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The Family CFO - Book Review |
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Book Reviews -
Home and Finances
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Written by Jennifer Thompson
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 The
Family CFO, by Mary Claire Allvine, C.F.P. and Christine Larson
Why does money get in the way of otherwise tight knit, loving relationships?
Why do couples find they can talk about almost anything, except money?
Why does so much emotional energy go into finances, instead of dreams
and goals?
The
Family CFO sets out to help couples learn to talk about and handle
their money with the same skills a business would use so that they
can stop worrying about money and start working on their goals and
dreams.
When couples can start to view their finances as a family business,
they can begin to apply the same tools that businesses use every day.
The book begins with outlining the basics of this family business:
- Defining Your Vision
- Assigning Jobs and Organizing the Office
- Learning to Go with the (Cash) Flow
- Knowing Your (Net) Worth
- The Family CFO Five-Step Forecast
There are also discussions about "The Romance in Finance" and "Ending
Fights Through the Family CFO Process".
This is all in Part I and gives couples the basics for what it means to treat
one's personal finances like a family business.
Part II delves into seven key topics for most, if not all, couples:
- Debt
- Buying a home
- Changing jobs
- Having children
- Retirement
- Savings and insurance
- Job loss and other financial emergencies
The authors go into good detail for each topic they address in the
book, with charts, formulas and examples throughout to help get their
message across. They include exercises and questions for partners to
ask themselves. There is a four-page glossary of terms for those new
to the world of financial planning. Some of the charts and exercises
may seem daunting to those who have never given much thought to gaining
the upper hand on their financial situation, but spending the time
to learn the in's and out's of money management can be a gift for any
relationship.
The parting words sum up the ideas of the book nicely: Define your
priorities; treat your family like a business; simplify; and, do your
own best practices survey. Money need not be a stressor in a relationship,
and The
Family CFO is an excellent resource for couples wishing to
gain control of their finances and release the grip their money has
over them.
After all -
"It's our great hope that after reading this book, you and your
partner will find that money can bring you closer together. We hope
that whenever one of you says, "Let's talk about money,"
the other one hears,
"Let's talk about our dreams." Because those dreams are what brought
you together in the first place - and running your money like
a business can help you build the life you've imagined. What could
be more romantic than that?"
Copyright 2004
This review is available for reprint.
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