Cogently written and ideal for those beginning their careers who are not averse to risk; some may find this fiscal plan too...
A debut financial guide offers a novel approach to wealth creation.
Reports of the demise of the middle class have led to a spate of financial and investment books targeting the “average Joe,” a label often used in this work. Clearly, Trench intends the manual for a specific audience, “the full-time median (around $50,000 per year) wage earner who has little to no initial savings but wants early financial freedom.” The author’s three-stage formula focuses on the notion that creating and building wealth is about developing a “financial runway,” or the ability to live a desired lifestyle without relying on a traditional job. But rather than promote a get-rich-quick scheme, Trench lobbies for a period of self-sacrifice followed by bulking up on savings and investing in income-producing assets. The author lays out his proposition elegantly, using a strategy that moves from zero personal wealth to an initial accumulation of $25,000, growing that to $100,000, and culminating in fiscal independence. Much of the book emphasizes a do-it-yourself mentality and disciplined practicality. Trench chides the reader to be sensible and accept less than “the best.” The finest will cost a lot more but probably not be much better than “quite good.” This goes hand in hand with the concept of living “efficiently.” These are tenets of a kind of self-reliant, pragmatic philosophy that forms a foundation for the well-constructed book. Tactics abound: when it comes to housing, for instance, the author’s solution is to start by living in an inexpensive apartment close to work and, after saving some money, become a “house hacker”—purchase a multifamily unit, live in one part, and rent out the other. This is a key to wealth creation, writes Trench, but it may not be desirable or feasible for everyone. Other unconventional ideas, such as seeking out a performance-based job to generate higher than average employment income, are provided throughout.
Cogently written and ideal for those beginning their careers who are not averse to risk; some may find this fiscal plan too audacious, but others will likely embrace its spirit and pursue it with fervor.Pub Date: April 23, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9975847-1-4
Page Count: 236
Publisher: BiggerPockets
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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