Book Review: Financing Your Future

BOOK REVIEW BY CAROL LOEWEN

How Much Is Enough begins with “The Attitude Quiz,” which consists of fourteen statements to determine whether you are a spender, a builder, a giver or a saver—or a combination of these. It then deals with how our attitude may be changed by money myths we believe to be true. The first is “I’m going to inherit.” Well, yes, you might; however, your parents may not have money to give or they may live a long life and spend all of it.

The book continues with the challenge of determining where one’s money goes each month. Spending is allocated to nine categories as a starting point. After using this process, the harder question to consider is “What do you want?” This new awareness is followed by how to set financial goals for the months and years ahead to finally reach the desired retirement years.

The second part challenges the reader to get on track now that there is the knowledge to follow through on long-range plans for the future. Sometimes the biggest issue is to separate and recognize the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ in life. This section also includes budgets and finding ways to become financially knowledgeable and to have the will to begin the life-long process.

Warren Buffet said, “I want to give my kids just enough that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.” With that in mind, other areas of growing your money through various plans are explained in order to have better family financial health. There are easy-to-understand explanations about the variety of tools and descriptions of such investment items as TFSAs and RRSPs.

Equally important, the author considers ages and stages of life and the importance of having a plan and goals for each phase of life. While one may take some financial risks, it is equally important to establish a good credit history.

The final chapters consider determining how to have enough to retire comfortably and how to live in retirement. Finally, the book concludes with an area many people are uneasy about considering—wills, executors, and the work to be done prior to the end of life. These topics are handled in a positive, thoughtful and encouraging way.

How Much Is Enough? Balancing Today’s Needs with Tomorrow’s Retirement Goals
By Diane McCurdy
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd, 2013
Paperback, 259 pages
Available as an e-book
Available at the ATA Library, Barnett House