An Average Joe’s Pursuit for Financial Freedom
When I heard about this book friend through a blogging friend I knew I wanted to read it. It is a financial book that isn’t along the lines of so many others but does sum up some of the best books. It is more about the philosophy of income and money than exactly what to do with it, though towards the end of the book there is more details about the plan this Average Joe is working towards.
I spent a great deal of time with this book thinking about the different points it brings up. The author has a dream, a goal, to fully and comfortably live off passive income. He brings up great points about how in school we are taught to get good grades, go to a good college, get a good job, and we should have the American Dream. Only it doesn’t work that way, not in this 1% society we live in where 1% has most of the wealth and the 99% are living near hand to mouth. The writer believes he understands the path to that 1%. But does he think knowing the formula is the way more of that 99% can move into the 1%? I kept finding myself wondering, does it take that 99% to earn that passive income for the 1% and would I feel comfortable living without working each day so that others that are working each day can support me? Is that the right way to think about it? I am still not sure. One thing this book certainly did for me, it made me think about the morals of money, work, and what I am willing to do for my goals!
One of the biggest parts of this book is the Average Joe working on his passive income in rental property and he walks us through the important parts of it, so it can all go hopefully smooth if that is a path you’re interested in. He also shares some other good debt paths to passive income. I have heard them before but they have seemed out of reach! As a military wife I know the rental side very well. I like that Michael and his wife only rent out homes they would live in themselves. Too many are not like that. I have resisted owning before because I didn’t want to end up having to move and being stuck with a home, but that doesn’t happen as often as I fear and I know that having nice rentals around military posts can be a great thing. This book has me feeling more confident about buying, and then renting out when we move.
Setting goals and how to focus on them is a good part of this book, and one I think most of us need. Again, schools do not set us up for this kind of success. Clearly getting good grades and working hard isn’t enough. We can’t just say 99% are failing at the American dream. But who really is setting them up to fail? More to ponder I think!
If you find yourself not comfortable with money or finances or your American dream, this is a book to pick up and consider deeply!
AUTHOR BIO:
Michael Munsey works in the oil industry and resides in Houston, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree from Murray State University in May of 1995. While working to climb the corporate ladder within Halliburton Energy Services, Michael enrolled in the EMBA program at Rice University in 2005. After earning his MBA, he had a major change in the way he perceives money which he is sharing in this book.
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Kimberly – Thank you for taking the time to review my book. I understand your concern that the top 1% of wage earners are taking advantage of the remaining 99% of wage earners. I had the same concern when I first began to think about generating passive income. I do not want to take advantage of anyone either and below is the way I view your concern.
Passive income is generated by providing a service or product that a consumer desires to purchase. We are not creating the demand for the service, we are meeting the needs of the marketplace or the community. The market dictates the price that the consumer is willing to pay. It is our responsibility to provide the best service or product for the going market rate. In order to create sufficient passive income to operate our service or product, we need to operate below the going market price, which allows for the positive cash flow or passive income. With wise initial purchases and well maintained products or services, our margins should increase with the quality of our product or service we offer the community. The key is not to pay too much for the business, product or service we desire to start.
We cannot make people purchase the product or service we offer. We must find our niche with a product or service within the market or community that people want to purchase on a regular basis as compared to the other products or services that currently exist in the community.
I agree with you that there will always be people in the world that will cut corners to take advantage of others, but we cannot let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. It is up to each individual to set a code of conduct that we will honor in our daily business. If we cannot make the desired passive income within that code of conduct, then the individual did not choose the right business to be in. This is why each one of us has to find the niche that works best for us.
Thank you for being open to reading this book. I am glad that the book was written so that it made you think about the way you currently perceive money. The book is not meant to change your values; it is just meant to make you think about where you want to be when it is time to retire and how you choose to reach your goal of retirement. Good luck in your journey, I wish you the best. Michael
When you first spoke so highly of the 1% I was worried that like so many of those people who do all they can to not even pay the amount of taxes most people do that the book would follow those values that I very much do not agree with. I believe we all need to pay our fair share, specially those who make so much off our society. I learned though from your book just what you stated here, that your aim is to provide a service that meets a need. Your not trying to buy a company you plan to spend no time building and then take all the profits while paying those who actually work in the company less than a living wage. Your plans for passive income are nothing like that and for that I applaud you. I don’t believe though that most of the 1% earned money the way you plan to, I could however be wrong. If you write another book I would love to read that one as well! Good luck with your solid planning!