The One-Page Financial Plan

April 15, 2015

Taking ownership of one's monetary situation and becoming financially literate is, without a doubt, a crucial life skill, and one that has been addressed in all manner of publications. As the title suggests, this book aims to simplify the process of creating a financial plan. Its four parts ("Discovery," "Spending and Saving," "Investing," and "Strategies for Avoiding the Big Mistake") follow the steps for laying the groundwork, creating the plan, sticking to it, and adjusting the strategy periodically. New York Times "Sketch Guy" columnist Richards (The Behavior Gap) advises boiling down the financial agenda to its most basic elements: Why is money important in your life or what goals will you be using your money for, and what are the concrete steps that will help you get there? The "Discovery" section of the book provides advice on articulating goals and defining the importance of money while the other three chapters help readers think about steps that can help them achieve their aspirations. VERDICT This ultrasimple planning process will be welcomed by the financially stressed and will appeal to fans of Dave Ramsey (Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money; The Total Money Makeover).--Sara Holder, McGill Univ. Libs., Montreal

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Face-to-face conversations, it seems, are the root of all things good, an approach somewhat forgotten in this age of social media. It's exactly what Richards, CFP and author of The Behavior Gap (2012), advocates for figuring out finances and plans. Gone are the involved multipage spreadsheets detailing what money steps to take next. In their place is a series of structured dialogues that start with the question, Why is money so important to you? Then answers become clear and easily captured on a napkinbelieve it or not. The process focuses on what you can control, how to eliminate baggage, and ways to set forth a clarity about your current goals for money. He emphasizes simplicity, using perhaps a lot of the advice our parents used, from keeping costs low to remembering that there is a correlation between risk and reward. He shares endearing techniques to control overspending, such as the spending cleanse (not spending any money for a short period of time). Sensible, sensitive, and smartand, yes, worth every penny.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)