Book Review: The M Word

Subtitle: The MONEY TALK Every Family Needs to Have About Wealth and Their Financial Future

This book, by Lori R. Sackler, presents to us a very insightful overview of the types of conversations that families need to have with one another – beginning with spouse to spouse, following with intergenerational conversations – about money topics.  These conversations are critical to the success of most all financial plans that require some interaction between two or more people.

Mrs. Sackler has a great deal of experience with the topic, having for several years hosted a radio program dealing specifically with this subject.  It is this wealth of experiences, coupled with her own clients’ experiences, that really delivers a wonderful array of knowledge about the process.

Throughout the book are excellent examples, which provide the reader with a portrait of each concept, in the flesh as it were.  The book walks you through the various types of transitions that require a Money Talk – including a change in financial circumstances (positive or negative), such as when a job change occurs or a windfall is received, when a marriage or re-marriage occurs, when planning for retirement, end of life, or caring for an aging parent.  These transitions can bring out the worst in family members, or they can be opportunities to successfully pass the milepost with little stress.  Too often when passing these transitions it’s the stressful reaction of others that causes the planning to go awry – and according to research, it is conversation (or lack of) that causes the stress.

The author then goes on to explain how preparation and planning are important to the success of the communication – and then explains a five-step process for successful communication in all types of transitions.

I found this book to be an excellent guide for the communication process, and the shining star is Mrs. Sackler’s examples.  The real-life situations help to provide the reader with illustration of the process that can easily be put into place in similar circumstances.  I highly recommend this book for any advisor who finds himself or herself in the position of helping clients with this sort of transition.

The above book review is part of a series of reviews that I am doing in an arrangement with McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, where MH sends me books with the only requirement being that I read the book and write a review – like it or not.  If you find the information in this review useful, let me (and McGraw-Hill) know!