I love reading personal finance books. Not quite as much as I love reading personal finance blogs, but a close second. So I’ll occasionally review ones that have been helpful… or ones that aren’t at all! This is one of the first I ever read.
Getting Loaded by Peter G. Bielagus
About: 50 secrets or financial tips that everyone needs to know in order to start your life off on the right foot and grow up to be a millionaire.
Pros: This was one of the first financial books I read and it was a good place to begin. It is targeted to young savers in a fun, easy-to-understand way that emphasizes how time is on our side. I use it sometimes as a reference since there is a decent glossary and website directory in the back.
Cons: While I liked how down-to-earth the book was, I get annoyed sometimes when an author is too chummy with readers and their writing is too informal or dated by pop-culture references. I know that’s very contradictory of me to say since that’s how I write, but I guess I have different standards for books. I’m the nerd that reads PF books for the content, not necessarily the fluff leading up to it. Also, the economy was certainly different when the book was written (2003) than it is now. I personally feel that interest rates will be back up to where they used to be given time, but that little info is not accurate today in our market.
Perfect for: College students or recent graduates who have never heard of a 401(k), a liability and, well, a budget.
Overall Rating: $$$ out of five
