Surviving Financial Meltdown by Ron Blue and Jeremy White

Surviving Financial Meltdown by Ron Blue and Jeremy White, CPA
Copyright 2009
Tyndale House - Business & Economics/Personal Finance/Money Management (with a Christian slant)
127 pages
Ron Blue's Master Your Money website

This is a short book but a terrific one. Much like Dave Ramsey's books about getting a grip on your money situation and getting out of debt, the authors talk about paying off debt then accumulating an emergency fund, then building funds that will allow you to buy things like vehicles outright, etc., and they do so from a Christian viewpoint. There are some relevant verses from the Bible included. Most of their advice is Biblically based, but both men work in the financial world and have been advising people long enough to have learned a few lessons on their own.

Don't let the Biblical perspective put you off. I think Surviving Financial Meltdown is an excellent book about riding out the storm and planning for the future -- the kind of book a lot of people really need, right now, and could have used well before the recession. And, it's quite up-to-date. The authors remind readers that it's better to hang onto investments and add to them when the market drops because panicking simply turns a paper loss into a real loss. They ask you to sit down and write a financial plan and they back up their reasons for a written plan with some statistics about the typical millionaire. Millionaires, they say, are frugal, frugal, frugal. And, they plan very carefully.

One surprising piece of advice for couples is (my wording), "Listen to the woman and never make a big decision without her." Men tend to latch onto risky opportunities but women are more cautious, they say. That is certainly true in my family.

Many of the strategies the authors advise are things that my husband and I have already put into effect, but their advice deviates a bit from Dave Ramsey's -- not much, but in a few tiny ways. I've already asked my husband to read this book because I think there are some extra tips that we could use in addition to what we've learned from Ramsey's books.

Highly recommended for those who are worried about money or just want to plan for the future. There's a little self-promotion of their website, but they don't bash it into your head.

One extra little tidbit. Does anyone else think it's funny that Surviving Financial Meltdown was written by Blue and White and has a blue and white cover? I just think that's a hoot. I wonder if the publishers planned it that way.