Customer Reviews

Master Your Money Type: Using Your Financial Personality to Create a Life of Wealth and Freedom

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Wish I had reviewed the content of this book BEFORE buying it. The six categories have no empirical basis and the author evidently has no experience actually advising anyone. He is a former reporter for Money magazine.

His other book, Everyone's Money Book was co-authored with Sonny Bloch (see url link below for article about Bloch) who I since learned landed in prison for his on air crookery. So, lot's to question about this author's judgment and expertise!

http://registeredrep.com/mag/finance_talking_dirty/index.html

I have heard Jordan Goodman on call-in radio shows many, many times (and I've also heard him give keynotes at several conferences), and what comes through loud and clear is that he is an exceptionally well-informed personal finance expert passionately devoted to helping people do better with their money. You discover the same thing when you pick up his books: his high standards, encyclopedic knowledge, and practical emphasis on taking action permeate every book he has written.

If you want a thorough personal finance education or a great reference book, get Goodman's Everyone's Money Book, his comprehensive guide to every aspect of personal finance. If you want to avoid investing in the next Wall Street scandal, get his Reading Between the Lies. If you want to understand the jargon spouted by your broker or the Wall Street Journal, get the dictionary of over 5000 terms that he co-authored with John Downes. (You should also check out, if needed, his excellent Everyone's Money Book series that devotes individual books to the topics of credit; real estate; retirement planning; college financing; financial planning; and stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.)

And now, if, like me, you want psychological insight into your style of managing money -- and what you can do to capitalize on your style's strengths and avoid its pitfalls -- get Master Your Money Type. It's lively, it's insightful, it's chockful of great anecdotes, and, typical of Goodman's practical, down-to-earth approach, it provides you with resources that will help you save and make money. (I bought my car using a car-buying service I learned about from him, and I saved thousands over my best-negotiated deal.)

As you can see from one of the other reviews I have written, I am big on finding experts who can give me in-depth assistance for the price of a book, and the powerful new insights this book offers are definitely worth the expenditure.

After having read Paul B. Farrell's The Millionaire Code, and the incredible career book Do What You Are, I was naturally attracted to this book, which makes use of personality typing to assist people in attaining financial health and wealth. Goodman focuses on the emotional dimension to money. Most of us do not realize how our emotions dictate our spending and saving habits, and how past experiences mold and shape our present behavior and especially, our financial decision-making abilities.

Although not as clinical as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, with its often intimidating (and somewhat ambiguous) terminology, elements of this psychological technique are clearly present in this text. Goodman uses such terms as Striver, Ostrich, Coaster Debt Desperado and Squirrel to describe the various types of money personalities that people have, all of which are based on the emotional attitudes we all too often attach to money.

Goodman does an excellent job of laying out the emotional dimension to money, and builds upon this to offer practical advice. He does not seek to alter what he believes are basic personality types; rather, he takes them as given (making no value judgments about the types) and immutable, lays out their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how one can use his or her type to one's financial advantage. He also allows for the fact that a reader can possess elements of several different types. Thus, it would be worth one's time and effort to read the entire book. Additionally, a lot of good, solid financial information is presented in each chapter, and one would do well to lift things of use here and there from the book.

The book possesses a strong psychological basis, and points the reader to further sources of information on both a financial and psychological level specific to his or her type. On a personal note, I was kind of let down with the advice given to squirrels (of which I am one), which basically amounts to the purchase of more insurance and migration to higher return but higher risk investments, but then, this information and advice is consistent with the fears traditionally associated with this personality type. I am a bit more knowledgeable and financially sophisticated than most squirrels, but at the same time am a bit more risk adverse than I reasonably should be, given my choice of career (civil service) and investment strategy (bonds and low-beta stocks like food and utility companies) in the face of my above average educational and professional achievements. So, on the whole, I would say that the author described me and my financial hopes, fears and worries very, very well. Incidentally, I was already in the process of doing many of the things that he recommended for my personality type, so reading this book not only confirmed the soundness of my approach, but also gave me a lot of support and encouragement to continue doing what I have been doing.

I highly recommend the book, as it is a light, fast and accessible read. In sum, the book really hit home with me, and I am proud to be a squirrel.

I found this book intriguing. According to the author, there are six psychological types based on emotional effect of money. They are strivers, ostriches, debt desperadoes, coasters, high rollers, and squirrels. For example, strivers are people whose lifestyles are ahead of their income and squirrels are those who accumulate money but never get to enjoy it. Many of us may not think that the way we feel about money affects how we spend it, and therefore, determines our financial health. This book helps readers to identify their category and based on that, learn how to handle it better to achieve financial success.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

I found this book inspirational. I like all the examples that he gives, and if given a chance I would travel miles to hear Jordan Goodman speak.

Boy did I find myself in this book and I found out why I handle money the way I do. It was shocking to find out that I was a Coasting Squirrel but now, thanks to the ideas in this book, I can stop coasting and hoarding. If you are caught in a rut with money this book will help you name and explain your rut and then take some steps to get out of it. The CD is also good. I listened to it first and then bought the book to keep and study in more depth.

The book was a quick-read and was very informative. I found my money type and will take the author's advise on how to live with my "Money type". Thank you Mr. Goodman