Make money move A guide to financial wellness

While there is no shortage of books providing advice on financial management, Make Money Move is notable on several fronts. Author Simmons includes comprehensive guidance, moving beyond financial markets, where she has extensive experience, to include wellness, mindset, and career goals. Add to that valuable equation the much-needed voice of a woman of color and we have a goldmine for anyone seeking to achieve financial aspirations, whether focused on buying a vacation home or looking toward retirement and establishing generational wealth. Leading off with tips for mindset (abundance vs. lack), wellness, project management via a five-year plan, networking (have a plan, diversify your network, work small talk) and including coverage on financial literacy (budgets, credit scores), the full launch into financial management and investments comes in the fourth chapter. In clear language that provides depth, the reader is led through working with a financial manager, selecting investments, understanding various markets (energy, real estate, industrial), and tracking the continuum from launching a career to retirement. Supplemented with charts and a glossary of financial terms, Make Money Move will be a valuable addition to general undergraduate, business-school, and public-library collections.

Money Moves podcaster Simmons debuts with a slight primer on personal finance. An adequate overview of investing options explains mutual funds, ETFs, 401(k)s, and IRAs, but Simmons doesn't discuss how readers might use these options to build a portfolio. The guidance is light on practicality and heavy on affirmations; for instance, the career advice encourages readers to "remember that you have choices and leverage," but doesn't specify how to use that leverage. Other suggestions are obvious, as when Simmons emphasizes the importance of regularly monitoring one's checking account and urges aspiring entrepreneurs to "pay your taxes." The few usable pieces of wisdom are unoriginal, such as the oft-cited recommendation to adhere to the "50:30:20 rule," which encourages devoting 50% of one's income to necessary expenses, 30% to leisure, and saving the remaining 20%. This is aimed at true novices ("Think of the stock market as a grocery store"), but even they will be let down by the platitudes ("You have to believe, dream, and then get to work") and surprising reliance on superstition, as when homebuyers are advised to "ask for a sign" to be "reassured you are on the right path." Simmons's upbeat attitude doesn't compensate for the thin advice. (Nov.)