Well, it is time to write another book review. Since I just finished reading On My Own Two Feet by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, it only make sense that this book is the subject of my review. Yes, I am aware that it was written for the fairer sex, but I wanted to take a quick look into how women think about finance. What better way than to read a book written by females for females?

This book is a quick, smart read and that is important because it is geared towards women with careers and social lives. It gives them a fast informative look at how to make their money work best for them. The message is super clear and to the point. Amazingly the duo covers all the basics of saving, investing, retiring, understanding and using credit wisely, budgeting, and still find room to give a life strategy in less than 200 pages. I like the chapter on prioritizing your financial plan, where they lay out their seven step process to reaching your financial goals. Their seven steps are all great gems that are cut to perfection. I know I am giving this book a lot of praise, but it is really a good book.

On My Own Two Feet is another 5 star financial book in my opinion. It is a must read for ever one, not just women. Get it at Amazon

Investing is a scary subject for many, especially young adults. As young adults, we want to enjoy life and saving and investing is usually the last thing on our minds. Ironically, it is the time we should be investing heavily and planning for retirement. A little thing called compound interest can turn $50,000 into over $1.5 million in 30 years time. This is the biggest advantage young adults have when it comes to finances.

Almost any form of long term investments is good for young adults and the amount they have to invest is small compare to older folks. A 25 year old can more than triple their initial investment in 30 years, without adding another dime to it. Imagine if are 25 years old and you invested $20,000 into an account bearing 4 percent interest monthly. In 30 years time you would have somewhere around $65,000 in your account and you don’t have to invest another dollar. Now imagine if you invested another $50 monthly for the next 30 years, that would be somewhere around $100K. Over the 30 years time, you would have only added $18,000 for a total of $38,000 invested and a profit of $62,000.

The reason more young adults fail to take advantage of this powerful technique, is simple lack of knowledge. They do not know it exist and how powerful it is. We usually learn this later in life and try to play catch-up, but time is something we can never get back. I have said before that personal finance should be a mandatory part of every high school, but it is not. It is left up to parents to teach their children about saving and investing, but most parents know just as much as their child. It is an easy subject to grasp and with extensive resources to help you learn and it is available to all young and old.

Now, why is it that more people do not take advantage of free, invaluable information like this? The class could have easily hold 150 people, but only 35 was in attendance and from the question being asked most were well educated in the subject. Only a few did not know about investments and retirement planning. The way I see it, the people that need it are too busy trying to make ends meet and the ones that can do without, have the time to take advantage.

The group teaching the class was from a local business and just gave enough information to make you want to hire them for their services. They did however cover some important topics that the new comers to personal finance can use. The real lesson started after they open up the Q & A portion of the class. One guy that looked like he was in his mid 50′s ask “Do you think it is wise to start investing again?” That was the question of the day and seems as if all the people that knew about investing, wanted an answer to this. “It depends on your portfolio, what type of investments you are talking about and a lot of other financial information. It is always safe to make long term investments, short term investments is always risky.” This was not the answer they were looking for, but in my opinion it was the right answer.

Short term investments are for thrill seekers and companies with deep pockets. If you are young, long term investments is always a sure thing. If you are at retirement age and short on funds you should definitely not consider buying and selling stocks to make a quick buck. The instructor tried to break it down the best he could before time ran out, but it was clear they just want conformation and not sensible advice.

All in all it was fun for me to sit there and listen. I personal did not learn anything new, but did get a few reminders that I will write a few articles about in the future. I do recommend you take a personal finance class if you are new to the subject, it will give you a clear understanding of what it will take to get your finances in order.