Finally able to write again, the stories, the songs and
the experiences from my Vacation will stay forever, I had the opportunity to
travel around Amsterdam, Poland and the Baltic states with a good friend of
mine and colleagues from work. It was just great! Now eventually going back to
the routine thinking that it can always go better, to my surprise just when I
got back I was contacted by Alan Akina founder and president of 101 Financial, a financial education company based
in Hawaii. Alan Akina has been helping middle income families to get
financially educated, organized, out of debt, and on with the better things in
life for the past 10 years. Alan also host the Financial Fitness segment
on FOX affiliate KHON 2 Morning News.
Alan Akina recently wrote a book on
personal finance for the working middle-class that he gave away for free. He
believed that my audience would really enjoy it because it’s a unique take on
managing our day-to-day financial lives. The book is simple and easy to
read. In fact, anyone can read the book in less than an hour.
Perfect for my busy readers. So here is a review I wrote after my 40 minutes of
reading the book,
When Alan says it is a simple book, he tells the truth. The thing about it
is, it’s not just that it’s an easy book to read; the concepts that he presents
are very simple. And when you’re trying to understand money, sometime simple is
best.
Alan begins the book by divulging some elements of his childhood. He grew
up poor, had divorced parents, often moving from home to home. He gives a very
touching story about his grandmother and her influence on his life (what I
enjoyed about this is how is really highlights the profound impact just one
person can have). He talks about his struggles with money and how he overcame
them, and how those struggles inspired him to teach others what he learned.
The book focuses on 5 basic concepts revolving around money:
- Money in (income)
- Money out (bills)
- Money we owe (debt)
- Money we grow (investments)
- Money we share (charitable giving)
It really doesn’t get easier than that. What I appreciate about these
concepts is that it breaks down money management into easy to explain ideas. As
a parent trying to teach my child about money, these 5 principles are simple to
explain, even to my 5 year old. They make sense, are logical, and are presented
in a progression that makes you have that “aha” moment about your finances. You
finish the book not confused about how to manage your money; rather you finish
the book thinking “I can do this”. It’s a nice feeling.
But I think my favorite part of the book was how interactive it is. I read
the e-book version of the book, and to break it up, there are links to
downloadable worksheets, YouTube videos of Alan presenting his ideas on a Hawaiian
affiliate of Fox News (where he has been presenting financial news for years),
and sidebar stories of people he’s helped with his advice (I’ always enjoy success
stories). Now that I have the book saved on my desktop I can go back and reread
it or download the worksheets, especially when I need to get back to the basics
with my finances specially now after my vacation which let my credit cards dry
This is a book that gives a broad overview of financial management. That
financial management includes emphasizing the importance of avoiding or getting
out of debt.
A word of caution about this book. For those who already have a fairly
strong understanding of managing their day to day finances, this book will be
too simple. In fact, it may seem oversimplified and it’s probably not the best
choice to add to the personal finance section of your library. But if you
know someone who did not receive a proper financial education or is struggling
with understanding the basics of financial management, this is a great place to
start. Besides it is a perfect start to make the Million Euros in less than 5
years that I’m confidently looking for.
You can Download the book for free in this Link:
The five money principles
everyone needs to know
keep smiling summer
is all over us and we control the heat!
