Book Review: “Dollars & Uncommon Sense” By Steve Repak, CFP
“Dollars & Uncommon Sense” basic training for your money
By Steve Repak, CFP
Paperback: 166 pages
Publisher: RFS Publishing (2012)
Steve Repak describes basic training in “Dollars & Uncommon Sense” and defines it as a time when “…a soldier goes through a process of mental and emotional retraining so he can operate in an environment very different from the civilian world.” It’s a time when a soldier learns new skills so he will be ready for anything. That’s exactly what he recommends we do today to survive in our financial world. His book seeks to transform the way we think about money and give us the skills to build wealth.
When you are finished with reading his book, you will stop using common sense, and start using uncommon sense, that is: doing what most people don’t do. Many believe it is the American way to go into debt to buy what you want now. An example of using uncommon sense is buying a car. Rather than buying a car and suffer a 20% decline in value when you drive your car off the dealer’s lot, find the car you want, figure out the monthly payment and put that money aside each month for year. After a year, buy the same car with a down payment of the money you saved and the car is 20% cheaper. Only now you have you saved money on the car, and you know you can afford the payment.
As I read the book, I kept thinking about the U.S. and the way our leaders manage our finances. Repak writes that making more money won’t solve your spending problems. No matter how much more you make, you will spend more than you take in, if you don’t think about money differently.
How does “Dollars & Uncommon Sense” differ from popular Dave Ramsey? Ramsey advises to be totally debt free. Repak believes as Ramsey does, that debt is a four-letter word, but believes you can have a mortgage, since it is so hard to come up with a 25% down payment and he thinks you can go into debt to start a business.
This book should be required reading for everyone of this country if we are to survive financially.
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