I've been thinking recently that I need to seriously plan on my retirement. It's 20-30 years off, but I really ought to do something. So I started researching the web and read a few faqs. Finally, I spoke to a friend of mine from work. This fellow actually hired me on -- found out I left my last place and tracked me down to make me an offer. In any case, he seems to be doing okay, so I value his opinion. And his opinion is that I should go out and get a copy of Ric's book. This is one of the best favor's anyone has ever done for me.
There are some subjects that seem so important that I can't imagine people not being taught them in standard curriculum. Everyone should take shop in highschool - boys and girls. And I don't mean the sort of idiot type shop that I've been exposed to where the really mechanically inclined spend a fair portion of their time hiding equipment from those who are not so inclined. I mean they should fire all the incompetent teachers (gym teachers most of them, it seems) and hire real shop teachers. The subject is too important to be treated as the same joke as 'physical education.' Same thing for home economics. I never took homec...don't know for sure what's taught there, but I think everyone should know how to cook, sew, plan a budget, balance a checkbook, and do all those other things that we have to do in our complicated society. Personal finance is another lynchpin of my curriculum in modern living. Enter Ric's book - the perfect text for such a class.
This guy explains in reasonable detail in fifty chapters the fundamentals of personal finance. No nonsense. Lots of easy to understand examples (well, a few not so simple I had to read a few times...but generally very lucid). Why should should you plan for your financial future? What are the obstacles? How can they be overcome? These questions are answered and lots of others to boot.
One of his secrets to building savings is the same thing I read in the last book Millionaire Next Door : Pay yourself first. You have lots of bills every month and probably always will. Take a portion of each check and put it into savings before you pay any other bills. He offers a few other pointers here, as well.
If you haven't got a financial plan and are interested in the subject, and you want to read ONE BOOK, then let this be it. I'm very glad I did, and I think you will be too. Now I feel beholden to Bob for recommending this to me. This guy (Ric E) also has a show on local tv here in the metro washington (DC) area and I think he also has a show on the radio. If I can find time, I'll check it out.
Meanwhile, I'm building a plan and getting started now. Thanks, Ric. And thanks, Bob.
