THE 8 PILLARS OF FINANCIAL GREATNESS

From personal financial consultant Ford, a self-disciplined, gimlet-eyed framework for putting your money affairs in order.

Ford successfully endeavors to build a bedrock of principles for sound financial planning. It’s a foundation for the Everyman, presented in a yeomanly, amiable style. The author uses figures that most people can relate to and incorporates moral values into the financial picture (such as putting one’s family first). His eight pillars are equally sensible and approachable. Ford suggests readers establish an account for emergencies (setting aside $200 a month, primarily for debt avoidance); take an inventory of their worth and make a budget; stay out of debt (“Pay your credit card(s) off, in full, every month. If you cannot do this–you need to cut them up and get rid of them”), or assume acceptable debt–mortgage, automobile; educate themselves regarding insurance and the basics of estate-planning; save and invest in things with personal meaning, such as their children’s education and their retirement; outline ways to approach a home mortgage; improve themselves–learn something new or embellish your expertise–to improve their income; and give back, for that is their greatest gift. The author writes, “Giving back means sharing the time, talents, energy, and abundance you enjoy with other people around you,” which by Ford’s reckoning is ten percent of one’s time and income. His bottom line is that readers should take even the smallest steps to jump-start their program, and educate themselves on options and pitfalls. Of course Ford is a businessman after all, and has yet more advice to sell–CDs, workbooks, etc.–but he also wants to be readers’ Benjamin Franklin, preaching that an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Fortunately, Ford’s plain-spoken edicts harbor no surprises.

An elemental program which battles financial anxiety by delivering methods for control.