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Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future
Too much debt? Not enough savings? Stop your whining and get to work. It's time to become a battle-ready financial warrior, prepared to tackle any money challenge. Modeled on the Soldier's Handbook, which is issued to all new U.S. Army recruits, Soldier of Finance is a no-nonsense, military-style training manual to overcoming financial obstacles and building lasting wealth.
Written by Jeff Rose, a Certified Financial Planner(t) and army veteran with extensive combat experience, the book is divided into 14 modules, each section covering an essential element of financial success. You will learn how
Complete with tales from the trenches and useful tools including quizzes, debriefings, and more-Soldier of Finance is the survival guide you need to face down your finances and bring order and prosperity to your life.
JEFF ROSE, CFP, (Carbondale, IL) is a Certified Financial Planner(t) and an Iraq combat veteran. A regular contributor to U.S. News & World Report, MarketWatch, and Equifax.com, he is the author of two popular personal finance blogs, SoldierofFinance.com and the nation ally recognized GoodFinancialCents.com, which has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Kiplinger, and The Wall Street Journal.
Written by Jeff Rose, a Certified Financial Planner(t) and army veteran with extensive combat experience, the book is divided into 14 modules, each section covering an essential element of financial success. You will learn how
Complete with tales from the trenches and useful tools including quizzes, debriefings, and more-Soldier of Finance is the survival guide you need to face down your finances and bring order and prosperity to your life.
JEFF ROSE, CFP, (Carbondale, IL) is a Certified Financial Planner(t) and an Iraq combat veteran. A regular contributor to U.S. News & World Report, MarketWatch, and Equifax.com, he is the author of two popular personal finance blogs, SoldierofFinance.com and the nation ally recognized GoodFinancialCents.com, which has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Kiplinger, and The Wall Street Journal.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
54 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 1, 2018
The book content were pretty much similar with other financial books that i have read, but in some cases, he does gave better explanation, such as 401k and ROTH IRA, although i still have hard time to understand that, will look further information for it!
September 30, 2013
Soldier of Finance is a down and dirty, no nonsense approach up assessing your current situation, as well as a simple and straight forward series of advice on how to prioritize and improve your situation for years to come. Years ago, when Jeff was deploying to Iraq, he took the time to advise me as I pursued the necessary licenses to become a Financial Adviser and it was some of the best advice is ever received. Jeff was simple and to the point and told me the good and bad , the ins and outs of financial management. Now, through Soldier of Finance, he has the opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise with you. Read this book slowly and follow his advice along the way and you will definitely have all the tools necessary to confidentially move forward, no matter what your current economic status.
July 5, 2015
Your Future is Yours
A great read If you are In need of Financial counseling but haven't contActed a professional yet. This will spur you to do so.
A great read If you are In need of Financial counseling but haven't contActed a professional yet. This will spur you to do so.
June 30, 2019
It was okay
I found this book a little average.
While it had some good advice on getting out of debt and building wealth,, to me, encouraging credit rating scores is dangerous and bad advice. I feel it's better to save like our older older generation s did and try keep the banks from swallowing you up with nasty interest rates.
I enjoyed the Army story aspect and linking it to being financially savvy and disciplined, because in the end that is the only thing that is going to slowly get you out of debt and building wealth is a whole lot of discipline and commitment.
I found this book a little average.
While it had some good advice on getting out of debt and building wealth,, to me, encouraging credit rating scores is dangerous and bad advice. I feel it's better to save like our older older generation s did and try keep the banks from swallowing you up with nasty interest rates.
I enjoyed the Army story aspect and linking it to being financially savvy and disciplined, because in the end that is the only thing that is going to slowly get you out of debt and building wealth is a whole lot of discipline and commitment.
December 2, 2017
He didn't push for the IUL...which is what a real soldier would do. Just saying.
April 16, 2018
Rather simplistic but still helpful.
February 23, 2019
Great read and one I would recommend for those at the start of learning to turn their financial life around.
May 6, 2019
This book is a VERY basic introduction to managing your finances. I was expecting more depth out of the book, but for what the book covers, it is a good introduction.
November 19, 2019
Resounding meh... Military pseudo related bla bla filling way too many pages. The actual advice is mostly common sense.
September 4, 2013
Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of Soldier of Finances for review purposes. No other forms of compensation were received. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced. http://www.worldtravelingmilitaryfami...
I was recently asked to read and review Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future by Jeff Rose, CFP©. I have to say at first I had thoughts that a finance book would equal boring, but I'm happy to say that is not so in this case! I, as they say, `bleed blue' and am always keeping an eye out for things that will benefit our military service members and families, this fits the bill and then some! Read my review below to find out why.
I wanted to read this book because I thought it would be helpful to young Airmen, as I've seen many who have came into the military and not known how to manage their money. Yet, here I am an Air Force wife of 14 years and I learned some new things as well! While you might think with a title like Soldier of Finance that this may only apply to military members or families, but that is not the case. Jeff teaches YOU how to become a Solider of Finance, basing it off principles that he learned in basic training and his military career.
Here is the best part about the book, each section contains information about his experience in the military, his life growing up, and the lessons that he has learned along the way. It is not just cut and dry finance information! While you don't need to be affiliated with the military in any way to benefit from this book, if you are you will appreciate his struggles in basic training and some of the terminology used.
I was sitting at a doctor appointment with my son while I was starting this book, three pages into the Introduction he had me literally laughing out loud and my teenager eyeing me in dismay. What was so funny you ask? It was his reference to his issue of BCG's, this had me rolling and he had me at BCGs! For those of you non-military folks BCG's are the standard issued glasses in basic training, known a "Birth Control Glasses." Why I found this so hilarious I'm not sure, other than I was NOT expecting a finance book to talk about BCG's! After that I just HAD to read the book and see what else he had to say.
You may be wondering what a Solider of Finance is according to Jeff "Soldiers of Finance are people who commit to whatever it takes to change the direction of their lives and overcome whatever is preventing success, thus building security for themselves and their families." Throughout this book he helps guide you in the necessary steps that you need to do to overcome any challenges, make a game plan, and become a Soldier of Finance.
Now let's get to the good stuff. The book is broken down into 4 parts with each one then broken down in weekly phases. At the end of each section there is a checklist of the topics covered and you either mark Yes (Go) or No (No Go) to these questions. He recommends that you read the whole book and then come back and focus on the No Go's that you've marked.
One of the sections that I found helpful was The Low Crawl - Credit Repair, not because we have bad credit and need to fix it, but because this section was chock full of great information even for those of us who have good credit. Such as a reminder to pull your credit report once a year, ooops we've slacked on that one. Also how to check your credit report because often times credit cards do not report your limit correctly, which can cause your credit score to drop. Guess who's getting her credit report and checking...yep I am!
Another helpful area was FRAGO - The Savings Account Survival Guide. It discusses the amount of money you need saved for your emergency fund, also why it's important to not have more than that sitting around in a savings account. This led to my interest in the section Five-Ton Trucks and MRAPs - Long -Distance Investment Vehicles where it discusses 401(k)'s and ROTH IRA's, something I need more knowledge about. It did briefly touch on the Military TSP funds but if I had one criticism it would be that the paragraph was short basically saying that he had decided against using it. Not any real information for those who are using a TSP fund or what to do if you've been using one for x amount of years.
Overall I thought this is great book full of resources for anyone wanting to take control of their finances and future. It was a quick easy read and I found it to be helpful in setting some long-term financial goals for our family. I think it may be appealing to military members and their families, because we can relate to some of his personal experience, but it has information that can help anyone military affiliated or not. While I initially thought that it would be geared towards younger service members or people who need help `fixing' problems, I have since found that it applies to all ages and stages of life and these principles can be applied by anyone and/or their family.
I was recently asked to read and review Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future by Jeff Rose, CFP©. I have to say at first I had thoughts that a finance book would equal boring, but I'm happy to say that is not so in this case! I, as they say, `bleed blue' and am always keeping an eye out for things that will benefit our military service members and families, this fits the bill and then some! Read my review below to find out why.
I wanted to read this book because I thought it would be helpful to young Airmen, as I've seen many who have came into the military and not known how to manage their money. Yet, here I am an Air Force wife of 14 years and I learned some new things as well! While you might think with a title like Soldier of Finance that this may only apply to military members or families, but that is not the case. Jeff teaches YOU how to become a Solider of Finance, basing it off principles that he learned in basic training and his military career.
Here is the best part about the book, each section contains information about his experience in the military, his life growing up, and the lessons that he has learned along the way. It is not just cut and dry finance information! While you don't need to be affiliated with the military in any way to benefit from this book, if you are you will appreciate his struggles in basic training and some of the terminology used.
I was sitting at a doctor appointment with my son while I was starting this book, three pages into the Introduction he had me literally laughing out loud and my teenager eyeing me in dismay. What was so funny you ask? It was his reference to his issue of BCG's, this had me rolling and he had me at BCGs! For those of you non-military folks BCG's are the standard issued glasses in basic training, known a "Birth Control Glasses." Why I found this so hilarious I'm not sure, other than I was NOT expecting a finance book to talk about BCG's! After that I just HAD to read the book and see what else he had to say.
You may be wondering what a Solider of Finance is according to Jeff "Soldiers of Finance are people who commit to whatever it takes to change the direction of their lives and overcome whatever is preventing success, thus building security for themselves and their families." Throughout this book he helps guide you in the necessary steps that you need to do to overcome any challenges, make a game plan, and become a Soldier of Finance.
Now let's get to the good stuff. The book is broken down into 4 parts with each one then broken down in weekly phases. At the end of each section there is a checklist of the topics covered and you either mark Yes (Go) or No (No Go) to these questions. He recommends that you read the whole book and then come back and focus on the No Go's that you've marked.
One of the sections that I found helpful was The Low Crawl - Credit Repair, not because we have bad credit and need to fix it, but because this section was chock full of great information even for those of us who have good credit. Such as a reminder to pull your credit report once a year, ooops we've slacked on that one. Also how to check your credit report because often times credit cards do not report your limit correctly, which can cause your credit score to drop. Guess who's getting her credit report and checking...yep I am!
Another helpful area was FRAGO - The Savings Account Survival Guide. It discusses the amount of money you need saved for your emergency fund, also why it's important to not have more than that sitting around in a savings account. This led to my interest in the section Five-Ton Trucks and MRAPs - Long -Distance Investment Vehicles where it discusses 401(k)'s and ROTH IRA's, something I need more knowledge about. It did briefly touch on the Military TSP funds but if I had one criticism it would be that the paragraph was short basically saying that he had decided against using it. Not any real information for those who are using a TSP fund or what to do if you've been using one for x amount of years.
Overall I thought this is great book full of resources for anyone wanting to take control of their finances and future. It was a quick easy read and I found it to be helpful in setting some long-term financial goals for our family. I think it may be appealing to military members and their families, because we can relate to some of his personal experience, but it has information that can help anyone military affiliated or not. While I initially thought that it would be geared towards younger service members or people who need help `fixing' problems, I have since found that it applies to all ages and stages of life and these principles can be applied by anyone and/or their family.
February 7, 2015
Thes best finance book I've read so far, however I was compelled to drop my rating a star. At one point he suggests calling your CC card and reading customer service the riot act including threatening by saying you're taping the call (which it didn't indicate you were supposed to actually do.) I can't ever totally respect someone who advises people to launch into abuse like that. One or two other parts along those lines (asking around your new neighborhood to see if there's a crazy person in the corner house. I understand you want to know where you're moving but really?) kept me from the full 5 stars but nothing to do with the financial advice.
March 27, 2016
3.5 stars. Better than your standard Dave Ramsey book. The author has much more expertise, but is still accessible. He provides good motivation, & the sections on debt and credit were very well done. The budgeting section was just ok. Overall, I appreciated his thoughts on investing and giving. However, his advice to prioritize putting money in a Roth IRA ahead of getting your company's 401k match was strange. The small section on insurance was weak.
May 26, 2015
I like how Mr. Rose broke personal finances down into a simple, easy-to-understand, "I can do this" plan. This is geared towards those who understand military jargon, but has examples and basic principles that anyone can get.
February 9, 2014
Very well-written and very personal. Jeff draws on his own missteps and his wartime military experience to convey the urgency of getting your personal finances in order.
November 14, 2014
A good, basic financial guide with an unusual angle that I would certainly recommend to people tired of the same old advice.
November 25, 2014
Good & easy read! Simple way to help re-evaluate your finances and breaks it down into steps so the process isn't overwhelming.
June 17, 2019
This seemed like very ‘simple’ financial management advice to me. I did find a few things I wasn’t aware of. This book would probably be ideal for someone just starting out.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews