Book Review: Am I Going to be OK?

After reading a note on Jon Chevreau’s blog, I asked the author Francis D’Andrade for a review copy of the book, which is titled after the question most frequently asked of the author. Mr. D’Andrade has written an unusual personal finance book that talks a lot about the emotional aspects of money in a humorous, folksy style and offers a common sense framework for achieving financial security: securing an income, saving a portion of it, owning a home and planning early for retirement.

Though Mr. D’Andrade is a financial industry insider, – he is a founder of RGI Financial and was previously a top executive with Altamira – it is refreshing to read that he thinks average Canadians can have a reasonably secure retirement with real estate wealth of $250,000 and financial wealth of $250,000 supplemented by government programmes. The author has a delightful turn of phrase (“Wealth is about more; prosperity is about enough”, “Pay Yourself Second”, “A Monetary Lapse of Reason” etc.) and I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun reading a book on a dreary subject like personal finance.

The value of any instructional book lies in its capacity either to teach you something you did not already know or to show you something you already know from a different perspective. The latter is my goal for this book.

I’m pleased to report that Mr. D’Andrade succeeds brilliantly in his goal in this engaging, witty and thoughtful book. The cover price of the book is $18.95 and can be purchased through the book’s website.

Rating: 8 out of 10.