The Great Money Reset – Book Review

The many fans of Jill Schlesinger – her podcast “Jill on Money,” her appearances on CBS News, or her 2019 destined-for-classic-status book “The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money” – will likely need little convincing that the “The Great Money Reset” deserves a… The Great Money Reset – Book Review as published on Women Who Money The many fans of Jill Schlesinger – her podcast “Jill on Money,” her appearances on CBS News, or her 2019 destined-for-classic-status book “The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money” – will likely need little convincing that the “The Great Money Reset” deserves a spot on their reading list. For those unfamiliar with the Schlesinger style (New York City smart ass), her new book will be bracing and ultimately enjoyable. “The Great Money Reset” is firmly planted in the post-pandemic world. It picks up at the point where the reader has already decided to fundamentally reset their life and livelihood, either by choice or unfortunate circumstance. Whether it’s early retirement, loss of a spouse, or a new career, the change is gonna come; now the questions are, “How do I execute this change? How can my money support my decision?” A Peek Inside Although Schlesinger does not deploy the acronym FINE (Financial Independence, New Endeavors) until almost the end of the book, “FINE” could very well have been the book’s title. It’s her rebuttal to the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, recognizing that not working – actual retirement – is often not the goal. If there’s one recurring theme in this book, it’s that the resetting reader needs to be able to articulate the specific text of what they want from their life, not just the headline. With that said, much of the advice proffered applies to any situation, and one could be forgiven for suspecting that a certain amount of literary padding may be at play. Clearly, Chapter 2’s (“Curb Your Consumption”) admonishment to live below your means need not have taken much more than a paragraph or two. With that said, the advice in the chapter on investing, while completely fundamental, probably can’t be repeated often enough. The book is at its strongest when it focuses on the specific money strategies to consider as you seek to operationalize your life reset. “Put Your House in Order” (Chapter 6) is essential reading and can be summed up with one particular, compelling quote: “Equity equals choice…” Her argument for why you may want to sell your home to support your reset is refreshing and perhaps contrarian. “Resetters” are also well-advised to carefully scrutinize the money tactics proposed related to taxation generally and taxation of retirement investments specifically. As tempting as it may be to gloss over the recitation of tax rates, you will come away convinced that a firm understanding of basic tax law is essential to your reset plan. (On the other hand, the extensive real estate devoted to charitable giving tax strategies seems oddly placed in a book of this theme.) Is entrepreneurship part of your plan? “The Great Money Reset” does not break any new ground here (Have plenty of financial runway. Test drive your idea before you quit your day job.). Still, Schlesinger does consider a less explored reset, when and how to chart the selling of a successful business. The uses and misuses of further education as part of your money reset are amply demonstrated by multiple examples centered on the question, “What education – how much, what type, from who – is actually required for your reset?” Her vignettes illustrate how our non-financial biases about the varying paths to higher education influence our choices. If you consider further credentialing as part of your reset, this book is necessary for this chapter alone. That is only one of many questions posed, of course. As is inevitable in any book of this nature, much of the prose employs the Socratic method. To a great extent, “The Great Money Reset” is a list (a very long list) of questions that the reader can only answer. These are the essential money-related questions you need to have answers for as you plan for how you’ll make your reset a