This review contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business and allowing me to continue providing you a reliable resource for clean book ratings.
I am addicted to personal finance materials. Shortly after I was unceremoniously tossed into the quagmire of Adulthood, it became apparent that I had no clue how to deal with all of the responsibilities necessary just to live. My plan had never been to generate massive wealth, but even just maintaining the basics of existence was a massive struggle. The older adults in my life had little to offer other than “Welcome to the Real World,” or “You’ll figure it out.” I did not feel welcome, nor did I believe that I would ever figure anything out.
I could read, however, so the local library became my source of discovery about managing income, savings, budgets, etc. I read everything I could locate, including periodicals, and I was finally able to get some clues about the amazing world of capital. This was during the early 1980s, and every single item that I studied was as dry as dust; boring beyond boring, yet absolutely riveting.
Thus, for over 40 years, my personal exploration into the machinations of money has continued as writer after writer have proclaimed their assurances that their plan will make you absolutely rich. I cannot get enough of this stuff, even though I am nearing retirement. I will state most emphatically, however, that I have unearthed golden nuggets of advice from nearly every author I have encountered on this mad journey. Including this one: Vivian Tu.
When this publication first appeared in my realm, I genuinely believed that the title’s acronym indicated Asian Friend. Oops. That was a huge error. In fact, it became readily apparent that this woman communicates with a multitude of acronyms, many of which are equally profane. (My younger coworkers patiently translated many of them for me.) It was also very, very clear early on that I am not anywhere near her target audience; rather, “Straight White Dude” is an epithet here, as is White Male coworker. (Two strikes for me.)
Tu openly discusses racial and gender inequity in the financial world, and she does so in a fairly blunt inflammatory manner. Simultaneously, she refreshingly acknowledges the deep emotional problems associated with managing money, especially for those people living paycheck to paycheck. Many of the other writers I have studied completely ignore this facet, and turn it all into cold hard facts, which is much more off-putting than this work.
Tu is completely unafraid to tackle the harsh truths that younger Americans need to comprehend:
“You’re not going to be able to save your way to rich, but you can save yourself out of a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.”
“You cannot budget your way out of a deficit.”
“Beating yourself up over past decisions won’t change what happened; it’ll only change how you feel about yourself and in a not-great way.”
“Life has a way of serving up situations that make you need money that you wouldn’t typically spend.”
“Nothing ever feels as good as your first bag.” (My favorite.)
Each section in this book is clear and straight to the point, more directly than nearly all other similar books. Budgeting is always the absolute worst portion of any finance text, but this one is unusually well done, very conversational, and offers up a variety of styles with plenty of explanations on how to adjust for your lifestyle. She pulls no punches when discussing many of the ridiculous fads that circulate in social media while grudgingly accepting the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) concept, even though she is not a big fan.
Even though I found the language and the attitude strong and provocative, I cannot deny that I completely agree with nearly everything Tu both proposes and laments. It has been exceedingly frustrating to watch the wealth gap widen so much during my lifetime and see no part of our educational system attempt to help people build bridges. For good or bad, “money is a factor in everything we do,” and although young people are fortunate to have Viv available to help, it is sad that it is even necessary.
Rated: High. When acronyms are included, there are over 70 instances of strong profanity (roughly two-thirds to three-fourths of the instances are the spelled-out version), 40 usages of moderate language, and another couple dozen occurrences of mild or otherwise crude terms. Only 4 times were there deity-based expletives.
