Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age

I enjoyed this book, it's an easy read and very thought provoking. The best thing we Canadians can do is to contribute to our RRSP through payroll deductions. It's definitely an eye-opener to the idea of planning ahead for your future and David Bach tells how to do it. I've bought copies for each of my teenage sons.

I've read a ton of financial self-help books over the years, and this one goes far beyond the majority of them in delivering solid content and sound advice without wasting the reader's time. David Bach does an excellent job in showing how cutting tiny expenses can really add up and increase your savings rate. America has one of the worst savings rates in the world, and there are plenty who should be reading the author's advice. He also covers consolidating debt, real estate, investing, and different ways to make additional income without quitting your day job. If you have read any of the books in of Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series, then you probably noticed they are sometimes inspirational but thoroughly content-free. You won't find that with "Start Late, Finish Rich". David Bach provides really useful information, and you may even find that you read the book twice to take it all in. It's money well spent.

Okay, so I am not a financial expert. I finally made the resolution to at least be more responsible, which is why I picked up Bach's book. I am the kind of person that need forseeable goals and activities to do right now that make me feel like I am accomplishing something. I have not read any of Bach's other books but I sincerely like this one. He gives a really good plan about not only how to start saving money (the Latte Factor), but also how to start from scratch (get rid of credit card debt and all those other hangers on). I think this is a very good book for people who really just need a little push to get them started but do not want to have to get bogged down to deeply in the technical vocabulary that most financers will talk to you in.

I bought this book for my parents, who are in their early 50s (I'm in my early 30s). I decided to flip through a few pages and wound up reading the whole thing! Although it reiterated some info from The Automatic Millionaire (as expected), I learned even more (i.e. ideas for adding income and real estate)and am anxious to put some of the ideas in action. I am not an experienced investor, so his straight-forward, easy-to-understand way of presenting information helped immensely and gave me confidence to try things I might not have before. Even though I may not be the target audience for this book, it presents information that anyone can use, regardless of age. If anything, maybe I can get little AHEAD of the game! I think I'm going to have to buy a second copy!

This book is full of advice on how to save money, how to invest, why it is good to buy a home vs renting, why you should fund your retirement plans at the same time you are paying down your debt, and even how to get a raise by becoming a GREAT employee (vs a mediocre one) or start your own business. I enjoyed the chapter on giving (known in old-fashioned times as tithing) because opening up your heart to give, opens you up to receive. The book was not as easy to read as some of David Bach's other books. For instance, his "Smart Women Finish Rich" basically changed my young adult views of money, and I've given "Smart Couples Finish Rich" to all of my friends when they get married. "The Automatic Millionaire" is still a fairly easy read, with stories and basic how-to advice. "Start Late, Finish Rich" is full of even more advice than the others, but it doesn't flow as well. Also, I wish it had more advice on how to help kids learn about money, and how to set up college savings accounts or UGMA/UTMA accounts for them. There is just one brief chapter dealing with this. I also wish it had a bit more on estate planning, bu then there are other books for that. This is about becoming secure yourself. I'm 33, so this book is really targeted for folks maybe a decade older than myself. If you are in that age group or older, this is the book for you. If you're my age, his other books are better, unless you're just curious about finances in general or want to give it to your parents. I'm giving it 5 stars, because the book fulfills its basic idea of "Start Late, Finish Rich" even though I'm not the target population. I still learned from it. I find that David Bach's books become deeper and he has more life insights with every book. I also specifically like his encouragement of our dreams, he describes people who squash your hopes as "dream stealers" instead of "dream creators" which are phrases that I will remember for my everyday life. David Bach is a "dream creator" who will help you dream big, and give you the tools to help make it happen.