Most of us wish that we had a better handle on how to manage our money. When it comes to smart choices, a good financial IQ can lay a foundation for better decisions for the rest of your life. If you are looking for information on how to improve your knowledge of money, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Boosting Your Financial IQ by Ken Clark, CFP can be a great resource.
One of the things I like about this book is that it first focuses on how money works. Before you start making financial decisions, it can be helpful to understand the way money works, and how it moves through our economic system. Understand how money works, and you are likely to make better financial decisions down the road. Boosting Your Financial IQ is a great start.
How Others are Profiting Off Your Low Financial IQ
In a way, the beginning of this book is a little depressing. Clark takes you through the realities have how banking works, how credit card issuers want to keep you in financial bondage, and how various players in the financial industry are making money off your ignorance. It’s an eye-opening look at how what’s going on behind the scenes can actually keep you from reaching your financial goals if you remain unaware, and if you don’t do anything to change some of what you’re doing.
The first thing Clark does is impress on you the importance of being informed, and realizing how money works and how the system works. Once you know, you can begin to play the system in a way that helps you build wealth, and take back the power in your finances.
Build Your Financial IQ
Boosting Your Financial IQ follows a logical progression that takes you through the keys of what you need to know when it comes to improving your financial knowledge, and taking advantage of the system to help you build wealth. He breaks it down by investing, real estate, big expenses you are likely to run into (health care and education, anyone?), taxes, and safety nets (including those offered by the government). Each part of the book is broken down into chapters that are easy to digest, and that provide you with information you can use as you plan your financial future. Clark also makes it a point to call out tricks used in various industries, and help you navigate some of the sensationalist claims floating around out there.
Finally, the book ends with some resources that can help you keep learning about money. Not only does Clark teach you some of the ropes, he also provides a solid foundation that you can use to learn how to learn about money. He offers a study plan to help you take your knowledge further, and helps you learn which questions to ask. The key is to keep learning, and stay on top of things. With the help of Boosting Your Financial IQ, you can get a good handle on things, and develop a solid understanding of how money works — and how you can get it to work more effectively for you.
Disclosure: I was not paid by the author or publisher to write this review. However, I did receive a free copy of the book for review purposes.
Miranda is freelance journalist. She specializes in topics related to money, especially personal finance, small business, and investing. You can read more of my writing at Planting Money Seeds.