{"id":3192,"date":"2018-10-15T16:05:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T15:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/?p=3192"},"modified":"2018-10-15T19:42:05","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T18:42:05","slug":"meaningful-money-handbook-pete-matthew-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/meaningful-money-handbook-pete-matthew-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meaningful Money Handbook by Pete Matthew – Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Thud!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or was it \u201csquish”?<\/span><\/p>\n

My copy of The Meaningful Money Handbook<\/em> dropped through the letterbox in a soaked<\/em> Jiffy bag on a stormy September morning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the Jiffy-bag was well sealed and my book was dry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Everything<\/a>
Everything else was wet. But my book was dry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’d been looking forward to reading this. <\/span><\/p>\n

After all, I\u2019d eagerly listened to every single episode of Pete Matthew\u2019s Meaningful Money podcast<\/em>. And this book promised to be the culmination of all that practical personal-finance information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So would I be delighted<\/strong> or disappointed<\/strong>?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Meaningful Money Handbook arrived – but would I enjoy reading it?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, here\u2019s what I found…<\/span><\/p>\n

The Meaningful Handbook can be distilled into its author\u2019s mantra, which is…<\/span><\/p>\n

The 3 Things Pete Matthew Constantly Preaches<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

You’ll often hear Pete Matthew say on his podcast…<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Spend less than you earn<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Protect against disaster<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Save, and invest wisely<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So there you have it… You don\u2019t need to read the book now! Go and have a brew instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Book<\/a><\/p>\n

    My Financial Disaster Averted<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Thankfully, I\u2019d always tried to follow that step 1: \u201cSpend less than you earn\u201d. So, apart from our mortgage (and the rare car loan when it was advantageous to us), my wife and I have managed to avoid any debt. We’ve saved up for anything we’ve needed. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Even through those expensive years of raising children on one salary, we did without some things so that we could build a small emergency fund and stay out of debt. And, oh boy, were we glad we\u2019d done that when I got made redundant. It kept us out of trouble, kept a roof over our young family’s heads, and continued to provide us with food on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So immediately I could agree with Pete’s first guideline. And the saving<\/em> bit, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    But What If You Are In Debt?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    If you have debt, Pete has a wonderfully practical section in the book to show you what to do to get out of debt and begin to get on a good financial footing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"A<\/a>
    A practical book to help you get out of debt and onto a strong financial footing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Protect Against Disaster<\/span><\/h2>\n

    You’d think \u201cprotecting against disaster” refers to buying some home insurance.\u00a0<\/span>Well, that’s obvious – we need to do it. And, of course, you don\u2019t need a book for that.<\/span><\/p>\n

    However, the Meaningful Money Handbook also looks at the other things that are important at various stages of life – such as life assurance, wills, power of attorney, critical illness, income protection… and just as importantly, who needs them, why, how much, when, and how to go about getting them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    It’s about protecting what’s important<\/strong> to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

    That\u2019s what I really like about this book… it\u2019s practical. Extremely practical.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>
    It’s a great book for reading on a relaxing Autumn day in the garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Isn\u2019t Investing Only For The Rich?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Nope, not at all. If you pay into a works pension, you\u2019ll probably be doing some investing – or someone will be doing it for you. Same with a stocks and shares ISA. Pete shows us how to do the investing ourselves… so that your hard earned money can work hard for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Hey, believe me, it\u2019s much more fun being in charge of your own pension fund, watching it grow, and looking forward to retiring earlier than the Government says you can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt. Yup – I took early retirement at age 57. How? Because we had kept to the sort of principles Pete talks about in this book. So yes, it can be done!<\/span><\/p>\n