Customer Reviews

Let's Get Real About Money!

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

". . . my best days at work don't even come close to the best days with my kids." p. 86 of Eric Tyson's "Let's Get Real About Money." Often, personal finance literature takes a quietly dismissive tone when discussing the claims of family, time and quality of life. Tyson's latest book has an unusually open acknowledgment from a financial advisor that it takes more to be happy than climbing the corporate ladder and stockpiling our nest egg. If you have ever thought other finance writers have sidelined the real issues of balancing work and money with family, then you will feel validated by the serious attention Tyson gives these concerns. When does climbing the corporate ladder deliver diminishing returns? How do I teach my kids good financial habits? The personal consequences of super savers, those who save compulsively, are explored alongside of the expected cautionary tales of high consumption debtors. I was heartened by Tyson's balanced approach to money management.
My one criticism of the work is not the content, but the cover. The front displays a fist of money, which along with the title, suggested a hardnosed, possibly humorous book. The subtitle, "Profit from the Habits of the Best Financial Managers", led me to believe the book was a compilation of stories, quotes and interviews of successful financial managers. Instead, it was primarily Tyson's take on personal side of personal finance. Nothing wrong with his take, and I applaud him for much of it, I just thought I was sitting down for an amusing, possibly a bit satiric look at the financial world, and what I got was a book full of compassionate sensible advice. If you are looking for a rollicking read, wait and pick up this book when you are in a more temperate mood. But if you are struggling to balance family life with your work and financial needs, and want to hear some contrarian (at least in the financial world) options, then Tyson's book is definitely worth reading.

I have bought several books by Eric Tyson, and this is his best. Eric Tyson provides you with a concise way to handle your personal finances. After reading this book you will not need to purchase another personal finance book from another person. This book also teaches you how to invest in quality mutual funds.Tyson is the best personal finance author out there.Tyson also talks about investing in your personal health. If you purchase this book you will never be the same.

Written by syndicated columnist and best-selling financial author Eric Tyson, Let's Get Real About Money: Profit from the Habits of the Best Personal Finance Managers is a no-nonsense guide to putting a personal financial action plan tailored to one's needs and goals. Starting off with simple personal finance quizzes ideal for evaluating ones' money savvy, chapters address how to get motivated, how to assess and overcome negative money beliefs and practices, basic net worth calculation, money issues involved in relationships/marriage/divorce, why people tend to have trouble saving enough and when one might be saving too much, right and wrong reasons to borrow money, investing and insurance plans, when to hire financial help, and much more. A broad-ranging guide packed cover to cover with "must-know" information for everyone financially responsible for themselves and others, Let's Get Real About Money deserves the absolute highest recommendation as a crucial survival aid in today's modern world.

Let's Get Real About Money is a basic introduction to developing good personal finance habits, from getting a sense of what your net worth is to constructing a spending plan, investing and buying insurance and other essentials. Not much is new or revolutionary, so if you have read one or more other personal finance books this one won't make much of a difference. I found the subtitle of the book a bit misleading, because there really isn't any discussion about the habits of the best personal finance managers. The book contains the author's best advice, which is good, but I didn't see much about other managers. For more in-depth book reviews I've done, search for goldenrulecomics on the Squidoo website.

Good basic info. However conversion to kindle format isn't that great. Some pages appear to be scanned as images which don't allow you to underline. Those over one page appear truncated. Ok for free but quality needs to improve in the translation to kindle before the product is sold.

While this book has a lot of detail about different types of financial paths, and some really helpful questionnaires on how to figure out what your financial blocks are, it's so slanted to the American system it's of little use for Australians. That doesn't make it a bad book; just a lot less useful if you're not from America :-)

There *are* some pages (the boxed panes, basically) which don't text-wrap properly on the kindle, but you can still read them if you shrink the font size temporarily; that makes the whole box sit on one kindle screen.

This book is just plain fun to read. Eric Tyson provides lots of practical insights and ideas that make sense and are very relevant for every reader. From kids and money, investing, and saving to insurance, real estate, and retirement, he shares a multitude of tried and true perspectives that will indeed change your habits. And he does so in a holistic way that can help readers to make small improvements that can increase both confidence and enjoyment in handling money.

I love quotes, and this book contains some really good ones--as well as quotes that are new to me and others that are classics. Here are three of my favorites:

"It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor."
--Seneca

"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship."
--Benjamin Franklin

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
--Serenity Prayer

There is lots of wisdom in this book as well as valuable resources, quizzes, and worksheets. Thanks to Eric Tyson for his steadfast passion for imparting good money sense to his readers over the years. Well done!

The material that is in the book is written well, but not much depth. Maybe for a few novice people, but hard to find much beyond that for other readers. To ne the book title means little to nothing in relation to what is in book.

Bought this book for my micro-economics class (requirement for paper) and found it very easy to read and noteworthy w/loads of palatable advice.

Easy to read. I resented reading financial book because of all the professional terminology that just freak me out. This book contains very basic information of personal financing but it's very inspiring. The talk about balancing work and family impressed me the most.