The Wealthy Barber, Updated 3rd Edition: Everyone’s Commonsense Guide to Becoming Financially Independent
” . . . quite simply the best financial self-help book.”
–Money Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club
In this new and updated edition of one of the biggest-selling financial-planning books ever, David Chilton simplifies the complex puzzles of personal finance and helps you achieve financial independence. With the help of his fictional barber, Roy, and a large dose of humor, Chilton shows you how to take control of your financial future–slowly, steadily, and with sure success. Chilton’s plan (detailed in an entertaining story) is no get-rich-quick scheme, but it does make financial independence possible on nothing more than an average salary.
This third edition has been updated with assistance from the Arthur Andersen Corporation, and covers the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and other recent developments.
Even if you consider yourself a financial “basket case,” Chilton explains how you can easily put an effective financial plan into action.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The Wealthy Barber
The book arrived in the condition it was advertised for. It also arrived in a very timely manner. I would buy from this seller again.
3 Stars Good basics, but is it still valid during the current crisis?
This book is a very easy read tailored to normal every day people who do not want to go into overwhelming financial jargon. The basics are good since they get us seriously thinking about how to save money for our years of life ahead. It also gives excellent practical advice on matters of life such as buying property, life insurance, and wills. The taxes part may or may not apply to you depending on which country you live in.
The 10% of your salary rule about saving for retirement is adequately stressed. I have been putting 7% (since in addition I already contribute to an excellent private pension scheme) in automatic savings and it is true that you do not feel THIS money going out of your paycheck.
The BIG PLUS RULE is to put another 10% from your paycheck into a savings account as an Emergency Fund. This builds up a comfortable cushion if you should ever find yourself unemployed or with any other financial difficulties. I was not able to do this right away when I first started working regularly since I had accumulated a bit of credit card debt from being unemployed and I had loans for my higher education. It took me 6 dedicated months to pay that off and it has now been over a year that the 10% EF money leaves my paycheck religiously.
We are already at 20% of our paycheck being put into savings which for many people may not be a feasible thing to do.
Now the negative:
- In addition to the 20%, the book talk about 10% going into Investment Funds. I tried doing this for a few months and unluckily for me with the crisis, I have not gotten back to the original purchase price of the funds in over a year. If we follow the logic of the book though, we should look at longer term goals and in 30 years the funds should give an excellent return. I have one fund that is not in the negative at the moment. It is earning a whopping 1% which is very different to the book’s 7%(or more) return. I question this part of the savings model in these years of market uncertainty.
The most important advice that I walked away with from this book is to create your own structured long term savings plan. It encouraged me to put savings first seriously and I created a budget using Excel to help me see how my money was disappearing. I learned that for some reason the more money I was earning, the more difficult it was to keep track of how it would just vaporize and I would have nothing left to save at the end of the month.
5 Stars Financial advice given in a story format
Since this book is targeted toward beginners, I think the author did an excellent job instructing on key financial principles with a story where the barber, Roy, instructs three other people, Dave, Cathy, and Tom, when they get their haircuts.
I believe that the best advice that the barber gives is to pay yourself the first 10% from your paycheck and make it automatic so you don’t even touch the money. I am sure that readers might have heard about it before because several authors write about it, but if more people actually implemented it, they would not find themselves in as many financial predicaments. Other topics include wills, life insurance, real estate, savings, and taxes. I enjoyed reading it very much.
- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market
4 Stars Good advice, ok story.
I read this book for a personal finance class back in college in 1999. The story is a little tedious, but the facts are presented in a way that is easy to understand. I followed Mr. Chilton’s advice from the book and am proud to say that I have a thriving retirement account regardless of the bad economy. My husband and I tell our friends and family to read the book when they give us a hard time about never buying a house and always renting. Guess they should have listened to us more closely with the housing bubble bursting. This book should be required reading for high school juniors and seniors to get kids planning early. I may not have everything I ever wanted now, though still having a great time, but should be able to retire early and enjoy that retirement. Will recommend this book to anyone.
1 Stars Can’t Review - Never Received the Product!!
I would love to review the product. However, the product has never arrived. I don’t know if I will ever receive it at this point.
My husband was looking forward to reading it while on vacation. An email that I received said the product was on its way over three weeks ago, but we have still never received the book. Time to look for a refund.
Filed under: Personal Finance Book Reviews