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Favorite Fitness Apps

April 26, 2013 in health, Resources with 0 Comments

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 My Top Two Favorites

1. GymPact (Free)

GymPact

If putting money on the line motivates you, GymPact could be a great accountability tool. I exercise at Anytime Fitness 3 days a week, and so this was a great way to add self-accountability (without broadcasting to the world every fitness move–great for others, but not something I was wanting in an accountability app).

Basically, you commit to working out a certain number of times each week, and if you miss that time, then you must pay $5 (via Paypal). However, for each time you attend that you’ve committed, you earn. It’s not much–usually about 30 cents per time, but it does add up. For me, probably enough to pay for gas for my trips to the fitness center.

Each workout must be at least 30 minutes long, and only one workout per day counts toward the week’s goals.

This app now allows users to “check-in” not only at a fitness center, but also to sync it with the RunKeeper app and check in that way. (My husband goes this route.)

If you’ve never used this app and sign up, you can use the code kneeKeren to give both you and me a $5 bonus. Once you earn $10, you can cash out your reward (via Paypal).

This has helped motivate me on weeks when I thought it might be better to forgo a workout at the end of the week. So far, I haven’t missed a workout that I’ve committed to. And I’m getting paid!

 2. Sworkit Pro ($.99 for pro; free for lite version; can also do online for free)

 

On the days that I don’t head to the fitness center (other than my rest day), I use Sworkit Pro at home. This is a great circuit training app, and I usually focus on core exercises and cardio. This is a great app for uncoordinated people such as myself, in that it includes a video demonstration of each exercise. :)

You can select what type of workout you want and then choose how long you want to work out. (I like to try to get in two 15 minute sets over the course of the day, sometimes a 10 minute cardo + a 5 minute core.) Then, the app announces which exercise you are to do. Each is set for 30 seconds, and then a new exercise is announced (giving approximately 4 after one exercise and while the next is announced). There are also 30-second rests scheduled in.

This is also great, because you don’t need any equipment other than your own body, so it is quite portable for exercise while traveling. (Though I recommend using some sort of padding or a yoga mat.) If you aren’t able to run or want to do an entire body workout without going to the gym or having to use a DVD, this is a great option that includes everything you need.

Additionally, I use Katy Bowman’s “Down There for Women” DVD from Aligned and Well (biomechanics; ancestral health approach) to try to improve my biomechanics. She now has apps available for some of the exercises, and I hope to try these in app form soon. (Although the DVD listed is for women, there are also exercises available for men.)

 

I’m still a good way off from where I want to be with my fitness and health, but at the same time I’ve also come a long way from where I was just a few years ago. These apps have been helpful tools, especially in more recent months. What favorites do you recommend?

 

Why We Rotate Children’s Bible Storybooks and Some of Our Favorites

April 12, 2013 in Bible Reading, parenting, Resources with 3 Comments

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We’ve had five years of working through children’s Bible storybooks as parents, and have found several along the way that we’ve benefited from.

Most were either given to us as gifts, to review, or passed down from childhood. (And, I even found one at a yard sale. But of course! :) ) So in some sense, our selection was not a set of pre-determined, pre-selected storybooks. These have served us well through our current ages, but likely we’ll diversify and add additional selections soon.

Why We Rotate Our Bible Storybooks

Once we finish reading through a Bible storybook, we move on to a new one, and continue rotating and cycling through multiple Bible storybooks.

We like to keep things simple, and are working toward being more minimalist. So, it would seem to make sense to just find one Bible storybook we like and stick with it. However, there are several reasons why we choose to use multiple and rotate through them:

1. They are, as notated in the title, Bible storybooks. As such, they are merely compilations of Bible stories, and not the entirety of Scripture. (Some of the included use only Scripture selections as their text, but still do not contain the whole Bible.) We emphasize to our children that they don’t contain all of God’s Word. Different Bible storybooks select different portions to highlight or even quote from, and by exposing them to multiple Bible storybooks, they are exposed to some portions and stories that are “left behind” in other storybooks.

2. Rotating provides variety in illustrations. Illustrations play a huge role in children’s books and Bibles. My husband Daniel wrote a more detailed post on that here. (He recently finished writing the draft for a children’s Bible curriculum and is currently working with his company and an illustrator, so the topic is very much on his mind, both as a writer and a parent.)

3. Rotating gives a variety of emphases. We use a mixture of older storybooks and more recently published Bible storybooks. We use storybooks that focus on an overarching thread that runs through Scripture, and we use others that focus in on the individual Bible “stories.” Others emphasize certain theological truths that seem to be more obscure in others. None of these includes all of these emphases, yet they all serve to further round out our understanding of God’s Word.

Our Most Frequently Used Children’s Bible Storybooks

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1. The Big Picture Story Bible

Pros: This is a particularly helpful “big picture” (gospel-focused) Bible for very young children. Our 3 and 5 year old are growing to the point where this is really a “little kid’ story Bible for them.

Cons: The Big Picture Story Bible focuses on the big picture, yet it leaves out some of the expected Bible stories that children of our generation were always quite familiarized with.

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2. Jesus Storybook Bible

Pros: As the subtitle reads, “every story whispers his name.” This is a Bible story book that quite clearly points to Jesus the entire way through. Although this is a children’s Bible, it is not so in the same way that The Big Picture Story Bible is, and this should be something we can use even as our children grow older. (It’s been great for us to read as adults, too!)

Cons: We’re not fans of the illustrations. Illustrations are very important in children’s books, and particularly so for Bible storybooks. Additionally, with this Bible, the writing style is flower (comes across far more so to my husband than it does to me), and the stories seem to take greater literary license than may be appropriate. (E.g., “God said, ‘Hello light!’ and light shone…”). Since children’s minds function initially in black and white, it may not be best to state that God spoke words that the Bible does not give us record of. Similarly, some of the illustrations may come across as irreverent to some. (At the same time, in our opinion, this Bible storybook is probably the one that best encapsulates the thread of the Gospel running through Scripture.)

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3. Egermeier’s Bible Story Book

Pros: Classic Bible story compilation.

Cons: The illustrations are beautiful, but particularly if you like a caucasian Jesus. If not, just another reason to keep rotating through.

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4. ESV Illustrated Family Bible

Pros: Great illustrations, plain Scripture selections

Cons: May not be more difficult for small toddlers to understand.

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5. The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes

Pros: simple, short, has questions

Cons: varied artwork, some below par. Sometimes the questions ask about themes that are not actually the main thrust of the “story,” and sometimes the questions are tinged with moralism. Views the Bible as sets of stories, rather than an overarching theme.

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6. Read with Me Bible: An NIrV Story Bible for Children

Pros: colorful, expressive pictures; retains mostly the text of the NIrV

Cons: perhaps exaggerated or cartoonish illustrations

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7. The Children’s Daily Devotional Bible

Pros: Contains helpful elements such as prayers and application sections; includes sections from the entire Bible, not just the stories

Cons: Lacks narrative cohesion, the translation used is not a widely used one, albeit understandable.

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8. The Toddlers Bible

Pros: simple, good mostly for very young babies and toddlers. We used this Bible when our girls were very young and learning to sit through church, and it captivated their attention well at the young ages.

Cons: Extremely simple.

(There is an animal on every page, and when my girls were very young, this was the main thing they saw first. I guess that could be a pro or a con.)

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9. {Bonus} God’s Love: A Bible Storybook

We have this Bible storybook in iPad app form, so it’s not one we actually use for our evening Bible time. (However, it is available in paper book form, though we’ve not yet made that investment.) It is essentially an audiobook with slightly animated illustrations, and very well done, both theologically and artistically. Additionally, the narration is appropriately dramatically read.

In fact, it is probably my favorite children’s app. Both of my girls love this, but our three-year-old finds it particularly engaging. This is an app that I wished existed, and was delighted to find this one fit what I had been searching for. It is a paid app, currently $3.99.

Types of Storybooks of Which I’m Skeptical

Although there is something in most Bible storybooks that I wish were different, there are certain elements that make me choose not to use a Bible storybook entirely:

1. Bible storybooks that mix fiction characters with Bible stories.

2. Bible storybooks with illustrations that focus on violence or present as primary themes themes that aren’t true to Scripture. 

At this season of life, our children are not in any preschool Bible classes or Sunday School classes (they worship with us in a main worship service), so (at the time that this is written), the entirety of their religious education is parent-directed. To a degree, this can sometimes feel like a huge burden on us as parents; yet, we are thankful for these resources that give us tools to enhance the spiritual education we endeavor to give to our children.

Do you use multiple Bible storybooks? What are some of your favorites? 

 

Reading 2013: Bad Religion

February 12, 2013 in 2013 Reading, Resources with 4 Comments

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In Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, Ross Douthat proposes that the religious predicament America is facing today is not one of too much religion or too little religion; but rather, he provocatively argues, we are facing the problem of bad religion, of being a nation of heretics:

“America’s problem isn’t too much religion, or too little of it. It’s bad religion: the slow-motion collapse of traditional Christianity and the rise of a variety of destructive pseudo-Christianities in its place. Since the 1960’s, the institutions that sustained orthodox Christian belief – Catholic and Protestant alike – have entered a state of near-terminal decline.” (page 3)

In the Beginning, It Was Good. (Or, That’s What Douthat Argues.) Continue Reading…

Links to Think: 13.02.11

February 11, 2013 in Links to Think, Resources with 4 Comments

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READING CUTS STRESS LEVELS BY 68% – Okay, perhaps this seems like a bit of confirmation bias, but here’s another great reason to read–to your health!

“Reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds or 68%.

New research by consultancy Mindlab International at the University of Sussex says reading works better and faster than other methods to calm frazzled nerves such as listening to music, going for a walk or settling down with a cup of tea.”

“Psychologists believe this is because the human mind has to concentrate on reading and the distraction of being taken into a literary world eases the tensions in muscles and the heart.

The volunteers were monitored and their stress levels and heart rate were increased through a range of tests and exercises before they were then tested with a variety of traditional methods of relaxation.

Reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent, said cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis. Subjects only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles, he found. In fact it got subjects to stress levels lower than before they started.”

Top 10 Reasons Our Kids Leave Church – Although it’s not a perfect or fully unbiased assessment, I thought this was an interesting article examining why people, young and old, are leaving the Church (as in through means of leaving the “little ‘c’” churches, and thus in essence departing from Church, too):

10.  The Church is “Relevant”:

“I’m not ranting about “worldliness” as some pietistic bogeyman, I’m talking about the fact that we yawn at a 5-minute biblical text, but almost trip over ourselves fawning over a minor celebrity or athlete who makes any vague reference to being a Christian.

We’re like a fawning wanna-be just hoping the world will think we’re cool too, you know, just like you guys!

Our kids meet the real world and our “look, we’re cool like you” posing is mocked.  In our effort to be “like them” we’ve become less of who we actually are.  The middle-aged pastor trying to look like his 20-something audience isn’t relevant. Dress him up in skinny jeans and hand him a latte, it doesn’t matter. It’s not relevant, It’s comically cliché. The minute you aim to be “authentic”, you’re no longer authentic!”

9.  They never attended church to begin with:

From a Noah’s Ark themed nursery, to jumbotron summer-campish kids church, to pizza parties and rock concerts, many evangelical youth have been coddled in a not-quite-church, but not-quite-world hothouse.  They’ve never sat on a pew between a set of new parents with a fussy baby and a senior citizen on an oxygen tank.  They don’t see the full timeline of the gospel for every season of life.  Instead, we’ve dumbed down the message, pumped up the volume and act surprised when…

 

Top 10 Books of 2012

January 3, 2013 in 2012 Reading, reading, Resources with 6 Comments

I wasn’t sure if I would make it to my final goal, but I finished book #100 for the year on December 21, and closed out the year with 101 books read (not including the books I read to/with my children).

It is difficult to say how much these 101 books shaped my life, but without a doubt several of my most life-challenging and life-changing lessons from 2012 have come, in large part, from these 101 books. Certainly, a few duds were included in my reading; yet overall, I think most of the entire list of books I read were quite good and challenged my thinking and living to new levels.

Looking back to this past year’s reading, here are the books I’ve selected as my top 10 books for 2012:

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (Susan Cain)

I’m not the only who liked this book this year: Quiet made it to several “top books” list year, in addition to being a New York Times Bestseller. (Ironically, I never posted a review for this book, mostly because I wanted it to be the perfect review and herein, I let the perfect ideal to be the enemy of the good.)

Quiet examines the personality spectrum of extroversion and introversion, and everything in between (including one with a name: ambiversion). Cain explores how extroversion rose to become our contemporary cultural ideal, whether or not these are permanent personalities, how the extrovert preference has permeated the American Evangelical church (not a huge section, but one that carries significance for me and readers here, being one who makes up a part of the American Evangelical church at large), and even how parenting introverts and extroverts will look different in its application.  This book is a helpful read for anyone: for introverts, in understanding their value and that they are not as “alone” as society percieves them to be, and for extroverts to also understand the value of introverts and to see that many people are possibly more introverted than they let on.

I also benefited from the distinction made between introversion and shyness, and how the two are not always joined at the hip. (Personally, I was once both, but am still quite introverted while much less shy.) I also appreciated highlighting that for many introverts, interacting with people and crowds can be quite emotionally exhausting, even if an introverted person might enjoy such interaction; and for the extrovert, these occasions are oppositely energizing.

2. The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun (Gretchen Rubin)

Sometimes you don’t realize how profoundly a book impacts you until it’s been given time to settle. In my case, this was one such book, and I’m glad I read it early in the year and reaped benefits through the year. I wrote a review of the book here, and reference it many times throughout the year.

I was delighted when Gretchen Rubin released Happier at Home, which carries the same theme in application at home, and again saw the continuing impact of The Happiness Project as I read her second work on the subject.


3. The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Timothy Keller, Kathy Keller)

If I could recommend only one Christian marriage book, this would be it. Tim and Kathy Keller delve into the complexities of marriage and marital commitment, and do so in a way that portrays a strong marriage as something more abiding than merely a series of “rekindling the passion.” (Though, Keller is not promoting a dull, romanceless marriage, either.)

I originally posted a review of the book here.


4. Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids (Kim John Payne)

Parenting and simplicity were two themes that I frequently found myself reading about. Those themes converge in this excellent resource for any parent, but especially so in our busy, cluttered, excessive American culture. I wrote more abou this book in my review here.


5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Charles Duhigg)

Charles Duhigg explores the connection between habit and how we live life (and do business). From chain smokers and highly disciplined gurus, from Febreeze to Apple, this book explores how habit shapes our lives in more ways than we realize. This is both a fascinating and motivational book. I posted a review of it here.


6. Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor (Robert D. Lupton)

This is another powerful book for which I failed to write a review. This book was paradigm-shifting, convicting, and continues to shape my understanding of loving “the least of these” through community.

Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life explores the problems at just leaving mercy ministry at betterment, and shows why true, long-term compassion and justice pursues development. It also explains what betterment and development are and how they differ.

The book primarily deals with the fleshing out of this concept within urban and inner-city ministry, but has much broader application. For me, it was eye-opening and slightly paradigm-shifting. The book emphasizes Jesus’ teaching that the whole law hangs on the two commandments to love God and neighbor. Often, the simplicity of these commands is hidden beneath a lot of spiritual clutter.

Although I did not write a substantial review, I shared an excerpt from the book here.


7. Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to “The Passion of the Christ” (Stephen J. Nichols)

Stephen Nichols provides a helpful commentary and examination of how culture has pushed our perception of Jesus and Christianity into a cultural mold. I posted a lengthy review of this book here.


8. Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (Jennifer Worth)

In this fascinating memoir of her years as a midwife in London’s postwar East End, Jennifer Worth recounts the many fascinating stories and lives she touched during her years serving as a midwife with an Anglican order of nuns. More than just a collection of birth stories for birth junkies, this book portrays the difficult, yet endearing, life for those living in this time and place.

There were several stories that were difficult, and heart-wrenching to read. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as someone who has observed and experienced the joys, pains, and triumphs of natural childbirth, and as someone who enjoys anthropology, sociology, and even a bit of theology thrown in.

Jennifer Worth also wrote two other memoirs of her life as an East End midwife (Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End), and I equally enjoyed reading the other two, as well.


9. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (Laura Vanderkam)

168 Hours was another book that took a little bit of settling time before I more fully appreciated the book. And although there are still parts of the book that rub me the wrong way, I realize how much of what was said here has lodged in my mind and frames the way I evaluate my use of time. I posted a review of this book here.


10. How Children Raise Parents: The Art of Listening to Your Family (Dan B. Allender)

Contrary to the initial impression that the cover art and title may give, How Children Raise Parents is a book delving into many profound truths surrounding parenting. Written from a Christian perspective, the book explores how God uses our parenting experiences to mold, shape, and mature us. Too often, parenting is viewed from the perspective of what parents must do to produce wonder-toddlers and preschoolers, rather than seeing what God is doing in us. (At the same time, it does not neglect the important concepts of both sowing and reaping and God’s providence.) The books hones in on understanding the two core questions that both we as parents and our children are asking: 1) “Am I loved?” and 2) “Can I get my own way?” I posted a lengthier review of this book here.

5 Runners Up: (1) The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Michael Pollan); (2) Washington: A Life (Chernow); (3) Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work (Timothy Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf ); (4) The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to a Love That Lasts (Gary Chapman); (5) I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy (Angie Smith)

Related: My top 10 book list from 2011. 

What were your favorites from last year? Tomorrow I’ll share 20 books I plan to read in 2013.

 

Links to Think: 11.05.12

November 5, 2012 in links, Resources with 1 Comment

“The Value of Quiet Husbands” - There has been a lot of talk, both in secular and Christian media, about extroversion and introversion. Since I’ve recently posted several articles on the subject (and really enjoyed the book, Quiet), I thought this would be helpful to save, as well. Wendy Alsup takes on the value of quiet husbands in her insightful, written-with-the-voice-of-experience article.

“I have sometimes felt on the outside looking in when I read Christian books or listen to sermon series on marriage. They often talk of godly masculine leadership with imagery that leaves me thinking that all godly husbands will be out front publicly leading their family. Of course, these sermons are usually given by men who are comfortable standing in front of hundreds or thousands of people at a time. No wonder most of their illustrations reflect men out front in public settings.”

“It’s too bad that the larger evangelical movement seems to value loud, upfront leadership as a more masculine trait. I’m concerned that the result is that strong women who want a godly husband may not recognize the power and wisdom of the quiet guy observing the group from the sidelines. We mistakenly think he is not a player, not recognizing the God-given qualities that make him, not a player, but the more dignified role of a coach or referee. In a world of noise and a church of noise, it is good to value quiet men (and women) who observe well before they speak, and speak few words when they are ready to contribute. The church is wise to listen to their input.”

“Adoption: on earth as it is in heaven?” - My online friend Shanna has done a good deal of research and thinking about what has recently become the trend of “missional adoption.” She recently posted a link to this article by Claudia (a mother who has two adopted children), which addresses some of the ways it seems like the American Evangelical Church has over-spiritualized earthly adoption to be something that it isn’t.

“1) When God adopted me, he adopted someone who is totally unlike himself.

Personally, I think this is the biggest difference between my adoption by God and my adoption of children. I am able to adopt children because I am in comfortable circumstances, and they need adoption because of profoundly uncomfortable circumstances, but there is absolutely no difference between us, really. I am richer, and older, but that’s it. If the world had been ordered differently, the adoption could easily have been the other way around. But for me and God? There are huge differences between me and God, and these are in our fundamental, essential natures. Him: creator, sustainer, redeemer of the Universer, totally holy and totally righteous. Me: a frail human sinner, totally unworthy to be in his presence. But rather than rejecting me, he makes me part of his family. He makes me part of his family. Once we understand who God is, and who we really are, this is staggering. It should amaze us.Not so, my adoption of little people. Two big sinners adopting two little sinners, and we become a human family. Wonderful, joyful, but not unnatural. Not staggering.

We should not forget this difference. It affects how we think about the worth of our children.

2) When God adopted me, my adoption was a totally good thing.”

The article in it’s entirety, brings up five points in which we are often confused by related to the term missional adoption. Shanna Wright has also contributed to a post here, entitled, “Christians across Pittsburgh help evolve approach to adoption”

Links to Think: 09.10.12

September 10, 2012 in links, Resources with 0 Comments

A Barometer for a Too Busy Life - I could probably link to helpful posts from My Home Tableau multiple times a week, but found Johanna’s suggestions here to be helpful and a timely reminder.

“You can have all the good intentions in the world, but if you are out most evenings you are just not going to get the sleep you need. Any evening you are out will inevitably push your bedtime later. It takes awhile to unwind after being stimulated by activities outside the home.”

“Everyone has a threshold of how many nights out they can take. In fact, you and your spouse probably have a different threshold. You need to know what you can handle before reaching that bubbling over point. Having a general gauge for what is good for your family is helpful.”

“If you are going to live a slower life, you have to learn to say no to (good!) activities. Obviously, there are specific weeks where things are extra busy. But these should be the exception.”

“Thinking it through and determining these non-negotiables ahead of time helps keep the calendar from spilling over with obligations. Because if I don’t have something in place, I’ll just keep adding things without even realizing how busy we are getting.”

Minimalist Enough - As many begin to react to the affluence, materialism, and clutter that are pervasive in our culture, sometimes I fear the classic pendulum swing toward overcorrection. Some simplicity and minimalism ideologies are encroaching on asceticism. This article provides some helpful thoughts on the goals of minimalism.
“[T]he idea of minimalism isn’t about reaching a goal, or checking off a box, or reaching a certain destination. To me, minimalism is realizing that what I already have is enough, and that adding clutter to the pile won’t make it any better. And chasing a dream of more minimalism is, ironically, not what I’m after either.”
“But then I realized: I don’t have to be the best or the most minimalist. I can be minimalist enough. Minimalism isn’t about winning, and it isn’t about a particular achievement. It’s about finding out what matters to you, and getting rid of the peripheral.

“Over the course of the year, I thinned out my closet and pared down to a few favorite items. I made over twenty trips to charity with bags of clothes and gently worn shoes that I no longer needed. At one point, I had socks and underwear with holes in them, and I got out my sewing machine and fixed them up. Making old things new again was surprisingly satisfying. Getting rid of all of my extra socks—and just having a few pairs to use each day—actually made my life simpler. The process of getting rid of things reminded me of what I liked—and what mattered.

Over time, I will continue to whittle away at the things I don’t need in order to make space for the things I love. It turns out, all those unnecessary clothes were crowding out the space of the things I loved. I got rid of several boxes and cleared off a space for all of my books—one of my loves. Clearing out, to me, is about reducing the unnecessary clutter in your life to make space for what matters, and finding a balance that lets your soul breathe. It’s about stripping away the things you don’t need so you can focus on what’s important.”

Reading 2012: 168 Hours

August 22, 2012 in 2012 Reading, books, reading, Resources with 4 Comments

After reading Laura Vanderkam’s short personal productivity book, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, I was excited to read her lengthier guide, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.

Continue Reading…

Reading 2012: How Children Raise Parents

August 15, 2012 in 2012 Reading, Faith, family, parenting, quotes, Resources with 1 Comment

Although I’m still confused as to how the cover image fits with the theme of the book, How Children Raise Parents: The Art of Listening to Your Family is a Christian parenting book written from a relatively rare, yet refreshing and much needed perspective.

The theme of the book is similar to that of Sacred Parenting, in that the emphasis on parenting is less on how to “change our children,” and more on how God uses parenting to change, grow, and mature us into adults who parent with love, strength, and humility.  Continue Reading…

Reading 2012: I Will Teach You to Be Rich

August 14, 2012 in 2012 Reading, books, frugality, links, Resources with 1 Comment

Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to Be Rich is essentially a personal finance book written specifically for his generation: young adults in their 20′s and early 30′s. The author claims that it’s “not just another boring, personal finance book.” Instead, it focuses on a 6-week plan to get your finances in order and set up for financial success.

Rich, of course, is to some degree a relative term, and what Sethi is referring to here is the result of long-term, predictable financial management, not necessarily the “sexy” (his term to differentiate types of wealth throughout the book) idea of wealth of temporary financial grandiosity. He stresses the importance of taking these steps while still in early adulthood.

This book is especially helpful for adults who did not take personal finance courses and/or whose parents did not discuss personal finances with their children. He uses simple and understandable terms and breaks down scary sounding finance-speak. The focus of the book is on the “big picture” of personal finance and helps readers look toward establishing long-term investments and savings, as opposed to using small savings, such as coupons, reusable household items, etc…. He shows how important it is to be making big savings, too, because mistakes or neglect there can obliterate whatever savings seemed to be made by the little savings areas like coupon-clipping.

Sethi shares a slew of resources for his readers, most of which can now be done online and also managed personally instead of by a financial manager. Some of his advice differs from other well-known personal finance gurus, but makes sense as an alternative option. (For example, his advice on credit cards would differ from someone like Dave Ramsey; Sethi proposes their frequent use to establish good credit or set up scheduled payments and explains why this is important.) Though unmarried himself, he even offers some great marriage advice as it relates to finances.

This book can be read in a brief sitting, but is written to be followed as a six-week plan for setting up personal finances. My husband and I read it in a quick-read, but plan to go back and work through the areas we see we need to focus on. As self-employed, we were thankful for his inclusion of options for self-employed wage-earners. At the same time, this was a little weak in some areas in giving advice that applied only to those employed with financial benefits. (For one, I would have benefited from further explanation on how a 401K could be beneficial to contract workers and the self-employed.)

The six-week focus is as follows, in this order: credit cards, bank accounts, investing accounts, conscious spending, automatic money flows, and investing choices.

Sethi includes a good deal of this content on his site and blog at iwillteachyoutoberich.com. However, this is helpful to have in concise and ordered form, via the book. For someone planning to go through and do each of the steps of this book, it’s probably a book that’s better to buy and add to the bookshelf instead of just borrowing and working through it as a quick read.

Table of Contents:

  • Introduction: Would You Rather Be Rich or Sexy?
  • Chapter One: Optimize Your Credit Cards: How to Save Hundreds Per Month (And Still Buy What You Love)
  • Chapter Two: Beat the Banks: Open High-Interest, Low-Hassle Accounts and Negotiate Like and Indian
  • Chapter Three: Get Ready to Invest: Open Your 401(k) and Roth IRA–even with just $50
  • Chapter Four: Conscious Spending: How to Save Hundreds Per Month (And Still Buy What You Love)
  • Chapter Five: Saving While Sleeping: Making Your Accounts Work Together–Automatically
  • Chapter Six: The Myth of Financial Expertise: Why Professional Wine Tasters and Stock Pickers are Clueless–and how you can beat them
  • Chapter Seven: Investing Isn’t Only for Rich People: Spend the Afternoon Picking a Simple Portfolio that Will Make You Rich
  • Chapter Eight: Easy Maintenance: You’ve Done the Hard Work: Here’s How to Maintain (and Optimize) Your Financial Infrastructure
  • Chapter Nine: A Rich Life: The Finances of Relationships, Weddings, Buying a Car, and Your First House

 

 

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