Trivia question: What do Tetris, the Boy Scouts, a Snoopy Snow Cone maker, the Eurythmics and a pyramid of champagne glasses have in common? Nothing, you say! Well, in most of our universe, you’d be right, but Emily Guy Birken and Joe Saul-Sehy weave them together artfully in their new book, Stacked: Your Super-Serious Guide to Modern Money Management.
Stacked is one of many personal finance books you will find on Amazon or bookstore shelves, but it’s not like any other personal finance book you have read. Joe and Emily add humor and a ton of fun to this “super serious” topic.
Emily Guy Birken is the author of The 5 Years Before You Retire and Joe Saul-Sehy is the creator and co-host of the popular Stacking Benjamins podcast. Joe brings money topics along with his signature humor every week from his Mom’s basement, along with OG and Joe’s Mom’s neighbor Doug.
This book starts with the basics of personal finance so you can stack your first Benjamin (you know, the guy on the $100 bill) and takes you through everything you will need to build your own stack of Benjamins. Joe and Emily even share their own struggles with money.
I personally enjoyed the way Joe and Emily take the dry and sometimes confusing topics of personal finance and explain them in a way anyone can understand. Their combination of humor and plain language brings these topics into focus for the rest of us. To quote Joe and Emily, “Whether you’re intimidated by money terms or can quote every line from The Big Short, you’re sure to find something helpful in this handbook.”
Each chapter starts with a list of the tools you’ll need and ends with a list of action items to complete. By the end of the book, you will have built your own personalized plan for creating a monster stack of Benjamins. Joe hopes this will become a well-worn handbook, just like the Hardy Boy’s Detective Handbook was for him and his brother.
Here Are Some Of My Favorites From The Book
- I listened to the audio version of the book. It was a much cooler experience to hear the familiar and funny voice of Joe.
- Joe’s mom gets in on the action, too. Joe’s mom contributes her take on some of the topics AND is included in the audio version.
- As mentioned above, I love the list of action items at the end of each chapter. A specific and measurable list works well for me. It keeps me from getting to the end of a book and thinking, “What am I supposed to do now?” And bonus points, the list is read by Emily!
- Each chapter includes Podcast excerpts from the Stacking Benjamins show.
What You’ll Find In Stacked
Here is a list of topics Joe and Emily cover in the book.
- Thinking about and timelining your goals
- Budgeting
- Debt and Credit
- Investing
- Risk Management
- Insurance
- Estate Planning
- Fighting Fear and Creating a Benjamin-Stacking Mindset
- Inflation and Taxes
- Hiring an Advisor
Conclusion
I believe Joe and Emily accomplished what they set out to do with Stacked. They are each well-qualified to lead you through the process of stacking your first Benjamin to creating that Benjamin mountain. Who would find this book valuable? Anyone from a beginning Benjamin-stacker to those wanting to fine-tune their stacking ability.
