The first thing about this book is that it is based on the story of the Counter Culture Club, which is a group of young students who were working with an older mentor. The group gleaned a lot of knowledge from this older lady and went on to apply what they learned in their financial lives and ended up being very successful.
The four students came from different backgrounds but the one thing they had in common was that they were not satisfied with their current finances and wanted to do something to change.
Without going into too much detail I can tell you that the book is a medium to hard read in my opinion because it is basically written in simple enough language, yet it deals with higher level concepts at the same time. While the language is simple at times the concepts in the book tend to get a bit technical and it can be a bit overwhelming for those who do not have a background in finance.
The book takes you through various steps in your financial life through the eyes of four young teens who try various things that they can apply to their own lives. They also get some input from store owners and other people who listed to their mentor and can share some of their experiences with the young people.
There are many stories from other young people who worked hard from an early age, saved their money and then went on to invest. They lived like no one else when they were young, so that they could live like no one else when they got older. The book states that you are never to young to start investing and even the smallest amount invested now can grow to be a larger amount in the future.
I think the thing that I liked the most was the places that talked about the basics like:
*having a budget
*creating an emergency fund
*paying yourself first
*paying off your debt
One of the things I did not like (hey this is an honest review) was that the book seemed to be a bit heavy on the Warren Buffet references. I am happy for Warren Buffet and everything that he could achieve but a lot of it was also being in the right place at the right time. Yes he was able to pay other kids to collect golf balls that he later sold at a profit….but not many children have access to a something like that to even show their entrepreneurial spirit. He also invested around the age of 14 but again how many children at that age have that amount of money available and can opt to invest it in stocks.
In general this is a very good book for those of you who are looking for ways to better manage your money and most of the tips are very simple to follow. They do go along with the basic principles that most personal finance bloggers talk about on a daily basis so you can go ahead and pick up your copy of the book to read today.
This book was written by J. Steve Miller and you can find out more about him by visiting www.jstevemiller.com.
At one point, I was so frugal that I almost didn’t spend a dime if I didn’t have to. Now, I’m more like if I work hard for the money- I’ll enjoy some of it, too!
good review! really appreciate the honesty! seems like a good book to get you motivated to be a little more responsible with your cash.
Thanks for posting the book review! How did you hear about the book?
I was actually contacted by the author…who read this blog (hopefully subscribed to the feed and visits every day as well!!!!!)
Did you get a free copy of the book? I feel like you should disclose that sort of information in your blog post.
There is a Disclosure Policy at the top of the blog which you may refer to for further information.
Gotcha. I just get worried about SEC violations and transparency that is all.
That’s so cool that you were contacted personally by the author, that’s certainly an awesome privilege for sure!
Till then,
Jean
I’m also glad to know about that. It seldom happen. I think all authors are quite generous and approachable to their readers.
Looks like a really great book to read, apart from the Warren Buffet stuff as you mentioned, I’ll see if they have it at my local library and pick it up from there 😀
Till then,
Jean
My grandfather taught me my greatest financial lessons. He never demanded anyone follow his advice, he quietly lead by example.
Hi, trying to get in touch with you on a similar topic, for an article we are doing. I’m a senior editor at Ladies’ Home Journal magazine. Your contact form isn’t working. Can you email me? Thanks, Louise
Its looking really awesome book. Please let me know the process of getting it. Is it free or I have to pay few bucks for it. Awaiting for your response.
Good and interesting review. The author has some good points. I really like the idea of creating an emergency fund. You have no idea how many times I have found myself in a pinch and didn’t have any money. Most of the time with a car problem. Thanks for your input
I wanted to thank you for this excellent read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked your site to check out the latest stuff you post.
I read this book. I liked it at once. You have given very interesting review for this book. Appreciable.
It seems like a good book to get you motivated to be a little more responsible with your cash. I hope i can soon download it from net free of cost. I’m a normal earner and can’t afford more.
Hey. I really think that this is a good book. After I asked myself how can I enjoy my money. I started to barter on barterquest.com.With this method I can save a lot of money, time and energy. I can enjoy my money and new things.
It seems like an interesting book. Any good financial advice will be of great value in these times.
Nice input! Well, it is easier said than done. hehehe I don’t even have an emergency fund. Got to have one really – just have to include it in budget. Still, I believe people are more prone to find ways to make money, earn money, or even save money as their first priority than pay for their debts. 😀