[.ca] The Average Family's Guide to Financial Freedom (ISBN 0471416274)

From Amazon.com:
Bill and Mary Toohey are about as average as a couple can be. They live in Iowa, pull down about $65,000 a year combined, and have three children. What's not average about them is that they have a net worth of about a half-million dollars. They've paid off their mortgage, and they paid cash for their cars. Their oldest daughter graduated from college with no debts and with money in the bank. How did they manage? It takes a book to explain the particulars, but the executive summary is this: They lived on about half their income, and saved and invested the other half. Part of their plan is simply saying no to impulse purchases such as soft drinks and candy bars. (They show how they accumulated $26,733 in eight years by investing the money they didn't spend on junk.) Their strategy involves, in part, shopping around for the best price on their big-ticket purchases. (They take you step by step through a few transactions, from research to purchase, so you can do this yourself.) But the biggest part is living small. They have a modest house (one bathroom). They don't try to keep up with the Joneses. Their investment strategy is very simple, mostly stock index and bond funds. By never trying to be more than average, they made themselves extraordinary. It's hard to imagine that many people will be able to follow their entire program--that one-bathroom house will probably stop most readers in their tracks--and some of their ideas about cheap entertainment seem a little far-fetched. For example, if you're thinking of taking the children to the circus when it comes to town, they advise, take them instead to watch the circus troupe setting up tents and feeding the animals. Imagine the family fun when the kids go to school and realize all their friends got to see the actual circus. Still, there should be plenty of useful advice in this Guide to Financial Freedom for any family. Most of it is simple and makes intuitive sense, and the Tooheys' breezy, conversational writing style makes you feel as though you were sitting with them in their (small) living room while they shared it. Best of all, their plan clearly works. A half-million in savings on a middle-class income is a pretty good leg to stand on when offering advice. --Lou Schuler

Motivational for us:
We've been budgeting, investing and paying off debt for a few years, but we've been anxious to speed the process up and start accumulating real wealth. This book was amazing, because it did several things for us: (1) It got us motivated! We realized we didn't have a definition of financial freedom, or any goals set. We just wanted to "get out of debt", whereas now we say "we want to be out of debt by the time we're 45". Without a goal or plan we had no light at the end of the tunnel! Now it's there. (2) We learned a few new things. For example, we'd always built a certain percentage of savings into our budget. We were putting a cap on our savings! Instead, we should constantly be looking at ways to lower our spending, which will automatically produce higher levels of saving and investing. (3) We learned we didn't have to feel guilty about not wanting to "skimp". Our family of 5 likes to eat out--at McDonald's or Friendly's. Nothing fancy. But we always felt guilty. Well, the Tooheys showed us that you can still enjoy life while living below your means. Same goes for hiring a decorator! (4) Last but not least, we got a great bibliography of books to read, that will hopefully fine-tune what we already know. Bill and Mary, we can't thank you enough for your insights. You wrote the book as if we were sitting across the table from you, and it sure felt that way. Now we really feel as though we can be financially free, worry less, and give/spend our money as we wish and God directs. Thanks!

end of the bull market?:
Obviously, many find this book inspirational. And it is. But remember: the authors had close to $500,000 in winter 1999. I would like to know where they stand now--after 3 years of a down stock market.

Excellent ideas on saving and early retirement:
I thoroughly enjoyed the book which gives new ideas about how to handle family finances so that a job doesn't take priority over your freedom and family. In answer to a previous reviewer who wondered how their investments faired in the bear market, according to the book they invested in Vanguard index bond funds which are based on secure bonds like the US treasury bonds so I suspect that they still have their money and some extra as well.

Common sense living in a non-sensical age:
I find myself returning to this book periodically for inspiration. You don't have to be a wage slave forever. If you are willing to live well within (or drastically under) your means, you can accumulate enough wealth to chart your own course in life. The Tooheys give a number of concrete examples of ways to cut expenses. They also call into question a number of the assumptions we make as a result of our brainwashing by modern media. For example: Why does a family really need more than one full bath in a house? To someone fully immersed in our culture's consumer rat-race, the Tooheys are going to seem a bit radical. We are all a bit too accustomed to focusing on convenience and immediacy rather than long term cost. Try to keep an open mind and remember that the best things in life can't be found in a shopping mall.

COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN:
I LOVED THIS BOOK. IT WAS VERY EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. I LIKED THE FACT THAT THEY DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL GUILTY FOR EATING OUT NOW AND THEN OR HAVING CABLE TV OR THAT WE LIKE TO TAKE A VACATION.