THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT HANDBOOK

Money takes center stage in Gatchell’s informative guide to financial matters both big and small.

Knowledge is power. That’s the premise of this fact-filled book. With chapters on topics including earning money, spending money, credit, and financial goals, Gatchell covers a lot of ground. Within those chapters are topics that anyone can benefit from knowing more about: employment, taxes, earnings, education, savings, interest rates, payday loans, first cars, first homes, and navigating retirement, among many others. Gatchell doesn’t stray too far from the basics, and he often sticks to the fundamentals. The chapter on earning money, for instance, explains what wages and salaries are, what to expect from a W-2, and the basics of interest. Many chapters include helpful recaps and checklists to confirm your basic understanding of the material. The book has charts and numbers, but only enough to be useful, and personal case studies are nice companions to the nitty-gritty information Gatchell presents. The beauty of Gatchell’s book, unlike so many other financial guides and handbooks, is its simplicity. While Gatchell doesn’t offer much in the way of extraordinary new insights into financial matters, this is a great primer for anyone dipping their toes into deep financial waters. The author takes complicated topics and boils them down to the essentials, taking daunting subjects and presenting them in an unintimidating format. The well-thought-out graphics support the text rather than muddle it, and though the book couldn’t be called comprehensive, it certainly presents a myriad of topics that will be relevant to many readers. Gatchell’s book should be a hit in the classroom, a fine text for any basic financial literacy class. Whether readers are buying a car, trying to finance an education, or looking toward retirement, Gatchell’s handy guide will help them navigate those often-treacherous financial waters.

A book that takes frequently complicated financial concepts and makes them accessible to a general readership.