When I finished reading Alan Akina’s “The Super Duper Simple Book On Money” (which only took about a half an hour to read), the first thought I had was “wow, that is an aptly name book”. When Alan says it is a simple book, he tells the truth. The thing about it is, it’s not just that it’s an easy book to read; the concepts that he presents are very simple. And when you’re trying to understand money, sometime simple is best.

Alan begins the book by divulging some elements of his childhood. He grew up poor, had divorced parents, often moving from home to home. He gives a very touching story about his grandmother and her influence on his life (what I enjoyed about this is how is really highlights the profound impact just one person can have). He talks about his struggles with money and how he overcame them, and how those struggles inspired him to teach others what he learned. For someone like me, who prefers the advice of real people who have been there to the advice of experts who never have, it was nice to have a context in which to set his ideas.

On to Alan’s principles. The book focuses on 5 basic concepts revolving around money:

1. Money in (income)
2. Money out (bills)
3. Money we owe (debt)
4. Money we grow (investments)
5. Money we share (charitable giving)

It really doesn’t get easier than that. What I appreciate about these concepts is that it breaks down money management into easy to explain ideas. As a parent trying to teach my child about money, these 5 principles are simple to explain, even to a 5 year old. They make sense, are logical, and are presented in a progression that makes you have that “aha” moment about your finances. You finish the book not confused about how to manage your money; rather you finish the book thinking “I can do this”. It’s a nice feeling.

But I think my favorite part of the book was how interactive it is. I read the e-book version of the book, and to break it up, there are links to downloadable worksheets, YouTube videos of Alan presenting his ideas on a Hawaiian affiliate of Fox News (where he has been presenting financial news for years), and sidebar stories of people he’s helped with his advice (I’m a sucker for success stories). Now that I have the book saved on my iPad, I can go back and reread it or download the worksheets, especially when I need to get back to the basics with my finances.

This, like Wealth Watchers, is a book I had when I first started learning about money. And like Wealth Watchers, it’s not so much a plan to get out of debt as it is a book that gives a broad overview of financial management. That financial management includes emphasizing the importance of avoiding or getting out of debt.

A word of caution about this book. For those who already have a fairly strong understanding of managing their day to day finances, this book will be too simple. In fact, it may seem oversimplified and it’s probably not the best choice to add to the personal finance section of your library.  But if you know someone who did not receive a proper financial education or is struggling with understanding the basics of financial management, this is a great place to start.

Although I received a free copy of this book, the opinions are entirely mine and I was not compensated in any other way. 

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.