Book Review: Everyday Finances for the Everyday Family

Book: Everyday Finances for the Everyday Family by Mike Yorkey

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Everyday Finances for the Everyday Family takes the mystery out of s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your hard-earned dollars. In fact, the secret to successful living can be summed up in three simple steps: (1) deny some of your wants, (2) spend less than you earn, and (3) avoid bad debts,” such as carrying a high balance on a credit card. This easy-to-read resource guides you through commonsense principles that can help your family budget, spend, and save money wisely. The advice given here is grounded in Hebrews 13:5: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.”


Rating: 1 star

Review:

Although there is a lot of good information in Everyday Finances for the Everyday Family, a majority of it can be found online, in magazines or in other finance books. Please note, this is a faith based look at finances that cover a range of topics such as understanding and properly using credit cards, saving money while dining out, the benefits of cooking at home, saving money while traveling, paying for college and more. There is also a chapter about gambling.

This was a disappointing read because the author's tone can be condescending at times and not to mention he generalizes a lot. There was also a lot sexism riddled throughout.

I had several issues with this book, one was that the author stated that it's his belief that many moms want to stay at home to raise their children. He then went on to make it seems as though it's a waste of time and resources for a mom to work outside the home. And not to mention according to the author by the time they get home they are too wiped out to cook. I find it interesting that he made no mention of husbands perhaps cooking any of the meals. Seriously, what century is he living in. Yes, there are moms who prefer to stay at home but there are also moms who want to work outside the home (and not because they have to). There is no need to knock down the moms who choose the latter.

I also had an issue with the author stating that he knows that most women view shopping as a recreational pursuit. As if men don't shop, they shop just as much as we do.

This book made me laugh but not because it was funny but because it was so misguided at times. Although a majority of the tips in this book are helpful, however, some of the author's tips I found to be horrible. Case in point, in chapter 8 "Don't Pay Retail" one of the tips the author suggested was don't carry a purse, use a fanny pack. It's so you can have the freedom to navigate through the sales. Seriously, who uses a fanny pack in this day in age? Also in chapter 4 "Supermarket Sweep", the author recommended readers buy dented cans to save money. There is a reason why experts are always saying not to buy dented cans. It's because the dents can compromise the food and could possibly turn into a health risk. And he also suggest buying food at swap meets.

The whole point of chapter 12 "Insurance for Assurance" is that life insurance is mainly for men to protect their families. Because according to the author, men bring home the bulk of the household income, thus it make sense to insure their lives. If the husband dies, the insurance will be very helpful to the wife who would more than likely as the author states want to stay home and raise the kids. However, if the wife dies, the husband can pretty much go about his daily business since he will still have his job and can find child care. I'm paraphrasing a bit here but that's the general gist of the author's message.

This book made me so mad because it pretty much suggested that moms are just supposed to stay at home, raise the children and go out and find bargains. I did not enjoy reading this, perhaps this book wasn't for me.