financial issues vis a vis bringing up kids
10. Plan for the care of ageing parents
11. Wrong insurance or no insurance
12. No will
13. “timing” the market
Complicated Financial Products
Let’s go through each of these, starting with complicated financial products. Almost all of us invest in some kind of financial product or the other. These can be simple stocks or (Read the full review at my blog)
If you liked this review, please support me on
Patreon
and/or buy the book through the affiliate links.
Amazon India
Amazon UK
Amazon US
To be clear, when Schlesinger says "smart people" she actually means "rich people." The lowest income clients Schlesinger discussed included a single mother of three making 150k a year selling Jaguars and a teacher making 100k with a husband bringing home a salary twice that.
That said, this book is super readable and does a good job of covering a bunch of different concerns. I found this book valuable in identifying lists things I should probably be thinking about (types of insurance and the different documents you need when creating a will for example). For the most part, it made me feel more comfortable in the financial decisions I'm already making. If your financial life includes a sneaking suspicion that you're doing something profoundly wrong, this book is probably worth a read. I certainly found it helpful and reassuring. If you're new to the personal finance space, I would recommend starting with something like Worry Free Money instead. And definitely go in knowing that at one point Schlesinger will assume you are making too much money to be eligible for an IRA.
That said, this book is super readable and does a good job of covering a bunch of different concerns. I found this book valuable in identifying lists things I should probably be thinking about (types of insurance and the different documents you need when creating a will for example). For the most part, it made me feel more comfortable in the financial decisions I'm already making. If your financial life includes a sneaking suspicion that you're doing something profoundly wrong, this book is probably worth a read. I certainly found it helpful and reassuring. If you're new to the personal finance space, I would recommend starting with something like Worry Free Money instead. And definitely go in knowing that at one point Schlesinger will assume you are making too much money to be eligible for an IRA.
Learned some things but this is def for people older & richer than me lol my 40 year old self will thank me for reading though!!