MONEY GAMES

Financial coach Petrick offers dozens of strategies to save money while maintaining a sense of humor.

This book is about making money on a very human scale–as such, readers can, and more than likely should, start following its commonsensical advice today. The author also wants readers to have fun in the process, so he keeps his tone light and mirthful and he provides ways to achieve the satisfaction of another dollar in the bank. Petrick’s advice is homespun: get AAA and rewards credit cards (and always pay off those credit cards); get free stuff by browsing the Internet; and pursue hobbies with minimal ongoing costs or, even better, those that may add a small second-income stream like fly-tying, pottery or photography. He recommends that readers drink a glass of wine at home before going to a restaurant, do their own laundry, clean their own houses and ditch labor-saving, and money-gobbling, items like juice boxes and electric shoe polishers. Into the mix he blends some more serious tidbits, recommending that readers never stop learning. Though he doesn’t tender specific investment tools, the author counsels readers to stay on top of these methods by devoting 15 minutes to them each day. Petrick’s primary objective is encouraging readers to live on 70 percent of their salaries and invest 10 percent in each of three areas: paying off debt, savings and charity. In the vein of power-of-positive-thinking titles, he writes, “Your personal financial life will improve in direct proportion to the amount of money you release toward improving our world.” The exact percentage of charity doesn’t matter, he writes, since it’s the attitude that counts. The author reiterates the old chestnuts–avoid debt, build an emergency fund, invest with your eyes open and learn from mistakes–but what powers the book is the doctrine of steady, disciplined accumulation. Petrick counsels that readers should make the savings game fun by treating it just so–as a game.

Sage, grandfatherly, often-amusing advice on watching one’s pennies.