Book Review:
Cooking
the Books With Mike
by Michael Campbell
Dateline: 06/08/98
Important Note: Be sure to check out how you can win an autographed copy of this book at the end of this review!
Mike Campbell is a funny guy. A master of the deadpan expression, quick with quips, one liners and self-effacing humour, he has brought a lighter touch to financial commentary and in doing so, has brought financial wisdom to the masses.
You could probably call him the ubiquitous Michael Campbell. He seems to be everywhere these days. A frequent commentator on BCTV's Newshour and the national Canada Tonight program (seen in Ontario on ONTV), he also hosts a weekly Saturday morning radio program called Money Talks on the WIC Radio Network. Recently he became a columnist for The Vancouver Sun. And now he has written a book on personal finances.
Patterned after a cookbook, Campbell brings us his 50 Favourite Recipes for Instant Financial Success. And a tasty feast it is!
The book is
broken into seven topics with titles like "Super
Savings" Smorgasboard, "Money-Making" Munchies and
the ever popular Tasty Tax Treats You Can't Afford to Miss. The
real topics are Money Saving Tips, Mortgage Tips, Tax Tips,
Self-Employment Tips, Estate Planning Tips, Investing Tips and
RRSP Tips. Each section includes three to eleven recipes.
If you ask most people what prevents them from saving and investing for their retirement, they'll tell you they just don't have any money to spare. So right off the bat, Mike tackles that problem with eight ways to save money by cutting down on expenses. These range from things as simple as shopping around for the best price and using coupons and sales to advantage to eradicating credit card debt. For big ticket items Mike suggests buying second hand and that includes cars. Or if you can, sell your car and use public transit.
This all seems quite elementary when you read it, but how many people actually apply it? The trick is to use some of these money saving tips Mike offers and invest the savings.
If you're a home owner, the Home Baking section (Mortgage Tips) gives sound advice on reducing your interest payments. Most people don't realize they have bargaining power. They can negotiate a half percent off their mortgage at renewal if they try. And it's worth it, even if it means having to change lending institutions.
The thing that makes Mike's book such a breeze to read is its humorous approach. Full of quips, anecdotes about celebrities (most of them made up by Mike I'm sure) and amusing quotes, the book is like the spoonful of sugar Mary Poppins used to make the medicine go down.
Each "recipe" starts with a story to illustrate the principles discussed. This is usually followed by a box with a Tip and sometimes an interesting Fact. Then on a separate page, the key points of the story are itemized as the "recipe" proper.
The recap of the key points as a recipe makes the book a handy reference guide. You can just go over the one page recipes quickly to jog your memory when you decide to implement one.
Since this is a "cookbook", each recipe has a foodish name. The "Take Control" Casserole or the "Taxable Benefit" Baguette are good examples. These cutesie titles, however, are probably the biggest drawback to the book. It's not always easy to tell from the recipe name what it's about.
Banana Splitting Your Income may be obvious, but "Shorten Up and Fly Right" Fondue - well, gee - is that about how to use air miles to advantage? How to short sell in the stock market? Buying a smaller rather than a larger car? Actually it's about reducing the amortization period on your mortgage, but it's not obvious from the title.
If Mike puts out a second edition next year, I'd like to see him add a comprehensive index at the end using the real terms for the various strategies, not the cutesie recipe names. The recipe names can stay - they are fun, but give us a way to quickly look something up!
That said, the book is high on my recommended list. All the recipes are easy to understand, amusingly explained and fairly easy to implement. Whatever your financial status, you're bound to find a few useful ideas here.
My favorite section of the book is the chapter on "Money-Making" Munchies. You'll find solid advice on such things as how to pick a financial advisor, keeping control of your investing, even recipes explaining call options and put options. These esoteric concepts are little used by most investors. Mike explains them simply and clearly and makes them a viable consideration for the average investor. I know they're areas I've not ventured into before (and indeed, did not know much about before) but I'll look into them in the future.
The cover of the book shows Michael Campbell in a frying pan on a hot stove. But be assured you won't jump from the frying pan into the fire with this book. Cooking the Books With Mike has more valuable information in it than The Wealthy Barber (He could have called it The Wealthy Chef!). It's also easier to read and better organized. And probably most importantly, it'll give you a few chuckles, and Lord knows we need more of that! Recommended!
I asked Mike Campbell's publicist for an extra copy of the book to give away to one of my readers. Since I run into Mike frequently at my day job, I'll get him to personally autograph it for the lucky winner.
To win, start a new thread or post a reply to an existing thread on the Investing (Canada) Bulletin Board. The person starting the most interesting new thread or posting the most interesting reply wins the book. The topic must deal with some aspect of investing, financial planning and so on. If I can't decide, I'll put all the names in a hat and draw one.
Contest closes on June 22nd or after at least 25 entries have been received, whichever comes later.
Michael
Campbell's Money Talks Web Site
The front page of this site features the book and some
testimonials.
Buy the Book!
This link will take you directly to an order form at the Money
Talks site.
Money Talks
Newspaper Columns
An archive of Campbell's columns for The Vancouver Sun.
Money
Talks Radio Program
Find out what station carries Money Talks in your area or
listen to Michael Campbell on the WIC Radio Network on Saturdays
using RealAudio.
Disclaimer: As with all my columns here, I should re-iterate a precaution. I am not a professional financial advisor. I am a financial journalist and editorialist. The views in these columns are my personal opinions.
Copyright Notice: The book cover graphic is copyright by Michael campbell and Money Talks Publishing. Used by permission.
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