Monday 13 January 2014

Easy Money by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Published by Grass Roots Press
Distributed by HarperCollinsCanada

The first I heard about Gail Vaz-Oxlade was her television series 'Til Debt Do Us Part' and I'm fairly sure that is the same for the majority of you reading this review. I've always enjoyed her straight-forward no-nonsense attitude towards money and the issue of debt and I wondered how much of that was going to carry through to this book. At less than a hundred pages, this is a quick and easy read and at less than $10 (at the time of this review) it's certainly a more affordable option for those who just want to know the basics.

I was pleasantly surprised by how comprehensive this book is since it deals with the following subjects:
  • Needs and Wants
  • You Need a Budget
  • Make Your Budget
  • Understanding How Credit Works
  • Debt is a Four-letter Word!
  • Save Something!
  • You Need an Emergency Fund
  • Choosing a Bank Account
  • You Need a Plan
  • Take Control of Your Money 
What I really love about this title, is for those who don't really have time to read a great deal, this book shares the basics with you and it's written in way that anyone can understand, regardless of financial experience. I would definitely recommend this title to parents of teens. I know if I'd have had the opportunity to read this when I was a teen, my financial future would have turned out very differently.

As for me personally, this little gem is always close by so that I can refer to it when I need a quick reminder of what my financial goals are, and also the budgeting sections are of great help when I refresh our budget every few months. I especially like the appendix where the author includes a list of common things that people include in their budget.

What I also enjoy about this book, is the fact that there is a reader's guide online for it which is incredibly useful as it has great hands-on activities. I can't like the guide as much as I would like due to some of the content being inaccurate (Activity 1 directs readers to debtfreeforever to view Til Debt Do Us Part that isn't there, but you can find it at slice.ca instead). You can find the guide here. You can also read a sample chapter of Easy Money at the Grass Roots Press site here.

I'll be reviewing more titles by Gail Vaz-Oxlade this month, so do check back. The titles I'll be looking at are:
  • It's Your Money
  • Money Rules
  • Debt-Free Forever
  • Never Too Late
Author's Website: http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/

No comments: