The Great Money Reset

October 24, 2022
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed people to “align their financial lives with their deepest values and desires,” writes CBS News business analyst Schlesinger (The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money) in this spirited if familiar guide. The epic disruption to work and home situations caused people to reconsider how they’re spending, saving, and investing their money, Schlesinger suggests, and put their happiness at the center of their financial decisions. She uses callers from her radio show, Jill on Money, as case studies on how to build one’s “best life”: the story of Julie, who wants to retire early, offers a lesson in budgeting (“a bit of discipline around spending” goes a long way, Schlesinger advises), while Steve’s desire to find ways to save on taxes leads to a breakdown of Roth IRAs. The author’s frank, down-to-earth tone is a draw—“I used to call this ‘plan F,’ ” she writes, “as in I could tell my boss to f— off at any time and know that I would be just fine”—but her advice is, for the most part, superficial and brief, offering only very basic financial insights. Fun to read but low on useful takeaways, this one doesn’t quite come together.