Pound Foolish: Exposing The Dark Side Of The Personal Finance Industry (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This book took a while to get through as it's somewhat overly detailed, but it was well worth it. The thesis is Elizabeth Warrenesque, that can-do personal finance advice is a myth that ignores the reality of rising housing, health care, and education costs... But they only get to sell you a bunch of crap if you buy into the myth. Picking apart obfuscatory scams is a bit hard to follow, but I learned a lot from it. Very interesting book recommend by a financial planner friend in Lisa McCain- Shape, this book this critiques all facets of the financial services industry--- ranging from Dave Ramsey to financial planners, "free seminars" and financial literacy programs. She seems to want to deconstruct these items and gives a lot of support that our financial issues are social (she cites Elizabeth Warren a couple of times and notes correlation in wealth disparity, savings rates, and obesity rates.I think she is a little to pessimistic (after all I consider myself a Dave Ramsey success story) but as a rural pastor serving where I do, I think she brings a valid criticism against people like Dave Tamsey who suggest that the "latte habit" contributes to financial delinquency. Overall a good book to read that offers another perspective
What do You think about Pound Foolish: Exposing The Dark Side Of The Personal Finance Industry (2012)?
After reading this book it makes you not want to trust anyone handing out financial advice or tips.
—romara68
Helaine Olen points out the impact on personal finance when there was a crash in the market.
—AllieC
Loved this book. Well researched and written. Made me think and made me MAD! :)
—Cindy
