Stop Worrying about Money: Start Planning Now to Secure Your Financial Future

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       June 16, 2023

 

Author  Jacqui Clarke

Distributor:      Wiley
ISBN:                 978-1394176885
Publisher:         Wiley; 1st edition
Release Date:   May 2023  

Website:    https://www.wiley.com 

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‘Money is the root of all evil’ is an old saying which in so many ways is very true, but it is a given that money also is a life necessity; managing money is also a life necessity that so few do successfully, finding themselves deep in debt even though they earn more than sufficient for their needs.

In Stop Worrying about Money Jacqui Clark shares her many years of expertise in the money market, with a sound common sense approach to looking towards the future and encouraging you to start taking control of your money.

Life is full of unexpected twists and turn and more often than we like to admit, carefully created plans can come crashing down in what seems to be only a few short minutes.

Loss of a job, divorce, family tragedy, illness and overspending to name just a few instances, can have a crippling effect on income and lifestyle. What to do, how to manage in limited financial situations and importantly, how to learn from the experience and begin to future proof your finances, are all discussed in a very down to earth manner.

To help with this she details the planning, goal setting and reviewing money mistakes which are all important aspects of future proofing your finances, with worksheets to encourage you to understand and plan better use of your money.

One very interesting chapter is Build a trusted personal financial village, something that for the average income earner looks like a big undertaking, but by the end of the chapter the importance of doing this, even if you do not consider you earn enough, is very obvious.

Various strategies are presented to encourage you to stop worrying about money and begin to manage it. Areas such as taking a break, maybe you have long service leave but want to take longer than the time you have financial support for, Estate planning, let’s face it we are all mortal and this is a very volatile area for those left to deal with, setting up a ‘side hustle’ and the pros and cons of doing so, are discussed in a very practical manner, along with much more of interest in the modern working/family lifestyle.

Maybe you are considering downsizing, or tree-changing’,  to reduce your debt load but are unsure if it is the right thing to do. Follow the planning strategies set out which are designed to cover all aspects of a specific lifestyle change which will encourage serious discussion and thinking.

Perhaps the overarching and most important aspect for future-proofing is addressed in the final chapter, Educate the next generation. Most children are not educated well in any aspect of money management and therefor are prime candidates for a massive debt load with the ease of borrowing money, credit card use and pay later schemes.

Clarke says the best legacy you can give your children is the understanding of money management and as she states, ‘share your reflections with them’. They will thank you for it in the future.

Sound practical common sense, along with learned experience and a genuine desire to stop people worrying about their money and begin to make it work for them, not against them, makes Stop Worrying about Money an essential household book.