How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide

by Jane Bryant Quinn

Libby audiobook 12:30 hours

AND my personal copy hardcover 348 pages

read by: Amanda Carlin

Published: 2015 (audio version 2016)

Genre: non-fiction finance advice

I got this audiobook back when I just wanted something to have on my phone while I drive. The narrator's voice is incredible and I enjoyed listening . . . but often I wanted to skip ahead (like the social security section on "if you were born prior to 1953" . . .). Sometimes the topics were just too complex for me to wrap my brain around, though she does explain things clearly.

I remembered this title and knew that I had loaned my print copy to a friend. I got that back but kept listening. Basically, I've listened to more than three-fourths of this book and have read about 100 pages of the book. I'm blogging just to be done for now.

I love love love that she offers different scenarios! In the health insurance chapter, she says, "If you haven't worked long enough to quality for Medicare, . . . " "If you 're in a Part D drug plan. . . " She does that for each of the sections to offer advice whether you have very few resources or great wealth.

I would love for Louie to read this book so we could talk about the topics! I don't think this is necessarily a cover-to-cover book to read. Here are the chapter headings:

The Joy and Challenge of Life After Work

Rightsize Your Life

How to Double Your Social Security Income (Well, Almost)

Getting the Most from Your Health Insurance  - Before and After 65

Pensions Are for Stre-e-e-etching

Should You Buy Yourself a Pension?

Powering Your Retirement Savings Plans

The Speed Limit on Retirement Spending: Still 4 Percent?

Investing for Income: Not What You Think

Home Sweet Income-Producing Home

Living on Your Life Insurance

Just Tell Me What to Do

I'm really enjoying her advice, wisdom, and experience in these matters!

The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth

by Richard Paul Evans
Hennepin County Library audiobook 2 CDs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction, self-help, finance

I took lots of notes on this, but won't include them all here. Louie and I listened to this together on our way to and from Leech Lake a few weeks ago. The first notes I wrote were, "Live frugally" and "Decide to be wealthy."

Briefly, the five things are
1. The Power of Commitment (choose)
2. Take Responsibility for Your Money
3. Keep a Portion of Everything You Earn
4. Win in the Margins
5. Give Back

Like I said, I have a LOT of detailed notes. I still struggle with some of the financial "stuff" I've been reading about . . . because I don't really care that much about money. But I want to be a responsible spouse and citizen . . . and I want to bless others. That's part of why I keep reading stuff like this.

Evans makes some great points, and I believe he's a Christian. Even though wealth is not my goal, he has some very helpful points.

Link to my GoogleDoc with my detailed notes is here. There are lots of other people who have posted info online (that is better organized and/or more concise than my jabbering).

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D.
Hennepin County Library hardcover 258 pages
genre: non-fiction sociology

This book was referenced in a number of different places and I'm glad I read it. My two biggest take-aways (personally) were to live below my means and I just don't care that much about wealth. Yep. My personal takeaways.

On page 22,  the table "The top fifteen economically productive small population ancestry groups" lists people groups from primarily Caucasian countries. Perhaps it's because people from African and South American countries are larger population groups in the U.S.? Or because these people have not been able to attain great wealth?

Page 24 really caught my eye! "They are the opposite of their father, the blue-collar, successful business owner. His children have become Americanized. They are part of the high-consuming, employment-postponing generation. How many generations does it take for an ancestry group that today contains thousands of Victors to become Americanized? Only a few. Most move into the 'American normal' range within one or two generations. This is why America needs a constant flow of immigrants with the courage and tenacity of Victor. These immigrants and their immediate offspring are constantly needed to replace the Victors of America." And these authors are pretty conservative! I wonder what they think of Trump's isolationist policies . . .

I love how the parts on children of wealthy parents differentiate by career. As wealthy parents give financial gifts to their children, many just waste that money! (Easy come, easy go.) "In spite of having lower incomes than nonreceivers, gift receivers who are high school / elementary school teachers have higher net worths than nonreceivers." Yep. Because teachers know how to scrimp!

There are actually a lot of really interesting observations they have made from their research into millionaires. Despite what we see from Hollywood, there are only a very small percentage of the ultra-wealthy with the high lifestyle. Most millionaires are self-made through entrepreneurial efforts. They generally buy used cars and keep them several years, work very hard, and live below their means so they can amass wealth.

At many points in this book, I thought, "But I just don't care that much about money!" Life is short and precious and I want to store up treasures in Heaven. Eternity is more important than stuff.

Page 219 had some really interesting things to say about immigration law . . . and this was published in 1996. It would be very interesting to see a revised book. Stanley has died (his daughter wrote the forward on this 2010 publication).  If they were able to replicate the research, would their findings be the same? What about all the dot-com entrepreneurs? I think it's interesting to see that Bill and Melinda Gates do not plan to just hand their wealth to their children. This book really has a lot of sad observations about the generational impact of wealth. It's easy to spend someone else's money . . .

You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

by Jesse Mecham
Hennepin County Library hardcover 200 pages
genre: non-fiction, financial literacy

I read through page 45 before it was due back at the library. Now I'm #31 on the waiting list, so here are some thoughts before they fade:

- this is similar to Dave Ramsey's stuff, but without a Christian perspective and with some small differences.
- the author's style is appealing and accessible
- that said, I thought about buying a copy of this book from Amazon to share with some people . . . except they don't have children and there are lots of references to child care expenses, saving for a child's college education, etc. That might be off-putting for the folks I'm thinking of . . .
- I am curious enough and engaged enough by his writing style to finish the book when I get it again.

I wrote the above in early April 2018, below on 6.11.18:

 His four rules are:
1. Give Every Dollar a Job
2. Embrace Your True Expenses
3. Roll With the Punches
4. Age Your Money

I won't explain them here - just read the book! This is more a reminder for me.

Page 53 - "Question everything. Once a year (I like to do this in January), question every one of your expenses. . . . Every single item should be on the table. Following the tactic of asking why six or seven times as it relates to any one of your line items will help you peel back the layers of that priority and really see it for what it is." This is tough for me because Louie and I have different priorities and perspectives. It's good for us to talk about it, though!

Pages 106-7 - ways to "sprint" to get where you need to be with budgeting: pick up freelance work or do odd jobs, sell your stuff, get intense about not spending, outsource your stuff. I'm not good about these things, but then we aren't in a really tough place right now, either.

Page 121 - "Navigating Yours, Mine, and Ours" - I thought about scanning or copying this entire section. Or just asking Louie to read it. This is a bit different from how we currently plan our budget. "It's too easy to assume that your priorities are the same as mine. Or that our priorities are always more important than mine. These quiet assumptions are what make budgeting as a couple stressful when it absolutely doesn't have to be. The key to keeping your priorities clear, and your budget stress-free, is communicating."

The chapter on "Budgeting as a Couple" is another one I wanted to copy from . . . "Technicalities aside, joint accounts also keep you from worrying about who earned what money. You've committed to being partners for life. It doesn't matter who earned what. It's one shared pool of money that is funding your shared life together. Embrace that and support one another on the journey." (pg. 125) 

I also really liked the chapter on "When You Feel Like Quitting." Good stuff here. I may still want to buy a copy of this book!

Pages 199-200 have lots of other resources:
www.youneedabudget.com/classes
www.youtube.com/YouNeedABudget
www.youneedabudget.com/blog
etc. . . .

Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People

by Jane Bryant Quinn
HC hard 227 pages
genre: NF, financial planning

I need to just go out and buy her books! Even though this is an older title, there's a waiting list and I've barely started. Writing this entry at the library before I drop it in the returns bin.

I have a short to-do list from the part I did read, but it's not here with me.

Seriously. I like her writing style, her no-nonsense advice, and starting to wrap my brain around this important stuff. Since I have a B&N gift card, I should just treat myself to one or two of her books.

How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide

by Jane Bryant Quinn
Hennepin County Library hardcover 348 pages
genre: Non-Fic finance

I read a review in the Star Tribune and was intrigued. I hate financial stuff, but I really do want to retire in eight years. I'm only on page 180, but it's due back at the library today (long waiting list). I will probably have to re-check it out this summer. Her writing style is easy to read (for the most part) and she has clearly done a lot of research. I'm interested in getting some of her other books, too.

page 67 under the heading "Too Many Choices! Where Can I Get Help?"
In looking at when to draw benefits relative to your age, your spouse's age, and maximizing your benefit amount over your lifetime . . . she recommends using AARP's free Social Security Calculator online. Her caveat, "Unfortunately, this calculator lacks flexibility. It assumes that all married people want to maximize their monthly checks when your actual goal might be to maximize your lifetime benefits as a couple." She also recommends AnalyzeNow.com (another free site) to include other types of income. "But it's strictly for do-it-yourselfers who know their way around Microsoft Excel." Piece of cake!

page 170 under the heading "Investing Your Retirement Plan"
She has a lot of bulleted points of advice . . . the one that jumped out at me talked about having index funds as opposed to other types of investments. I need to contact ING (and AXA and AIG???) and find out where my money is. I hate this stuff! She says of index funds, "These funds, essentially run by computer, invest in the market as a whole. Years and years of studies show that the returns from index funds beat a large majority of the funds run by individual managers. They're also lower cost."

I also tagged page 173 with a question about high fees . . . I don't really know what fees I pay.

I think I'll check out some of her other books and maybe re-check this one over the summer. At some point, I may just need to buy finance books. I need to start wrapping my brain around all this if I'm truly going to retire in eight years.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach their Kids about Money that the Poor and Middle Class Do Not

by Robert Kiyosaki
Hennepin County Library paperback 183 pages
genre: non-fiction financial literacy

I wish I had kept track of the review I read that recommended this book. I wanted to read it as an educator - what is it that kids in less affluent families need to know? But as I read it, I thought about my own life and financial knowledge (or lack thereof). I still would rather follow Jesus, be poor, bless others, and store up my treasures in heaven. But here are some notes I made (before I return this to the library!) and things I'm still pondering:

page 55 - "Because students leave school without financial skills, millions of educated people pursue their profession successfully, but later find themselves struggling financially. They work harder but don't get ahead. What is missing from their education is not how to make money, but how to manage money. It's called financial aptitude - what you do with the money once you make it, how to keep people from taking it from you, how to keep it longer, and how to make that money work hard for you. Most people don't understand cash flow. A person can be highly educated, professionally successful, and financially illiterate. These people often work harder than they need to because they learned how to work hard, but not how to have their money work hard for them."

page 70 - he says that people like me (and most people) are 1. - working for the company, 2 - working for the government (taxes), and 3 - working for the bank (paying mortgage & interest)

page 112 - "Most people never win because they are afraid of losing. That is why I found school so silly. In school we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. yet if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk. The same is true for learning to ride a bike. I still have scars on my knees, but today I can ride a bike without thinking. The same is true for getting rich." I agree with him on making mistakes - too often, we're looking for students to "get it right" rather than to actually learn . . .

page 134 (back to theme of willingness to lose) "I've said that falling off my bike was part of learning to ride. I remember falling off only made me more determined to learn to ride, not less. I also said that I have never met a golfer who has never lost a ball. For top professional golfers, losing a ball or a tournament provides the inspiration to be better, to practice harder, to study more. That's what makes them better. For winners, losing inspires them. For losers, losing defeats them."

Lots to think about and consider. He readily admits that most taxes are paid in by the poor and middle class . . . for me it brings up thoughts of Leona Helmsley - "taxes are for the little people" or whatever she said. Interesting and sad. But he also says that giving is very important and that he and his wife give a lot of money away. But he basically advocates for making money off investments (real estate, stocks) and not paying taxes to the government.