Financially Forward: How to Use Today's Digital Tools to Earn More, Save Better, and Spend Smarter

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 43 ratings

Price: 11.81

Last update: 08-26-2024


About this item

Chief digital officer at Northwestern Mutual, founder/CEO of LearnVest, and New York Times best-selling author shows how to use the simple tools of the digital age to get more out of our money.

We live in a new financial world. Our wallets - like every other aspect of our lives - have gone fully digital. From mobile pay to on-demand everything to cryptocurrencies, technology is rewriting the rules for how we earn, save, spend, and invest.

Technology has made virtually every aspect of our lives cheaper and more convenient. Shouldn't it do the same when it comes to managing our finances?

Von Tobel says that it can. In this straightforward and jargon-free guide, she shows us how to use the simple tools found on any smartphone to put more money back into our wallets. Listeners will learn:

  • Six new trends that are impacting our finances - and how to optimize them
  • How to navigate the world of mobile pay and cash in by going cash-free
  • How to save time and money by putting your savings - and spending - on autopilot
  • Best practices for keeping your identity and financial accounts ultra-secure
  • How to talk to digital natives - i.e., your kids - about financial planning
  • What the Bitcoin hype is all about and how to prepare for the future of digital money

Preparing ourselves for the financial future gives us the security and freedom to live our richest lives. It's time to move Financially Forward...or get left behind.


Top reviews from the United States

Anja
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024
Easy to read
Alexa von Tobel
5.0 out of 5 stars Best personal finance book out there!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2019
I love this book and the author. She keeps it simple and focuses on exactly what you need to know. Additionally she really cares about helping people control their money and manage their wallets. The book gives you all that you need to know about your finances in one place!! a fantastic gift for the holidays
Robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy To Read, Useful Info
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2022
Financially Forward does an excellent job of explaining ways to start or improve one’s personal finance. It is especially relevant because it highlights the various apps and technologies one can use for personal finance. The book is simple and easy to read while explaining complicated topics like digital currency. I would suggest this book to anyone looking to get on top of their finance, especially younger adults.
dragonfly
2.0 out of 5 stars I find this book disturbing for a number of reasons
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2019
This is a decent book for understanding some of the digital aspects of money and wealth management but that's about it. I read my library's copy and am glad I didn't spend my money to buy it. She seems to be a big advocate of many of the things that are wrong with our society. For example, the gig economy she talks about has turned many (especially the young) into wage slaves with no security, no benefits, no pensions, and paltry salaries to boot. She is anti-cash whereas cash gives you more freedom, privacy, safety, and spending feedback than electronic systems of account. She is into crypto-currencies. But what are you investing in with crypto-currencies? Electrons? You'd better really understand what you are doing when you play with cryptocurrencies at the present time because they are not investments, they are speculations and big, bad, risky speculations at that. Furthermore, if she really studied and understood systems such as Bitcoin in depth, she would know that, due to exponentially increasing energy use alone with mining Bitcoin, it is a completely unsustainable system in the long term. Presently, for example, globally, Bitcoin is using more energy than the whole country of Switzerland and that energy demand is steadily and rapidly growing. She relies heavily on her phone. Does she understand the health risks of constant high level EMR exposure for her and especially for her children? They are considerable and there's tons of research to support this contention. Do your due diligence folks. And what happens if her phone is lost or stolen or breaks? What happens with a longer term power outage, EMP event, massive solar flare, etc? She's in deep doodoo. She's also heavily promotes intangible assets whereas one of the best ways of building and preserving wealth is investing in tangible assets. Virtually everything she is advocating has both a positive and a negative side and the negative side is that it gives governments and corporations more and more control and power over your life and you have less and less privacy, freedom, and autonomy. She's either very naive or a shill for the power interests. Based upon her exposure level, I'd lean towards the latter. If I read this book, it would not have made me financially independent and I think the same is true for the majority of others. Do your own research and don't take what she says as gospel Start out with books like The Wealthy Barber, Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money, The Total Money Makeover Workbook, etc. and then progress from there.
katarinaism
4.0 out of 5 stars Financial planning mixed with predictions on FinTech
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2021
Financially Forward starts out as a book about financial planning, and how technological advances over the last few decades have shaped the way our culture looks at retirement, aging, and saving for the future; there is a lot of 'common sense' in here, but it's also the standard things many of us benefit from having drilled into our heads (saving at least 20%, for example). There were some useful tips here and things I didn't know about, such as Roth 401(k). There are also some useful charts on the different types of retirement funds, what to buy and when with regards to consumer goods (eg when certain items tend to be at their lowest prices). Towards the end of the book there is a chapter on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency; von Tobel writes not just about investing in crypto but also with the potential uses of this technology in the future. The first 80-90% of the book is very practical and there are many tips (eg, creating a separate email just for financial stuff) that I found particularly useful. The last 10-20% is about crypto, and I found it interesting with regards to how the way we conceptualize currency is changing, but I'm not sure how much I would translate into action
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Super helpful with actionable, digestible tips for smarter finances
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
Really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who feels overwhelmed about their finances and wants to refresh and set good habits. I came away from reading Financially Forward with a lot of helpful tips for looking at my finances in a different way- from automating everything to the 50/20/30 budget and more. The book is written in a way that also makes it super digestible, quick and not a bore to read.
K
5.0 out of 5 stars Timely, helpful advice!
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
Financially Forward was an easy read filled with a realistic personal finance advice. The book was clearly written with this moment in time at the forefront and it tackles everything from Venmo to bitcoin in layman's terms. Books about finance tend to read like textbooks but this one (thankfully) does not. Can't recommend it highly enough!
Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2020
Thought this would be a little more advanced. Was bored by how little information was new to me, even though I am relatively new to personal finance. It would be good for someone who is picking out an introductory book to personal finance.

I did like the list of companies and apps at the end. There are few I haven’t heard of before. I will check some of those out.

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