Customer Reviews

Pay Yourself First: The African American Guide to Financial Success and Security

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I got this book, I couldn't put it down. After reading it, I was anxious to get started on setting my goals as Mr Brown described in chapter 16, but I hit a roadblock. Mr. Brown gives an example of the goal planner, but he didn't show how the math works to get the amount one should save each month. Mr. Brown even states,

"The following goal-setting forms will serve as a map in guiding you toward your desired financial goals. They are here to assist you in your planning. Feel free to use the formula over and over again for your actual desires."

One frustrating problem, Mr. Brown gives NO FORMULAS.

I followed up by going to Mr. Brown's company website and sending an e-mail explaining my frustration, I got a reply telling me to visit the website and click on "need a financial plan." This requires me to enter in my credit card information and be charged $25 for Mr. Brown to preform the calculations for me (the same calculations that should be outlined in Chapter 16). In addition, I get a free copy of a book that I just bought. WHAT?!

I bought this book expecting to be given the tools to be independent when setting up my goals. Or at least to understand how calculations are made before I seek out professional help. But Mr Brown only brought me halfway when he suggests ways to set up goals and then in turn doesn't fully explain them.

Have you ever heard the term,"It is not what you make, but what you keep?" Jesse Brown shows his readers that it does not matter if you earn $30,000 or $300,000, you must pay yourself first to achieve financial success. His basic formula for maximum growth is time + consistency + interest. Mr. Brown builds upon this simple formula to show African Americans how to achieve and maintain wealth.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST is a reader friendly financial planning guide. At the end of each chapter there are short quizzes for the reader to gauge their understanding of the material covered. I found this to be very helpful as the subject of finance can be confusing. The book also doubles as a workbook with a section for readers to put what they have learned into action. After reading this book, I felt empowered to take charge of my financial success and become an investor and not just a saver.

Reviewed by Aiesha Flowers
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This book does a very good job of divulging some very disturbing financial trends that, while on the one hand are not limited to African Americans, on the other hand they tend to disproportionately affect African Americans. The target demographic of this book appears to focus in particular on African American women, primarily the single female with one or more dependents. The book is written to a lesser extent with other demographic sub-groups in mind. That said, the book is nonetheless a very useful introduction to the subject of money matters, which sadly is a topic in dire need of discussion within the African American community.

The book contains a number of good points, the best of which are the following: knowing where your money goes and having a goal, using time to your advantage (as opposed to letting others use time against you, like most of us do), developing an emergency fund before you begin saving and investing (which too few of us do, even if we do save and invest), emphasizing the importance of credit, credit ratings and the wise use of credit, paying cash for most of your purchases, presenting the perils of being dependent on a person or institution for some or all of your livelihood, unlearning bad money habits and learning good money habits, and reminding the reader that not taking control of one's destiny has dire consequences.

To be honest, the book also has a number of key demerits. First, the author's financial compounding examples do not factor in mutual fund expenses and taxes. Second, contrary to what the author believes, buying a house is not always the wisest investment, even though (and this is generally speaking) houses usually appreciate in value (he also neglected to discuss the hidden expenses associated with a house). Third, for someone who spent a lot of time railing against excessive credit card use and advocating for the use of cash to pay for purchases, it seems odd to me that he never once discussed the use of debit cards and other pre-paid cards. Fourth, his information on contribution limits to tax shelters like the IRA and 401k are woefully out of date, but then, given that the book was last printed in 2001, the author may be forgiven for this (and perhaps should pen a revised edition). Fifth, the author contends that liquidity is both expensive and disruptive to the best plans- this is typical business school financial non-sense (ask Mr. Warren Edward Buffett about how he feels about having 45 billion dollars of liquidity) as it panders to the erroneous notion that one should have all his or her capital put to work earning some specified return. Most of us keep our funds in cash because for one, given the daily insults we suffer, we may not know what is coming at us next, and second, many of us are still woefully ignorant of ways to put our hard earned money to work. As such, someone truly concerned about African American financial health would not utter such silly remarks. Finally, Brown is wrong when he says that insurance coverage is an investment strategy; insurance coverage is a cost.

Still, potential readers must keep in mind that this book is intended to impart some basic financial knowledge to those who either have little or no financial know-how, or are guided by some crippling financial misconceptions (or more typically, both). The more financially savvy among us might get angry at his treatment of some topics, given what we know, but would have to agree wholeheartedly with his coverage of some very disturbing financial trends.

In sum, I have to give Brown five stars for having the courage and foresight to tackle this looming crisis, if not outright disaster. By now, most of us know not to depend on getting that long ago promised forty acres and a mule, and now our attention must turn to thwarting the attempt to reinstitute feudalism (or is it slavery ?!?) of a financial sort upon the masses. I intend to purchase a few more copies of this book and give them to some people I know who are in dire need of its information. We've gone through too much and come too far as a people to even consider a wholehearted return to servitude- no, slavitude, and God as my witness, I WILL NOT GO BACK!

Thanks for writing this book. Your introduction to my life is quite timely. Things don't just happen, they happen Just. (Smile) Keep up the good work! Your contribution to life and our community is a great and needed work, thanks!
Sonya Harris

Living paycheck to paycheck I thought that there was no way to save any money for our future. PAY YOURSELF FIRST helped me realize that I can reach my goals and dreams with just alittle sacrafice. Now I'm well on my way to reaching my first goal; a family vacation!

I like the way you explained your investment strategies. Thank you for presenting yourself in such a way that people can benefit from your experience and trust your advice.
adrienne

I met Mr. Brown at the black expo in chicago, purchased his book and I am now on my way to financial freedom!

This book is a good introduction to personal finance. It makes one think about how they are handling their money and gives new perspectives on what should be done with money to be more prosperous. That's great, but I wish the book would give more detailed instruction on how to get started. If one is looking for help in getting started on a budget and finding ways to help manage their money to start saving and investing, they will need another book to illustrate that process more clearly.

I would consider this a "jump start" book that contains much of the basics that one would need to understand regarding financial security and wealth building. However, I would suggest further study of other resources after reading this book.

Whether your trying to save a little extra for your pockets, for a house, or your kids college funds, this book is helpful with getting you on the right track.