A Practical Guide to Financial Wholeness for Busy Families
Getting Good with Money book review: If managing your family’s finances makes you feel like you can’t breathe and gives you anxiety, you’re not alone! Getting Good with Money: Pay Off Debt and Find a Life of Freedom––Without Losing Your Mind by Jessi Fearon could be just what you need. Fearon is a certified financial coach, and while that is a good thing what puts her over the top with me is she’s lived what she writes about. It’s not theory, it’s experience! It’s practical. It’s foundational.
Fearon’s approach is to create a balanced and sustainable financial lifestyle, and I couldn’t agree more! If you want clarity and are ready to take action to improve your family’s financial situation and well-being this book is a great place to start. If you add being busy to the list then it’s an even better place to begin.
Busy families want a practical, no-nonsense, step-by-step process that is easy to implement and focuses on financial balance. Busy, growing families need the confidence and freedom that comes from having an all-encompassing plan that provides balance or wholeness between income, expenses, and financial goals. If these things resonate with you, then this book is for you.
Top Takeaways for Families:
1. Build a Realistic Budget That Supports Your Values
I couldn’t agree with the author more on this point! Each family is made up of unique individuals with exclusive priorities and values. I chose to use the word “exclusive” here to emphasize the fact that while it might be true that many other families share similar circumstances––that’s why we are not alone in this struggle––their situations are exclusive to them and yours to you. Why? Because no two families have exactly the same goals, visions, priorities, values, and worldview.
Of course, we all have the same basic categories on a budget, food, rent/mortgage, utilities, etc. However, for good information to work, no matter who you get it from, you must make it yours! Making something, anything, yours applies to everything! Personal example: I am a musician and there is music that I love and that I have listened to for decades. However, when I play them on my guitar and sing them I don’t strive to imitate the original artist––I make it mine; I put myself into it. If any strategy is going to withstand the ups and downs associated with life and finances you must be committed to it, and it is much more likely you will maintain your resolve if you’ve made it your own!
It’s just not any fun at all if your strategy is only cutting costs––it gets old extremely quickly! Let me share an example. Our second youngest daughter––of five––in 17 years of marriage never owned a coffee pot. A couple of days ago I received a picture from her with a text saying, “You and mom will be set when you visit, I now have a coffee pot!” To which I immediately responded, “Awesome, why?”
Well, her kids are getting older and have developed a taste for iced coffee, and she just couldn’t afford a daily trip to [insert your favorite coffee shop here] so she decided to make a switch. But she made it fun! They picked out the coffee brewer together, they chose the “to-go” cups together, etc., and they make the coffee together. She made it fun! She didn’t make a proclamation, kids, we just can’t afford to do this anymore and cut it off. She looked at her budget saw how she could keep this treat in the mix, and found a way to save money at the same time! There are options besides, “it has to go!” Be creative and have fun with it!
2. Tackle Debt Without Sacrificing Your Sanity
Tackling debt is a tough proposition––way tougher than making it! I believe Fearon hits on a crucial aspect of conquering debt. She provides and explains strategies that work, but she doesn’t stop there, why? Because Jessi understands that psychology and mindset are at least as important as the numbers and strategies; maybe more!
I can confidently affirm, after more than sixty years on this rock, that if you don’t connect with your why your chances of success are far lower than if you do! This is true of everything you want to achieve because most things are difficult and take time. If you haven’t taken time to understand your why you’re setting yourself up for almost certain failure.
Every one of us has our own one-of-a-kind “money story” complete with emotional triggers behind debt accumulation. Recognizing those triggers will help you identify and address root causes instead of symptoms.
I can’t move on without getting on my soap box about celebrating success, milestones, and goals, however, you decide to label them––celebrate them! Be creative and celebrate as a family! There are so many things you can do that will be fun for the entire family and won’t cost a lot of money. If you’re stuck use an AI agent like the free version of ChatGPT. Tell it the kinds of things you and your family like to do, and ask it to give you a list of things to do that are free or cost under $25. If you don’t like any of those ask it to give you twenty more. But the key is to celebrate: I cannot overstate the importance of this!
3. Save with a Purpose, Not Just for the Sake of Saving
I have no excuses on this one because my dad always told me from the time I was a little boy, “Son, always pay yourself first.” This is another principle that cannot be overstated! And Fearon points out how essential this is in building any kind of savings, whatever label you apply to it.
So many families don’t do this because they think, the budget is too tight, or what difference will $10 a week make? It is absolutely ok to start small; just start! Set up automatic withdrawals from your paycheck into a high-yield savings account and forget about it. Now, I’m not saying this will cover every single thing that comes up. But, most things aren’t catastrophic, and if you’ve been putting money aside you’ll be much better off than if you hadn’t.
One other thing. Agree on the reasons you will access that money and then stick to it! Don’t dip into it because you see something you’ve just got to have––adhere to the agreement!
4. Focus on Financial Wholeness, Not Perfection
It doesn’t matter what you are focusing on you’ll never achieve perfection––the same goes for your family’s finances! This is why the author focuses on Financial Wholeness instead of perfection. It’s crucial to understand that steady progress across multiple areas, that you’ve identified, rather than prioritizing one is key to achieving financial wholeness.
For example, if you stop, or don’t start saving so you can focus on eliminating debt and an emergency comes up you are unprepared, incur additional debt, and increase your stress level and that of your family. On the other side of the same coin if you did start saving and an emergency arises that wipes out the savings don’t see that as a failure––it’s a win! Celebrate the fact that you had the money to cover the debt and keep saving!
Fearon’s attention on Financial Wholeness over perfection is a compassionate and practical alternative to family finances and one that I agree with wholeheartedly! This mindset allows for a healthy and balanced financial plan that can adapt to real-life challenges and its ever-changing circumstances, making financial progress both achievable and sustainable.
5. Simplify Investing for Long-Term Success
Having spent time in this field myself I can confidently say that once again Fearon has hit the nail on the head! Investing doesn’t have to be or need to be difficult or complex. I must echo her sentiments, “Start early, but start now!” Time is your friend and the earlier you start the less you’ll have to invest to make an enormous impact by the time retirement arrives.
Focus on good solid mutual funds, index funds, or Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Don’t worry about the share price, i.e., don’t let it scare you off if it’s a great fund. Fractional investing allows you to invest what you can afford. Instead of needing to purchase complete shares you invest what you can afford, say $20 and you get a fraction of a share. This might sound pointless, but I can tell you from personal experience, that time and good investments are what really matter!
The miracle of compound interest is just that; a miracle! Again, time will do most of the heavy lifting if you invest in solid funds. Fearon also points out another key point. Take advantage of employer matches on 401k plans (if available) before doing anything else. And she emphasizes the importance of not waiting––don’t let the amount you have to invest stop you, it will make a difference!
Other Notable Positives
- Actionable Steps for Every Stage: Fearon’s “homework” at the end of each chapter helps families implement what they’ve learned right away, making it easy to build momentum.
- Relatable Tone: Drawing from her own family’s experiences, Fearon’s advice feels genuine and realistic, especially for families living on a single income or tight budget.
- Holistic Financial Approach: By focusing on financial wholeness, Fearon ensures readers don’t get stuck in one area of finance while neglecting others.
Final Recommendation:
Getting Good with Money is a must-read for families who want to not only tackle their finances head-on but who also value a family-centric approach. Fearon’s advice is practical and easy to understand and implement. She is also careful and deliberate to include aspects of financial well-being that most do not––financial wholeness.
Without Fearon’s commitment to helping families flourish by including the importance of “Wholeness,” this book would not be worth the time it would take to read it! This is a facet that is sadly missing from many who offer personal finance guidance. Not because the advice you receive from other sources is wrong, necessarily, but the whole philosophy of Financial Wholeness is what makes the difference and sets Fearon’s advice apart.