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Title: Die Broke : A Radical Four-Part Financial Plan by Stephen Pollan, Mark Levine ISBN: 0-88730-942-9 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.81 (48 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: This book isn't for everyone...
Comment: Despite other positive reviews, I tend to think this book contains some flaws which have been over looked. First of all, it appears as if the audience of this book is aging baby boomers who are fretting about surviving their retirement years in financial comfort. Perhaps this book offers some useful advice for these people, but for me, this advice falls short.
First of all, many of the recommendations in this book assume that a) You do not have enough money for retirement. and b) You don't have enough time and/or discipline to save for retirement. However, as young GenX'er, I personally have plenty of time and earning potential to accumulate enough wealth to retire and die rich. If a young person, not even making the median income saves a mere 10% of their income from age 25 until age 65, they can retire a multi millionaire. I have no intention of abandoning this goal, since I have over 35 years in which to build a nest egg.
The author presents several contradictory statements on how to manage your money. First, he recommends dumping credit cards and using only charge cards. The charge card he recommends costs over $50 a year to use. I can use a credit card, with no annual fee, pay my bill in full each month and save over $2000 in annual fee charges over my lifetime. Apparently, the author assumes that his audience is too undisciplined to use credit cards without paying off the balances each month. In addition, the author rails against consumerism and planned obsolecence and says that it is better to repair your VCR, computer, etc. rather than by a new one. In a later chapter, however, he recommends leasing vechicles to avoid paying repair bills associated with older vechicles. I drive a 12 year old truck, and I know that my repair bills on that vehicle are much less than the thousands of dollars I would spend on lease payments and higher taxes.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with some of his advice. As a GenX'er, I 'quit today' before I even got my first job. ;-) I also think that many people in my generation have already decided to place family and happiness above the pursuit of wealth. The benefit of being young, however, is that these goals do not need to be mutually exlcusive. Much of the advice that I do agree with he seems to have taken be observing the GenX generation.
In short, the book may provide a good guide for older, undisiplined boomers who have missed the chance to save for retirement, but for younger people, conventional wisdom (properly executed, and with some modifications) may still be the key to sucess.
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding Advice; Solid Financial Game Plan
Comment: "Die Broke" is far superior to many much more popular personal finance books. Author Pollan is pragmatic in steering individuals to avoid the "wage slave" trap the vast majority of us bungle our way into. Among many noteworthy observations, Pollan wisely points out how home ownership is not the near-guaranteed money maker it once was. This book is a perfect gift for the college graduate or someone in their mid-20s. Following Pollan's advice empowers someone to be responsive to the real world of declining living standards for most of us and practically no job security. I do feel one is better buying a 3-5 year old Japanese car and keeping it 10 years while Pollan recommends continously leasing new cars. This book is an overlooked gem that deserves the occasional re-reading.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great for Bankruptcy Recovery
Comment: As baby boomers that lost it all and is in the process of rebuilding our life, we found this book to be very helpful. In addition, it points out the hardest lesson that we've learned - your employer is not loyal to you and you can't count on them to take care of you.
This book isn't going to make you wealthy, and that is not its intent. This information in this book, paired with info from Suze Orman, are powerful tools for protecting yourself from future crises.
It isn't always right on the money, but it offers food for thought and practical advice. You won't find any book that has all the answers - if that were true, we'd all be rich.
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