Fearless Money

About a month ago, there was a rising “buzz” about Loral Langemeier’s new book “The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do”. I try to read at least four non-fiction books a month, and what I read sounded interesting, so I ordered it. I’m quite pleased that I did.
The book is not your typical “just save a little money for a long time and you will be comfortable in your old age” personal finance book. (I just saved you the trouble of reading “Smart Couples Finish Rich : 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner” (David Bach), in eighteen words.) It advocates far more direct and radical action.

“You are putting your financial future at too great a risk by working for other people and letting money managers handle your investments.”

She hit the nail on the head with that observation. One thing I’ve become increasingly convinced of as I take full control of my family finances is that other people simply do not care about me or my financial welfare. Every company I’ve ever worked for has the same underlying attitude, that they can and will get rid of me the moment they don’t need me, think they don’t need me, or when it makes financial sense to get rid of me. The sad thing is that I’ve been calling that “security”, and thinking that working for myself is somehow less secure.

“I’ve seen too many people scared of becoming wealthy because they don’t want to be responsible for it or ‘do all that work.’ And it’s true - money takes responsibility and activity. I always tell people, ‘It’s your choice: You can do paperwork or you can be poor.’

This book is extremely motivational for me at this point in my life. I’ve suffered enough trying to do things what I thought was the “easy” way, or at least the “safe” way. Loral, the other financial blogs I read, and my life experience are finally combining to make me take charge. It feels very good.

The up side

• Loral writes clearly, and obviously is not simply saying how she wishes things worked. She’s talking from life experience.
• She emphasizes that you cannot do it on your own, that all wealthy people have teams helping them.
• She doesn’t try to win by lowering expectations, like “Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence” (Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin) does.
• She strongly emphasizes that you cannot carry “bad debt” and get wealthy.
• She makes it seem possible, which is a big motivator.
• My wife loves her, because she says, “In my view, if you are a wealth builder, you should never clean your house again.”

The down side

• The book sometimes reads like a long advertisement for her seminars.
• There are quite a few “spammy” sites advertising this book.
• She overemphasizes real estate, in my opinion, although she does point out that this is her personal preference.
• Her approach is so radical that many will simply never start. The “ramp up” is too steep for many.

Unique elements

• Her continued stress on the need for a team, for partners in the quest for wealth.
• Her approach to direct-managed IRAs, which I didn’t even know existed.
• Her 12 building blocks of the wealth cycle.
• Her advocation of the use of corporate entities to reduce taxes. I’ll need a lot more research before I try some of her techniques.

Other reviews you may want to read:

• All Things Financial
• Make Money

Also, check out:

• PFBlog’s summary of Loral’s 5 step strategy for getting out of debt.

To close, another great quote from her book:

“I’ve noticed that it takes a lot of prompting to get people to dream these days. They usually answer this with a safe and doable goal, because they’re feeling trapped and frustrated, so they stop dreaming. […] It’s time to dig around in your attic of lost dreams and reconnect with them, because if you want to be in a bigger, better game, you have to think bigger and better.”