Take just a moment to see how to use this book to best effect. It’s not just a book. It’s an action plan. Put your time here to good use. Make a difference in your money management. Your small investment here could pay returns for a lifetime. The unknown poet who wrote that money can’t buy happiness, only a kind of misery you prefer only had it half right. Well-managed money can buy you peace of mind, while blessing you, your family, and your community. Well-managed money can even bless generations.
Layout
The book begins with a few strategies. The main part of the book then has to do with your money. The book’s second part has to do with business finance. Don’t waste your time. Just read the part you need. Each paragraph also has a heading. Again, don’t waste time. Scan each page for the paragraph headings. They give you a clear roadmap to the text and its purposes. If you already know what’s on the page, move on to what you don’t know.
Statements
This book also includes sample financial statements. For better or worse, personal finances involve numbers. You don’t need to read financial statements to be good with money. Yet financial statements can be useful. Reading your financial statements could be the difference between meeting or missing your financial goals. And reading the statements may be easier than you think. Take a look at them.
Illustrations
This book also includes brief stories of two people dealing with their personal, family, and business finances. We learn by example. The stories illustrate the book’s principles and practice. The two people and their stories are fictional but lifelike, based on real experiences. You may see your own story in their stories. And you may learn more from the stories than the principles. Check out the stories.
Checklists
Each section ends with a checklist. Simply reading this book should help you. But do more than just read. Act on what you read. Inaction is often a greater risk with money than action. Don’t let procrastination ruin your finances. Money doesn’t care for itself. You must generally manage it. Take action to improve your finances. The checklists are your trigger or spur. Take the actions the checklists urge.
Manifesto
The book ends by pulling the checklists into a financial manifesto. Adopt the manifesto as your commitment to managing your money. Skilled money management requires principled actions and clear intentions. Otherwise, your finances will wander. Winning with money requires conviction. Make the manifesto your winning commitment. Refer to the manifesto from time to time to keep your money on track.
Glossary
The book also includes definitions of key money terms. A glossary at the book’s end collects those definitions. Language controls behavior. Understanding money concepts can help you improve your finances. Know the money terms the glossary collects. Share your financial knowledge with your family and friends. Money isn’t everything. But financial prosperity can help you and others accomplish life goals. Now have at it.
Proverbs
The book intersperses dozens of wisdom sayings throughout the text, to reinforce the recommended financial principles and practices. We have a way of thinking and talking about money. We need to connect that thought and talk with deeper and broader constructs, if our thought and talk about money is to make deeper and broader sense. Money isn’t an independent subject. How we think about money reflects, or should reflect, how we think about the world, ourselves, and our place in the world. The interspersed wisdom sayings should help you connect your money thought with your broader thought.
⤠ Where we put our treasure, we also find our heart. ⤟
Author
A quick note as to why you can trust me for the advice this book gives. I’ve spent thirty-five years advising individual clients as a lawyer, seeing how money management plays out in lives. Over nearly twenty years, I’ve also taught thousands of law students, helping them get started in practice and life, including creating and teaching courses, and researching and writing books, on finances and business. I’ve also managed my own law firm and personal finances. I could have written this book in my sleep but instead did a ton of reading and research, much of it reflected in the bibliography. Trust me. The principles and practices in this book work. Have a heart and mind for managing your money meaningfully. It will make your life and the lives of those around you better.