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Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner
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Sales rank 13,262
Customers rating (based on 82 reviews)
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From first-time newlyweds to people on their second or third marriage, couples face an overwhelming task when it comes to money management. Nationally renowned financial advisor and bestselling author David Bach knows that it doesn’t have to be this way. In Smart Couples Finish Rich, he provides couples with easy-to-use tools that cover everything from credit card management, to investment advice, to long-term care. You and your partner will learn how to work together as a team to identify your core values and dreams, creating a financial plan that will allow you to achieve security, provide for your family’s future financial needs, and increase your income. Together, you’ll learn why couples that plan their finances together, stay together!
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| Publisher | Broadway | | Release date | 01/2002 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Paperback |
| | List price | $14.95 | | Our price | $10.17 (you save 31.97%) | | Used price | from $0.01 |
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 Fantastic Book
I've really enjoyed reading this book. It has principles in it that stick with you as opposed to other financial books that either go too deep or too wide in addressing financial matters.
Points that I've really taken to heart are:
+ The discussion around the purpose of money in our lives and using money towards the things we value (the two often don't go together by default).
+ The Latte factor. Great name and point to the metaphor. Love it!
+ Planning and the need to plan.
The book highlights many vehicles and some strategies. If anything, if more couples read this book together, it would probably help solve a number of financial issues that our country faces.
An efective tool
I found this book very easy-to-read and informative, and I know I will use it often for future reference. I highly recommend this book to those couples who are looking for an effective tool to learn more about personal finance and how to provide for their rich future together.
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 Great Advice for Couples
In "Smart Couples Finish Rich", David Bach does provide some of the typical personal finance advice, but the majority of it is about how to handle finances together as a couple, which is where the book really shines. One of his first examples he provides was a couple nearing retirement that came to him for financial advice. He asked them to share their vision of retirement, at which point the husband proclaimed, "We will build our dream house on a property we own in South Carolina, and I will go fishing every day." David then asked the wife, to which she responded "Who are you going to live there with because it won't be me."
He explains that while this is a little over the top, it is not that uncommon that two people in a relationship might have been dreaming for many years about different things and that it is important to make sure that both partners are heading the same direction from the very beginning if they truly want to finish rich.
One of the biggest assets in this book is not specifically about finances but encouraging couples to determine what their top values are, things such as freedom, security, fun, family, etc. While individual goals may change overtime, our values typically will not, and most everything that we do will or at least should be based on these. The second biggest asset in the book, is helping people to define goals that are based on these values and motivating the reader/listener to create very specific goals where they can begin taking action immediately (even if it just means getting brochures for a dream house).
The third thing that I think will be most surprising to readers/listeners is what he calls the "latte factor" where he explains how those little expenses throughout our day could easily translate into over a million dollars in retirement, things such as having a morning coffee from the nearest Starbucks. For some, I think this will be truly eye-opening. We have all heard how we can save $500 a year by making our own coffee or some other claim in a magazine, but he takes it a step further by showing what that money could do if invested at stock market averages.
All that being said, I do believe that his personal finance tips could have used a little improvement. The advice itself is solid and very typical with what most personal finance books will teach. The one major problem I have with it is that he does not give any advice regarding the order of things. He mentions retirement first, then emergency fund, then insurance before he ever gets to paying off debt....seems kind of backwards to me. I also found his 9 weeks to 10% more income to be a more of a sales line than actual substance...I'll spoil it for those who haven't read the book, it is to become more valuable at work, research what your position should pay, and finally look for another position or ask for a raise at your current job. I agree that the advice is good, but "9 weeks to 10% More Income" is a little misleading.
Overall, I do think the book is well worth reading/listening to. I think it would help many couples get started in the right direction when it comes to setting the right goals that match what is really most important in their lives, and this is probably the most important thing couples can do regarding their finances. He also helps explain how most people's problems is NOT their income, but how they use that income. Once these areas have been covered though, I would recommend reading a few additional personal finance books to supplement the advice he offers. My recommendation would be Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover just because he lays out the simple chronological plan using those same financial principles that Bach explains.
Sound advice
Money is one of the main sources of conflict among couples. The author of this book provides solid advice for couples about their money. He lists some myths about couples and money:
* Myth No. 1: If we love each other, we won't fight about money.
* Myth No. 2: It takes money to make money.
* Myth No. 3: We don't make enough yet to be investors.
* Myth No. 4: Taxes and inflation are under control.
* Myth No. 5: If we don't talk about money, everything will work out okay.
The author argues that almost everyone in America makes enough money to be wealthy. He says, "The problem isn't our income; it's what we spend." This statement is so true. It seems to me that too many people are concerned with having a bigger house, nicer car, or bigger TV. The more money people make, the more they spend. This is not a recipe for wealth.
- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market
Interesting read...but...check for updated information
David Bach's Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner (2001) provides a detailed, step-by-step plan for couples at all stages of their relationship to learn to self-generate economic security. By providing a "road map" for financial value identification, identifying facts and misconceptions regarding money management, and teaching basic economic concepts that all couples should know, the book provides the reader with ideas to stimulate money discussions with their partners and families, and it maintains a strong undercurrent of enticing one to act in order to take charge of their own financial future.
Bach's design for success follows a step-by-step procedure for couples to follow in order to understand, organize, and build their financial futures. He begins by having couples identify their individual money values, and he provides concrete examples from his own financial advising experiences of couples with both positive and negative money management skills. It is interesting to note that Bach maintains an extremely positive and motivational tone throughout his entire book; by building a strong foundation based on values, goals, and most importantly, discussion, Bach makes a strong argument for "finishing rich," and leads the reader to believe that they have the power to take control themselves, boding well for the starting and completion of the book by the reader.
According to Bach, once couples decipher the value, goals, and purpose of money in their lives, using the idea of "teamwork," financial goals are able to be explored effectively. Bach encourages organization, shared goal setting, and the use of deadlines by couples for meeting financial goals. In addition, Bach relays the importance of examining one's current income and spending patterns prior to making changes for financial security, retirement, and future dreams. In addition, despite existing as a book on money management, the book maintains a "holistic" outlook, encouraging exploration of necessities such as insurance and wills by couples on the path to financial security.
Smart Couples Finish Rich provides a wealth of information on types of retirement plans, insurance, investing basics, mutual funds, and college planning, in addition to quite a bit more. While the information is vast, it is basic, easy to understand, yet (as the author himself recommends) may require rereading or further investigation to gain full understanding. He also interweaves numerous financial websites throughout the text, and provides an appendix of financial worksheets at the end to supplement a couple's financial planning attempts.
Despite all of the positive aspects of Bach's book, there are a few shortcomings that a reader needs to be aware of when using this as a financial reference, the foremost being that it is important to note that the book was originally published in 2001; since then there have been numerous changes in tax laws, retirement contribution limitations, and a general economic downturn which makes many of the quoted interest rates, for example, 12% on retirement accounts, a bit outdated. The reader needs to be aware that before opening accounts, investing, and taking any other course of action on their finances that it is important to conduct self-research, either online or through discussion with a financial advisor, in order to be assured that they are in actuality acting "smart."
Additionally, while the book is essentially an "easy" read, couples will not benefit if they do not act on Bach's suggestions. It is entirely possible that couples could become overwhelmed or discouraged by the vast amount of information that is presented, and that may possibly result in non-action on their own behalves. While Bach attempts to reach as wide an audience as possible (self-employed, newly married couples, families with children, those nearing retirement), the information can at times be confusing or non-applicable, affecting the overall effectiveness of the tome. Finally, with the current economic atmosphere, Bach's suggestions in the final chapter for increasing your income by 10% in 9 weeks, which include putting oneself on the market for a better job, can be contrived as inappropriate considering the current state of employment and economy. Readers can quite possibly be "put off" by what seems to be an inane suggestion to "quit" their job, wherein the original author intention is to improve the earning power of the individual.
Overall, Bach's book provides for an interesting read, and it not only lends itself to the growth of couples in regards to personal finances, but would be an excellent book for reading groups, workshops, and for use by financial counselors and planners. Bach offers up a large number of websites for financial information throughout his book, and he maintains a personal website at www.finishrich.com. This book is highly recommended for couples looking to improve their own finances, with an easy step-by-step action plan that, if used as recommended, could help provide a more secure future.
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