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informative
fast-paced
This book is for a specific audience. I think the author might have intended it to be applicable to everyone, but I found it only useful to those people who make enough of a living to dare to dream past today and tomorrow. Anyone making too little to save even a dollar a day would probably struggle with this book. My family was one of those families, and I have friends who are also unable to get past today. We know what that feels like. So please know I mean it when I say that if you are trying to decide which bill to pay in order to keep a roof over your head and feed your family, assuming that you truly cannot afford to nor can actually ever spend money for any other purpose, then please read something else. This book assumes you might be in a position to have any thoughts and feelings about money besides basic survival.
It also missed key opportunities to talk about the role and impact of racism, specifically racism toward Blacks. In the periods of economic growth described post WWII, the author completely ignored the racism faced by Black veterans, redlining, racial contract covenants, and other discriminatory practices that precluded Blacks from participating in and benefiting from things like the GI Bill.
These caveats aside, the book was also comforting to me personally. It validated much of what and how I think of money already, and it felt good to know that something I always saw as a deficiency in me might actually be a healthy way to deal with money. I also appreciated the author talking about how they'd paid off their mortgage because that aligned more with their personal priorities. I hate my mortgage. I have an extremely low mortgage rate, but when I think about how little my principle goes down every month, the HOA fees, maintenance costs, emergency repairs, insurance, taxes, the fact that Houston has no zoning laws and that anything can be built on adjacent properties to effect the value of my home, etc. it's a massive ball of stress. I'm not a finance expert, and I know people think it's important to have a mortgage, but I see no benefits to it. Reading the author chose to defy conventional thinking as well was reassuring that it's ok to feel about my mortgage the way I do and that it's ok to do things my way - if I want.
I enjoyed reading this book. I kind of wish the author was an actual psychologist or had cowritten it with one, though. I think it would be far more interesting to get a more clinical perspective.
It also missed key opportunities to talk about the role and impact of racism, specifically racism toward Blacks. In the periods of economic growth described post WWII, the author completely ignored the racism faced by Black veterans, redlining, racial contract covenants, and other discriminatory practices that precluded Blacks from participating in and benefiting from things like the GI Bill.
These caveats aside, the book was also comforting to me personally. It validated much of what and how I think of money already, and it felt good to know that something I always saw as a deficiency in me might actually be a healthy way to deal with money. I also appreciated the author talking about how they'd paid off their mortgage because that aligned more with their personal priorities. I hate my mortgage. I have an extremely low mortgage rate, but when I think about how little my principle goes down every month, the HOA fees, maintenance costs, emergency repairs, insurance, taxes, the fact that Houston has no zoning laws and that anything can be built on adjacent properties to effect the value of my home, etc. it's a massive ball of stress. I'm not a finance expert, and I know people think it's important to have a mortgage, but I see no benefits to it. Reading the author chose to defy conventional thinking as well was reassuring that it's ok to feel about my mortgage the way I do and that it's ok to do things my way - if I want.
I enjoyed reading this book. I kind of wish the author was an actual psychologist or had cowritten it with one, though. I think it would be far more interesting to get a more clinical perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, War