Book Review: Wealth Watchers

I recently had the chance to read Alice Wood’s “Wealth Watchers”. I was a bit skeptical at first since the cover of the book says “A Simple Program to Help You Spend Less and Save More”; after all, I’ve gotten pretty good at managing my money and I have a pretty good handle on what we spend. But I’ll tell you what. I liked the book AND I learned something.

The concept of Wealth Watchers is based on the Weight Watchers program. Instead of points, you get a Daily Disposable Income target. In other words, you create a budget based on your fixed and variable expenses and, based on that, you can calculate how much income you have to spend per day without going into debt. It’s pretty simple.

Another component to Wealth Watchers is tracking. Ms. Wood advocates writing down each and every purchase you make (and provides complimentary journal pages at the end of the book. There’s also an app available for free. The app is easy to use and makes tracking your spending really, really easy) in order to stay on target. Writing down your purchases forces you to do two things: one, really think about whether or not the purchase is “tracking worthy” and two, really think about whether or not the purchase is even necessary.

Ms. Wood does not, at any point, suggest that you cut out any item from your budget. Rather, she advocates figuring out how to incorporate everything that’s important to you into your budget by calculating your DDI. Knowing that number means you can allow yourself that Starbucks or lunch with co-workers. As long as it’s in your budget and won’t put you into debt, you can have it.

Of importance: this is not a how-to manual for getting out of debt. This is a book that is geared towards managing your money and affording what’s important. Ms. Wood is clearly averse to debt but she does not give directions or instructions on how to eliminate what debt you do have. However, if you are trying to get out of debt, this program is a great tool because it gives you a clear picture of where your money is going and a way to ensure that you only use that money. Since I believe that having a budget is one of the key elements towards getting out of debt, Wealth Watchers fits that philosophy perfectly.

One of the elements of the book I enjoyed the most, besides the testimonials from people who’ve used the program, is Ms. Wood’s infusion of personal examples into her program components. She tells how she’s used the program to help her get her finances in order after a brain injury, and how it’s made her and her family more conscious of their spending. Since they are all accountable to each other, it makes them more successful at following the program. It also makes her relatable and real instead of some expert who’s never known what it’s like to be in debt or have to watch her spending.  Knowing this makes it easier to listen to what she has to say.

I believe that if I had this program available to me when I first started controlling my finances, I would have used it. In fact, I’m considering using it now that I’m in the midst of my no spend May and due to some big changes that are in store for my family (no, I’m not pregnant. We know that’s virtually impossible. But it is something pretty big. Well, big for me). It’s really an easy, simple to follow program and I do recommend at least checking out the book from the library or visiting the website.

Note: I was not compensated for this review and the opinions are entirely mine. However, I did receive a free copy of the book.