Book Review: Bold Moves To Creating Financial Wealth

When it comes to helping people to get out of debt and build wealth, there are literally hundreds of books on the market. The problem is, the people who need help the most are often intimidated at the thought of reading books they feel have too many pages of financial concepts that seem too hard to understand or implement. As a result, many of the best financial books go unread by those who might most benefit from the guidance and solutions they offer.

Bold Moves to Creating Financial Wealth by Gerald Grant Jr. can be a solution to this problem. At just over 100 pages, Grant delivers a quick read, keeping chapters short and concepts easy to understand and digest, covering everything from budgeting and shopping to handling credit cards to the basics of investing. At the same time, Grant, a financial consultant certified in retirement planning, does not skimp on the quality of financial expertise. His advice is basic but sound, with

practical tips for the person with limited financial literacy but a great desire to finally get a grip on their finances once and for all. The following are among the more interesting pieces of advice from Grant:

Use cash as little as possible. Most people find it hard to maintain the discipline to track every daily expense and save all receipts. It is easier to capture monthly expenses with either a credit card, a debit card or by writing a check.

Don’t use your credit or debit card for purchases under $10.

I’ve had clients who forgot to list small transactions, such as buying lunch on their debit card, only to find out later that they’ve overdrawn their checking accounts. Paying $40 to $70 in bank fees to buy a hamburger, just because you failed to list the debit transaction in your checkbook register, is a costly lesson.

Each family member should have a wish list, three things that he or she really wants

[prioritized from most important to least]. As additional resources become available, these items can be purchased. The wish list takes away the impulse buying [created by] television commercials [and] associated with shopping at the mall.

To be sure, Bold Moves to Creating Financial Wealth is only a start. Ideally, those who read Grant’s book will learn enough to gain the confidence to read more financial books and tap additional resources, including websites like BlackEnterprise.com, to continue to their financial education.