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A Review of “It’s Not About the Money” by Brent Kessel
By JLP | December 1, 2008
I spent a good portion of the weekend reading Brent Kessel’s book It’s Not About the Money: Unlock Your Money Type to Achieve Spiritual and Financial Abundance
The book is divided into three parts:
Part 1 - The Nature of Mind
Part 2 - The Eight Financial Archetypes
Part 3 - In the World and of It
Part 1 opens with an interesting discussion of The Wanting Mind. According to the author, the Wanting Mind is always craving an experience different from the one it currently has and that it insists that things need to change in order for us to be happy.
This concept reminded me of my CD and book collection. No matter how many books or CDs I have, I always seem to want more. I have nearly 1,000 CDs and yet there are times when I can’t find anything to listen to. Yes, it’s silly but I think it also is a perfect example of the Wanting Mind. The problem with the Wanting Mind according to the author, is that it impedes us from enjoying the here and now.
Part 2 then moves on to discuss the eight finanancial archetypes, which are:
The Guardian - is always alert and careful.
The Pleasure Seeker - prioritizes pleasure and enjoyment in the here and now.
The Idealist - places the greatest value on creativitiy, compassion, social justice, or spiritual growth.
The Saver - seeks security and abundance by accumulating more financial assets.
The Star - spends, invests, or gives money away to be recognized, feel hip or classy, and increase self-esteem.
The Innocent - avoids putting significant attention on money and believes or hopes that life will work out for the best.
The Caretaker - gives and lends money to express compassion and generosity.
The Empire Builder - thrives on power and innovation to create something of enduring value.
Each archetype has its positives and negatives, which are explained in detail as each archetype gets its own chapter. According to the author, most people are a combination of the above archetypes—more successful people are a combination of three or four archetypes and the ideal person would be balanced among all eight.
I know from looking at the list, that I am a combination of Guardian, Pleasure Seeker, and Saver. Consequently, I have the biggest problems with peole who are Idealists, Stars, and Innocents. The author even includes a short quiz to help you figure out your archetypes.
Part 3 of the book then goes on to offer planning solutions for the different archetypes as well as a chapter on investing and a chapter on giving.
Overall, I liked the book. I enjoyed learning about the financial archetypes and how they impact our lifestyles. I didn’t much care for the new-age feel to the book, but found that I could easily adapt the book’s findings to my Christian beliefs.
I also appreciated the fact that Brent Kessel is a fee-only financial planner and tells his readers to focus on keeping investment expenses down and to avoid high-fee financial products—very solid advice!
Anyway, if I were to rate this book on a 5-Star scale, I would award it 4 Stars.
For more information, please visit the following links:
It’s Not About the Money: Unlock Your Money Type to Achieve Spiritual and Financial Abundance
Mind Over Money Series on MSN
* Affiliate Link
Topics: Books, Miscellaneous |
December 1st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I’d say I’m a saver… hopefully
December 1st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Kind of reminds me of the enneagram.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I think I’m a bit of a saver, star, and empire builder, in that order of importance.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I’m part saver part guardian.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Seems like I’m a saver/guardian.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:50 pm
It’s about 19
December 1st, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Thank you for (making me laugh by) admitting that you have a problem with the Idealists, Stars and Innocents. Me too. I wonder what the book says about marriage/relationships among the archetypes.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I can’t decide which one I am. Maybe if I had the book…
From the review I’d say I’m a mix of a Guardian and Idealist.
Lance
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
Sounds like an interesting premise. Have read personality type books and think it would be interesting to see the financial equivalent and how they intertwine.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:58 am
This book looks pretty interesting. I tend to be the Guardian, Pleasure Seeker, and Saver. I’ll have to get the book!
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I like the concept that ideally we should be a little of all archetypes. Balance in everything.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I’d say I’m equal parts Guardian / Saver (these seem similar to me) and Caretaker. Maybe also a touch of The Star, but I’m working on ridding myself of that. It’d be interesting to take the quiz and have my wife take the quiz & compare results. I think we’d probably be quite similar.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Is there anything in the book about or for underearners and/or other low earners?