60 Minute Money Workout—a book review

I’m a natural born Saver. Spending too much money and racking up debt hasn’t been a struggle that I’ve personally had to deal with.  But I really love reading books on finances and money management. There are always new ways to look at the same old topic of how to get the most out of the little you already have.

The 60 Minute Money Workout is a lighthearted way to take another look at your finances and help you be master of your money and the way you live, instead of your money (or lack there of) being the master of you.

The idea is to spend just sixty minutes a week taking a deeper look into aspects of your finances and how you can change to make your money management as an individual or a couple better, and each chapter has thought questions, money quizzes and really, homework to help get you on the road to financial freedom.

I must admit that my natural penny pinching tendencies make budgets fascinating and the fact that this book has lists, another addiction I readily admit made it all the more fun to read and consider!

Personally, I’ve been studying about money and budgeting and being as debt free as possible for as long as I can remember, and did not find a lot about saving money in the book that I hadn’t already put into practice. But the questions and workouts at the end of the chapters did give me some new ideas about how to help others who may find money a tense issue in their homes and marriages, as well as some fun, new approaches to how I think about our personal goals and dreams.

I must admit, while I don’t claim to know money like she does, and while I think I can agree with her principles on almost every subject, there were a couple small things that I strongly believe have a lot of exceptions to the rule. One of those was some straws, more or less, about how allowances should be given and the importance they play. While this is a topic for a whole ‘nother time, let’s just say that I think there’s a lot more flexibility in this and some of the other minor aspects of managing money than the book seemed to suggest.

Still, many of her examples were fitting, and almost all of the workouts were very helpful, and I appreciated the encouragement to take an objective look together at finances without pointing fingers and without getting angry, so that solutions can be found and progress can be made towards the goals that can help ease the strain and the burden of being out of control when it comes to money, and overall, it made finding the right balance and creating a budget fun and interesting. I think that it would make a great engagement gift to a new couple, and if you’re just beginning to look for ways to get your own finances put together, I think the book could be helpful in keeping the attitudes light while dealing with a heavy topic. The most important thing is, if you struggle with money management, to find a good place to start, and this could be a great one.You can find this book, as well as other help books by the author, Ellie Kay, through Amazon and paperbackswap has some pop up from time to time, as well.

Thanks to Blogging For Books for this free copy for review.