Customer Reviews

The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Reviewing this book was difficult, and required an important decision: should the book be reviewed for the benefit of a general audience, or for a fundamentalist Christian audience?

Answering this question was not easy. The book presents, by its own description, a means to achieve financial freedom, to get control over your spending, and to improve your financial situation. The book's introduction says that you don't have to belong to any particular religion or have any particular set of beliefs to benefit from it. Yet the book clearly states that the plan contained in it cannot possibly succeed without prayer and Divine help, and the book quotes Christian scripture in a circular-logic fashion to support its points. The book contains chapters that involve purely religious activities and deep religious explorations.

I finally concluded that if you are a fundamentalist Christian, the book will have great appeal and enormous utility, so no review is really necessary. Therefore, I decided to review the book from the standpoint of a general reader (such as myself, as I am not a fundamentalist Christian by any means).

That out of the way, let's state up front that the book presents remarkable insights and advice about getting and keeping your finances under control, and I learned a great deal from reading it. Very early in the book, there is a discussion about using credit cards which is so simple and so logical that you will instinctively see the truth of it and wonder why you never looked at things this way before.

The basic premise of the book is that you are to do a 21-day "financial fast" in which you never use anything but cash, only spend on absolute essentials, don't go shopping except for necessities, and so on. Doing such a "fast" will teach you about your spending habits and about how to reign them in. There is a lot to this: how many non-essentials do we buy? How much "recreational shopping" do we do? How much is utterly unnecessary? The "fast" will put you in touch with your worst habits, and hopefully help you control them.

The book also teaches about developing a saving habit, having a "life happens" rainy day fund, and reaching out to help others. This latter message may seem out of place, but in the context of the rest of the book it makes perfect sense. There is much more, too much to describe here, but the financial advice is practical and useful in just about all cases.

Fine, then: there is a lot here and it is sound, actionable advice that can't help but help you. Remember, though, you're a "general" reader, and so the question is, can you deal with the very heavy and at times overbearing religious preaching? Do you want to deal with a chapter that tells you nothing else but why you should tithe at your church? Are you interested in endless quotes from the Christian Bible, chosen to support each other, as well as the text material, in a circular manner? Do you want to do a prayer session before reading each chapter as the author insists is necessary?

If you're anything like me, you'll answer a solid "no" to most of those questions; and yet, I'm recommending the book to you anyhow. Because the book's advice is so useful, I suggest that you "suspend disbelief" (or maybe in this case "suspend belief"), taking the preaching for what it is, and make use of the advice and principles the author sets forth so lucidly.

The author writes a column for the Washington Post and certainly knows her business. She is clearly a dedicated Christian and wrote for a Christian audience, despite her unconvincing claims to have written for a general audience. Less preaching would have made for a better book, but it's still extraordinarily good.

When I first got THE POWER OF PROSPERITY 21 DAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM, I was very skeptical. Sometimes these type of books promise a lot of things to people who already have things so I never have been very impressed.

This book, however, does have some principles in it that do work. The premise of the book is that God wants you to prosper. That statement alone will turn off a host of people.

If you can make it past that statement, here are some other things that this book proclaims.

You have to go on a financial fast from credit cards to begin the process
It is not easy
To Better Serve God, you have to have some finances to do things

The basic set up of the book is this:
PART 1: God's Power to Prosper You (you have to settle this in your mind to make this work)

PART 2: Prepare Yourself To Prosper (addressing attitudes, and actions to support this new lifestyle)

PART 3: Prudence Begets Prosperity (how to get rid of greed debt and credit)

PART 4: Testimonials of those who have done this and how it changed their lives.


DOES THIS BOOK CLAIM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS?

This book is not claiming to solve all of your problems. There is some action that you have to take, but there is also a process of God filling in the blanks as you begin to do what you can to meet Him halfway.


THE 21 DAY FAST FROM SPENDING.

Michelle Singletary suggests many plans of action such as journaling through your fast, keeping strict records and ways of saving. The other side of the coin, however, is that you need to build yourself up on the Word of God and learn what God has to say about this way of living to purify the reader from the wrong ways of thinking and acting which brings about poverty originally. Giving is one of them. The more you give, the more you get back is a big premise in this book.

I think that the 21 day fast from using plastic is a great idea. It is a hard thing, I am sure to do. I have not had the time to test it out as of yet, but it is something that I plan to implement in the future- it sounds like a good thing to do.

The thing of the fast is that you have to STOP trips to the mall, online shopping, window shopping, catalog shopping, and all forms of eating out. No movies, or entertainment allowed at all that costs money. You have to look for FREE ways of entertainment. No plastic can be used at all- only physical money. That means if you spend money on hair, nails, etc, you have to forgo that as well and learn to do it yourself. You also have to get an accountibility partner to report to so you will keep on track.

There is a long discussion on what is debt and when and if it is allowed in your life.

The only things allowed on your fast are essential NEEDS. She gives a list of what they might be. All of this is with instruction to ask God to guide you for personal things to add to or subtract from the list.

FINAL COMMENTS

After running through the book the first time, I have to say that there are some excellent ideas in this book. I do know from personal experience that giving is an essential way to start financial flow in your life. I also know that a fast is essential in the physical body, so I see no problem with doing such a fast in financial side of life as well.

There are great planning sheets for adults as well as teens in the family to help understand and manage money better.

On the down side, this book is all wonderful, but I can see how someone who is in very difficult financial straits would find it overwhelming. If someone has been sick, lost a job for an extended period of time, or endured the death of a loved one that came completely unexpectedly (think widow), I can see where this book would make them feel a bit hopeless.

If you are a person who is the sole provider for your household, it would be very hard to journal every day. I also know that some people are not using credit cards, and their lives are very very hard. They don't spend a lot of money on other things and their lives don't seem to get any better.

There is some hope in this book for them as well, but some of the portions of this book assume you have consistent income and that life is not overly hard to change.

All in all, I recommend this book to read- it still has a lot of good advice and information in it that does work.

I would add a caution that some people might not find it as helpful as others. If you are in dire straits, this book will still help a lot. However, some of the advice might not apply to you and just skim over it.

Being part of the millions of Americans carrying some sort of debt, I was looking forward to reading Michelle Singletary's "The Power to Prosper." I've read a lot of debt/financial advice, from both Christian and non-Christian authors. "The Power to Prosper" has good ideas, but nothing amazing or new if you've participated in things like Crown Ministries or read Dave Ramsey's or Liz Pulliam Weston's financial books/columns.

One thing that struck me with "The Power to Prosper" is it seems very targeted at a certain type of person, namely the shopaholic. Singletary seems to assume that her readers are out-of-control spenders who find comfort in retail therapy. That's a very select group of readers, since I would hazard that a lot of people with debt right now are in those situations due to job loss and the poor economy of the last few years.

The other thing about this book is that, if you're going to do the fast, it has to be at a stable point in your life. As I was reading this book, I was also preparing for a cross-country move. Ironically, I had 21 days before moving day, but I also knew it would be stupid for me to do the fast right when I needed to use my credit card for moving expenses, gas, hotel, food and other incidentals.

I agree with her basic premises, such as curbing unnecessary spending and identifying wants vs. needs. And fasting is a great way to grow in your relationship with God. But I think there needs to be a balance between completely throwing everything out for 21 days (and a lot of other financial gurus advise dropping your credit cards and going cash only, so she's not saying anything new) and learning principles that will help you permanently get out of debt.

Hey folks, this is Michelle Singletary. I just wanted to send a note to those who are reviewing and posting comments about my latest book. It's a plea really. Please review in a fair way. I don't believe reviews that say things such as "t wish she would keep her relegion to herself" (this person didn't even bother to spell check) are fair to criticize a book that is intended to add a Christian perspective to how people handle their money. The posted comment I highlighted -- and others of a similar nature -- is the same as harshly criticizing a book intended to be only about dogs for not including information on cats.

Review the book on whether I provided an interesting, different or engaging way to think differently about how you handle your money? Was it written well? Could you see it helping people, even if not yourself?

Authors simply want fair reviews based on the material presented in their books not on what you think the books should be or not be about.

This book has changed the way that I think of money. I really and truly thought that I didn't spend a lot of money. So, I started the 21 day fast and saw that not only did I spend money but I did so without thinking. Now each time I pull out my debit card and certainly my credit card I think, what would Michelle say? Is this a need or a want? I had not realized that I spend $90.00 a month, yes, thats $1080.00 per year on two drinks 4 days a week from Sonic. What could I do with an extra $1080 a year? Well I will tell you...just from using Michelles book, I paid off my truck in 2 months, yes I only owed $5100 but still I would have let that drag out till the last day had it not been for this book. I promise it is worth the money, if for nothing else than to show you your spending habits. Also, I have read a ton of financial books, this one is the easiest to read, and the easiest to follow. Good luck.

I've read many of the reviews and I'm intrigued by the somewhat visceral reaction of several commenters to God. Everyone believes in something (that includes believing in no God). As Christians we live every day with commentary and advice that is anti-God without bashing the source. You simply take any sound advice that you can use and leave the rest. And if you're really open-minded you may take some of what you didn't originally believe and consider its relevance. That's not weakness, its sound judgment.

So back to the book. I've completed the 21-day financial fast and it opened my eyes to so many issues that I wasn't aware of. The concepts in the book are very simple and practical. Whether or not you're Christian, everyone needs to understand about credit, budgeting, saving, and debt. The book does a great job of presenting these topics in a very conversational manner that makes them easy to understand. It also forces you to take a look at your own role in the circumstances you find yourself in. While many are suffering from the effects of the recession, those same people can also learn how their financial habits and decisions could easily have landed them in the same predicament several years later if the recession had never happened; things were just accelerated by the economy.

I recommend this book to people of all faiths. While there is a heavy emphasis on Christian beliefs (and what author doesn't inject some of himself/herself into their work), the principles and concepts are applicable to anyone interested in a financial breakthrough. Interestingly enough the principles discussed from the Bible apply to everyday life whether you "believe" in God or not. The book never says belief in God equals prosperity, and rejection of God equals financial ruin. I do know from personal experience however, that humbling yourself and yielding to God's infinite wisdom and power (including your finances) will reap rewards greater than you could ever ask or think. So I encourage everyone to read the book for themselves and apply the knowledge and principles to their lives before making any judgment. Thanks Mrs. Singletary for an awesome resource!

Who knew I would be on a financial fast? This book as been an important awakening for me. Wasn't sure that I could commit to this fast. But everyday a new awareness happens.

This is a must have book. Heard Michelle Singletary speak a few weeks ago and it is certain she is the "bonafide" expert in taking you from ruins to revelation to riches. The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom

First - I want to clarify that the targeted audience is more religious than the average person. This does not mean that the average person would not enjoy some of the principles listed here, it's just that it might be easier to appreciate it if you are part of the target audience, since there are ample references and quotes from the Bible. Those who are specifically looking for a book that lists passages from the Bible as they relate to financial matters would definitely find this book helpful. After all, the publisher of this work is Zondervan - among the most well-known Christian publishers.

Whether one is religious or not, the principle of abstaining from spending money can impact the pocketbooks of both believers and non-believers. Just like one needs time alone - from the hectic stress of the world we live in, to think about priorities and goals, in the same manner we need a break from the daily money-spending routine, and the proposed 21-day financial fast is quite an intelligent proposal. Concrete steps are outlined - detailing exceptions, what should and should not be part of the 21-day fast, and even "rules" for affordability on vacations, major purchases, etc.

So I tried this, and it opened my eyes to many of the ways I spend money. I only was able to make it about a week, then I needed to purchase some medicine and supplies for my horses, so I got a little off track.. I definitely have more wants then needs, and I really want to be debt free. Connecting more with God and not using my credit cards is something I need to do more with my life, and this book helped me refocus my debt and life goals. I really enjoyed the testimonials at the end. This book opened my eyes more about my debt, and so I gave it five stars and I really got some great information from it!

Where do I start? I am so thankful for this book. THe premise of the book is that you fast for 21 Days from spending on anything that is not a necessity. During the fast you read a chapter a day, for the 21 days. These chapters cover a variety of financial topics from entitlement, wasteful spending, budgeting, tithing, investing, and teaching your children about personal finance (and many more topics). The book is written from a Christian perspective which I really enjoyed.

Since I began reading this book, last week, I have settled on my credit card debt for 60% so that I could eliminate this drag on my budget. I am about to pay off my car a year and a half early. Afterwards, I will be starting to build my emergency and rainy day fund.

More importantly, I am learning to be a good stewart of the resources that I prayed for God to intrust me with. It's difficult not to get caught up in consumerism. When you do, you feel out of control and fearful about your money. This book has helped me come back to a feeling of being in control. And, its only a start for me. I will be looking for some more in depth books on investing.

I highly recommend this book. None of the information is new but it is good way to get you back in touch with the fundamental values that will help you grow your money.