Make Money Move: A Guide to Financial Wellness

Money Moves podcaster Simmons debuts with a slight primer on personal finance. An adequate overview of investing options explains mutual funds, ETFs, 401(k)s, and IRAs, but Simmons doesn’t discuss how readers might use these options to build a portfolio. The guidance is light on practicality and heavy on affirmations; for instance, the career advice encourages readers to “remember that you have choices and leverage,” but doesn’t specify how to use that leverage. Other suggestions are obvious, as when Simmons emphasizes the importance of regularly monitoring one’s checking account and urges aspiring entrepreneurs to “pay your taxes.” The few usable pieces of wisdom are unoriginal, such as the oft-cited recommendation to adhere to the “50:30:20 rule,” which encourages devoting 50% of one’s income to necessary expenses, 30% to leisure, and saving the remaining 20%. This is aimed at true novices (“Think of the stock market as a grocery store”), but even they will be let down by the platitudes (“You have to believe, dream, and then get to work”) and surprising reliance on superstition, as when homebuyers are advised to “ask for a sign” to be “reassured you are on the right path.” Simmons’s upbeat attitude doesn’t compensate for the thin advice. (Nov.)