I dream of the day that we can proclaim to the world that we are debt free. I have high hopes for my child (and any future children) in the way of higher education, but a part of that hope is that they complete their studies debt free (for us and them). I fantasize about a retirement spent traveling, adventuring, and relaxing on pristine beaches with my hot husband. But we’re not there, in fact we’re kind of far away from all of that, so I like to read about personal finances in hopes that I will find some magical plan that leads us from where we are to where I dream to be.

The 60 Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay isn’t exactly a magical plan that will pop us into my dream life, but I think it’s a good guide for creating a realistic plan. Since I’ve read a fair amount of books and articles and websites regarding personal finance I pretty much have the basics down, live below your means, save, give, debt is from the devil. My problem is taking my head knowledge and figuring out how to plug it into our life. Our life that already cut out the extras like cable TV, Starbucks visits, work week lunches out, and lovely salon hair cuts and styles (for me at least). I know that all the books say decrease your spending and increase your income, but my spending is pretty low and my income is what it is. So I was excited to get my hands on Ellie Kay’s book to see if she had any new ideas that I haven’t already heard.

This book covers a variety of topics (budgets, debt payoff, savings, retirement, college funds, and starting home-based businesses). I loved the diversity in the book and that it was written for families to work through together. She even talked about allowances and business opportunities for your kids. The concept of the book is to spend one hour each week working through your personal financial situation and goals (either alone or with your spouse/family depending on the topic). Too much time focused on money can lead to fights, burn out, and unnecessary stress. I thought that this was a really great idea. It keeps you and your family focused on money so you keep making forward progress, but the other 167 hours of your week can be used enjoying life (while of course keeping your budget and goals in the back of your mind).

The book designs the workouts similar to a physical workout (warm up, strength training, cardio burn, heart rate, and cool down) and I found this aspect to be more annoying then helpful, but I think that some of the concepts behind this approach are fantastic if you’re working with a spouse in the midst of lots of financial tension. Mark and I don’t really have much tension when discussing our finances, we fortunately, have pretty similar spending personalities, so this part of the book wasn’t really helpful for us. As an aside, the book has an entire chapter focused on determining your spending personality and working through the strengths and weaknesses of each that I think would be a great discussion point for couples who do disagree on financial matters.

Like I said, there is no magic formula that will lead to dreamland, but I liked that the purpose of this book was to guide you into thinking, researching, and brainstorming. A lot of the finance books that I’ve read tell you the general steps (save $1000, pay off all debt in a snowball, get an emergency fund, etc), but don’t explain the detail behind how on earth am I supposed to save $1000 in the next month when I can’t even figure out how to keep the lights on in my house. This book starts with some basic ideas to get you going and then leads you through a “workout” to figure out how to reach your individual goals within your unique situation. It doesn’t have all the answers, it just helps you focus on ways to figure out the answers.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.