Customer Reviews

The Money Marathon: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom

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The book this week was The Money Marathon by Ed Douglas, suggested to me by Jim Wiederholt. It was a good personal finance book written by a retired bank CEO from Chillicothe, Missouri. The book is very concise and straight forward. It is very easy to sit down and read in an afternoon. Douglas relates personal finance to running marathons. Therefore, most anecdotes in the book are running related. I am not a runner, but it's not rocket-science, so most of the comparisons are very easy to understand.

The book is subtitled 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom, so each of the chapters correspond to a step. These steps are:

1. Raise one's income

2. Control Expenses

3. Save Regularly

4. Invest for the Future

5. Stay Out of Debt

6. Adequate Protection (Insurance)

7. Make Your Money Work for You (If the previous steps are followed money will grow for you)

I agree with the basic idea of this book, however, personally, I like to be a bit more aggressive toward my accumulation of wealth. Douglas repeatedly shows how $2000 can turn into $1 Million in 50 years. I think 50 years is a bit too long. Getting rich slowly has it's place and it is perfect for many of you. The faster you want to get rich the more risk you will be taking on. If you use Douglas' 7 steps outlined in this book you can be certain you will reach your goals.

I found the author's running stories at the beginning of each chapter very entertaining. The book was relatively short, so I don't want to dive into it too much. I know I have quite the readership in Missouri, so I suggest you support a local author and check out this book. If you are a runner, I am sure you will really enjoy the stories Douglas uses. If you have any questions on the book don't hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to help anyone that wants it.