I Am Net Worthy - The Financial Master Plan For Millennials

I'm 25 years old and I'm just NOW learning more about personal finances, budgeting, buying a house, investing, and more and this book was EXTREMELY helpful in navigating these topics in a way I can easily understand! I have learned tremendous amounts from this book and will highly recommend this to EVERYONE who is just beginning their financial journey! The book is extremely well-organized and contains amazing and valuable information for today's young adults. The book is very well structured and the "nuggets" of information are so great in helping the reader understand the content in simpler terms. This book is worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY and every young adult needs to read this book! They will learn such valuable information and be on their way to financial independence!

I have been teaching personal finance at the university level for 30 years. This is the book I wish I'd had as a text. (I actually have been using Chris Smith's previous book, "Securing Your Financial Future," since it was published, and students love it.) "I Am Net Worthy" does a fantastic job targeting young people, letting their voices and concerns be heard (through the coauthors), and giving them practical advice. Chris Smith's first book literally changed my older son's life, and--at 26--he is now well on his way to financial freedom. I know that "I Am Net Worthy" will do the same for my soon-to-graduate younger son. Some may find Chris's advice a bit too conservative (especially his suggestion to pay off all debt before starting to invest outside an employer plan), but IT WILL WORK. People can tweak things if they wish to take on more risk, but if all someone does is follow Chris's advice, then IT WILL WORK. It's critical that people learn how to manage their finances, but there is a lot of terrible advice out there--most of it designed to make the advisor rich, not the client. This book will help young people start off on the right path and make the good decisions when it matters most: when they're young, and compounding is most powerful. Yay, Chris Smith!

Another Millennial here--one who up until this point has been very much avoiding all things finance, since every time I tried to delve in I was immediately overwhelmed. This book not only helped me grasp personal finance concepts (particularly related to long-term investing)--it motivated me to want to read more and to take action so that retiring one day might actually be possible. Something I didn't know until a few weeks ago is that Smith has a similar book, from 2012 (Securing Your Financial Future), that covers a lot of the same ground but in more depth (particularly the long-term investment section). I've nearly finished reading this one as well and would also recommend it. Both provide useful introductory information and actionable steps--I Am Net Worthy is a bit more current, but Securing Your Financial Future can give a bit more depth.

Our finances are important. Our lives, dreams and peace of mind depend on how well we manage our money. And, no, money isn’t everything. There’s a difference between getting and distributing wealth and greed, just like there’s a difference between being stingy or being smart about money-spending. When we don’t have enough of it, and the bills, expenses and other responsibilities snowball with each passing month — it feels like you’re in a perpetual chokehold. Same thing happens when you have lots of money. You have that “itch.” You know the one! It’s burning such a deep hole in your pocket that you just have to get rid of it, or else! So you spend, spend and SPEND. Before you know it, it’s gone, or you’re knee-deep in a deficit, and you go to your emergency fund... Oh, wait. You don’t have one! I AM NET WORTHY is a great guide to money management. It targets millennials, but this applies to everyone. There are middle-aged and elderly people out there who are terrible with their money too. And this is a great guide if you hope to enjoy — or at least be at peace — in your life through all seasons. Some things to remember: Manage your spending. It doesn’t matter if you have $75, $750, $75,000 or $7.5 million and beyond. Manage your spending in a realistic and timely manner. Focus on the things you need, not on the things you want. Cost and worth are different things. Does this mean you shouldn’t treat yourself once in a while? Of course not. The occasional splurge is good for the soul. Just be mindful of the timing — and the reasons behind your splurge. Do you overspend when you're anxious or depressed? Worth looking into. Home is where the heart is. Some people want to buy a house before they can afford to buy one. That’s why you see so many homebuyers with a wishlist that goes above and beyond their spending budget. (For instance, they want to buy a house with a vineyard in Napa Valley with a $250K budget, and are disappointed when they’re shown small, unappealing houses with little to no land for a vineyard.) Set realistic goals! You may not afford your dream house now, but things may be different in five years. Set up a plan, make wise investments, and — above all else — know your strengths and limitations. Be mindful of the people around you. Some people are just bad influences. They get you to spend money. Do you own a business, or are you seeking investors for a business? The people in your life will either nurture your plans or sabotage them. If you’re spending time with people whose sole purpose is to me-me-me their way into your life, then it’s time to make new friends. This also applies to a life partner, spouse or family members. There's love, then there's tough love, the latter of which is imperative. Be generous. This sounds like a contradiction to my previous point, but it’s not. In life, you want to lend and not borrow, give and not ask. If someone needs your help, then you should lend a hand, but do it wisely. There are people out there that leech off others. If someone is complaining about having no money, yet you see them sporting material things all the time, or make you feel awful because so-and-so helped them and you did not, then this is not someone you should be helping. Once or twice — sure. But all the time? This attitude reeks of entitlement and immaturity. You can't keep bailing them out. You’re doing more harm than good. Use discernment in these kinds of situations. Pay close attention to what they say and do. Instead of writing them a check, offer suggestions, ask what their goals are and help nurture them, arrange a meeting with a financial expert. If they're serious about fixing their lives, then they'll appreciate your efforts, but if they get upset because you're not making it rain for the umpteenth time... Be wise. Pay your bills on time, set up an emergency fund, plan a budget during all seasons of your life (good or bad), and don’t despair. If you’re a person of faith like me, you know that things come and go, except for time. Once that's gone — unlike money — you will never get it back. We can recover from a financial crisis, but we cannot recover from lost time. Want more information? Get this book! We ALL need financial discernment. We ALL have to do it, regardless of your net worth. Things change overnight, and we must prepare for everything. Millennials got the worst end of the stick. Previous generations passed on a bad economy (even today’s “good economy” is awful compared to other generations), needless debt (student loans, for one), an uncertain future. It’s enough to depress anyone! We cannot control our circumstances, but we can apply the discipline to not only get through those curveballs, but to thrive in spite of them! Great book! Downsides? The author and I don’t agree on a few things, but I won’t go into that. It's a difference of opinion, that's all. Other than that, I give this four out of five nitro cold brew iced coffees!

My favorite thing about this book is that it is simple, clear, and segmented into bite-sized chunks to cover the basic information someone getting ahold of their finances would need to know. So many personal finance books start with a long spiel by the author on how they got their finances in order, before just providing a bunch of long-winded and confusing advice. What I appreciate about this book is 1) the chapters are simple, easily digestible, and clear 2) the stories are interwoven and have a large and representative voice of millennials which was a pleasant surprise 3) that it also comes with a companion app for better organization and future planning. It's a frank and to the point book, which is exactly what I needed. The only thing I do wish was 1) there was a glossary at the end and 2) it pointed to additional resources outside of just the website, but I would 100% recommend this book.

This book offers excellent advice to millennials and any folks who are new to managing their personal financial lives. Author Chris Smith states the ultimate goal is financial independence, ‘the freedom to choose how you’ll spend your time and money.’ He adds that ‘you can look rich today or take steps to become rich tomorrow, but NOT BOTH!’ Chris provides an overview and then steps to follow. I will use this book in a university course on Personal Finance that I am teaching this year. I purchased 14 copies of Chris Smith’s earlier book Securing Your Financial Freedom and gave it as gifts to my adult children, relatives, and friends. This book changed how my adult children think about personal finance and they and their friends are well on their way to financial freedom. Another outstanding work by Chris Smith!

This book is awesome. It was so relevant to stuff I'm actually going through. Not only that, but easy to understand. I often get overwhelmed wading through the sea of information available online about money. What's a scam? What's a gimmick? Is this relevant to me and my situation? Why do I feel like I need an accounting degree to get a lot of this? This book made it easy to know, step by step what I'm supposed to be doing - not just anyone - ME specifically. I'm really excited to get my finances under control now that I know how.

A wise Uncle pointed me in the direction of this book and website. I purchased two books, one for each of my twenty-something daughters. I found “I Am Net Worthy” to be a well-written book that is clear, concise, and helpful for the millennials and beyond. I believe each reader will gain the knowledge they need to achieve their financial independence. In the end, it will be up to the reader to do the work in the red, yellow and green phases to fill their financial bathtub. I would recommend the book to any parent or friend who wants to share the practical “nuggets” of financial wisdom.