Review: Money Rules by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

A review of Money Rules by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a book of 261 rules about basic money management for Canadians.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-tiB-qsWL._SL500_.jpg

This weekend I am getting the amazing opportunity to meet one of my favourite t.v. personalities and financial guru, Gail Vaz-Oxlade! I've mentioned her before in several of my posts because I really value her advice. In fact her latest book which I will be reviewing today was the inspiration to start this blog. I will be seeing Gail speaking at the London Women's Lifestyle Show happening this weekend (March 23 and 24) in London, ON. She will be speaking on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. if anyone is interested in going. Tickets are only $10. So in honour of this event I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you guys what I thought of her latest book, Money Rules. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Gail she is the host of popular reality t.v. programs, Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess. She is also the author of several hit books including Debt-Free Forever, Never Too Late, Money Smart Kids and It's Your Money: Becoming a Woman of Independent Means. In addition to all of this Gail is a regular columnist in newspapers and financial journals as well as guest on radio shows. She somehow also finds time to be a mom of two kids. All I can think if wow!

I was very lucky and my mother-in-law knowing my love of all thing Gail picked up her latest book for me when it came out. I read it and loved it. I've read three of her other books (Never Too Late and It's Your Money 1st and 2nd editions), and it was interesting to compare them.

After reading Gail's other books, I would say that Money Rules is actually her best one to start with. Rather than the tradition book format of chapters, this book is divided by 261 rules. The rules are short ranging from half to three pages in length, making it an easy read to pick up anytime. The purpose of these rules is not to provide in depth coverage, but rather the pertinent information. These rules cover a wide range of topics from budgets, to credit ratings and needs vs. wants. Some topics are simple and don't need further elaboration but for heavy topics such as retirement, getting out of debt and teaching your kids about money, she recommends doing further reading (starting of course from her own books, which she has conveniently written on those topics).

I would think that holding most people back from reading more books about finances is the misconception that because its about finances and economics, it must be boring. From my own experiences I would say this is not the case in general, but especially with Gail. If you have ever seen one of her shows you will know that she is a no nonsense, straight talking woman who won't take any bull. She loathes excuses about why you got into a financial mess and will make you do things that you do not want to do in order to correct the situation. Ultimately you realize she is a kind-hearted person with a knack for giving people the tools to help themselves. I think this is the best approach to finances because you cannot just expect people to clean up your messes for you, you have to learn so that you stay on the right track even after things seem better.

Her writing style really reflects her on screen personality, she is equally straight forward with a no nonsense approach. Her writing is light, while at the same time being informative. She does not go over complex economic theories that are only applicable to professionals. She gives plain and simple advice that the average person can use regardless of their age. She uses real life stories to back up her advice and often explains how she uses her own advice. I really like knowing that even though she is wildly successful she still follows a budget and does not know everything. As well as writing clearly, she is also very funny and I often found myself laughing out loud while reading her book.

The only downside I could say about this book is that a lot of the material was reiterated from other books of hers that I read. However I would not say that this makes the book any less valuable because the purpose of this book is to cover as many topics as possible about money management in a clear and concise manner. And as Gail often points out, you sometimes have to say something ten times before you get through to someone.

This book taught me many new things about finances that I had no clue about. This really humbles you, because no matter how much you think you know about money management you learn that there is always something new out there you should know. The world of finances is not stagnant, it changes frequently with new legislation regarding taxes and registered savings plans, interest rates, as well as possible forms of fraud.

Overall this was a great easy read, that would suit most people. I would give it a 9/10.

I hope that you pick up this book or one of her others' next time you're looking for something to read. It's never a bad idea to learn more about money management from good, reputable people, like Gail. The more you know, the more you'll save and to me that's worth the investment of the price of a book.