Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Advice; Solid Financial Game Plan
Review: "Die Broke" is far superior to many much more popular personal finance books. Author Pollan is pragmatic in steering individuals to avoid the "wage slave" trap the vast majority of us bungle our way into. Among many noteworthy observations, Pollan wisely points out how home ownership is not the near-guaranteed money maker it once was. This book is a perfect gift for the college graduate or someone in their mid-20s. Following Pollan's advice empowers someone to be responsive to the real world of declining living standards for most of us and practically no job security. I do feel one is better buying a 3-5 year old Japanese car and keeping it 10 years while Pollan recommends continously leasing new cars. This book is an overlooked gem that deserves the occasional re-reading.
Rating:
Summary: Money talks...but all mine ever says is good-bye
Review: "Die Broke" was an interesting read although not what I was looking for.I got the broke part down years ago with out much effort. Now I just need to decide on how to best achieve the rest of the formula.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Bankruptcy Recovery
Review: As baby boomers that lost it all and is in the process of rebuilding our life, we found this book to be very helpful. In addition, it points out the hardest lesson that we've learned - your employer is not loyal to you and you can't count on them to take care of you. This book isn't going to make you wealthy, and that is not its intent. This information in this book, paired with info from Suze Orman, are powerful tools for protecting yourself from future crises. It isn't always right on the money, but it offers food for thought and practical advice. You won't find any book that has all the answers - if that were true, we'd all be rich.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Bankruptcy Recovery
Review: As baby boomers that lost it all and is in the process of rebuilding our life, we found this book to be very helpful. In addition, it points out the hardest lesson that we've learned - your employer is not loyal to you and you can't count on them to take care of you. This book isn't going to make you wealthy, and that is not its intent. This information in this book, paired with info from Suze Orman, are powerful tools for protecting yourself from future crises. It isn't always right on the money, but it offers food for thought and practical advice. You won't find any book that has all the answers - if that were true, we'd all be rich.
Rating: 
Summary: Pollan's "radical" plan should be considered!
Review: Before taking my flight to Honolulu from San Francisco, I decided to visit the terminal bookstore and find a book to entertain me during my 5 hour flight. In the sale section was this book "Die Broke: A Radical 4-part Personal Finance Plan." Being open to radical ideas, I decided to purchase it for entertainment purposes. The book is broken into 2 sections: Section 1 describes the plan in detail. Lots of good information to consider. Again, the key word is consider! I particularly liked the author's view of today's work world (Quit Today!), Pay Cash, & Don't Retire. It all makes sense to me, yet I'm a 28 year old gen'xer that has read quite a few finance planning books out there. Most of the finance books out there in reality do preach "outdated" concepts. Pollan's 4 point plan is indeed refreshing, especially as we enter the new millenium. The second half addresses various topics such as stocks, mutual funds, insurance, ATM's, debit cards, you name it. Although it was a breeze to read through this section, I was a little disappointed in that it should have been written more in depth as how it relates to the "Die Broke" philosophy, rather than a quick and dirty write-up. All in all, I'm going to embrace most of his finance plan. All in all, Pollan and Levine are geniuses. Read the book with an open mind. After all, you CHOOSE what you accept to believe in. :)
Rating:
Summary: Read this book first before you read any other
Review: Die Broke is an excellent book. Author Stephen M. Pollan takes a philosophical look at our concept of retirement--a concept created for another generation based on a different value system. The idea that we must retire at the age of 65, build wealth until we die, and leave a big inheritance for our children is one founded upon the needs of society during the industrial age. Pollan's idea is that now that we are in the information age, there is no need to retire until we want to. We also needn't wait until we die to help our children (long past their most needful times). By setting up proper cash-flow investments, we can live a good life, help our children, and keep ourselves financially secure until we die. Many people, including myself, worry continually about how to raise the money needed to survive for thirty years after retirement. Pollan's ideas help us to break out of the outdated concepts that give us these feelings so that we can feel better about ourselves and our current financial state.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Book to Get on Personal Finance
Review: I bought this book because I liked the quirky title. I then proceeded to read the entire thing in a single sitting. Once you get the idea, following it through to the various logical conclusions is enthralling. Imagine saying that about a book dealing with finance! It is also engagingly written. I thought I was the only crackpot who looked at things this way, although I had not carried out the ideas fully. Now I am encouraged to continue owning my life. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Rock Solid Advice To Getting Your Financial Life In Order
Review: I never thought a book like this would so strongly affect how I view my finances. I'm an average guy who made bad credit and debt mistakes in my early 20's. I had tried for years to get my finances together, but was only half successful. This book helped me get it all together. It was the keystone of financial advice that I had never quite mastered up to that point. If you habitually overspend, run up debt, and never feel like you're getting ahead, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, A Real Financial Argument
Review: I'd strongly consider this book very carefully if I were you. This is not a book for the "Feel Good" crowd who thing they can save 10% for X amount of years, and retire at 55 like Donald Trump. Pollard, using very specific evidence, points out how that simply won't work for you anymore.
I've read several of the types of books outlined above - they're all the same; they all present superficial arguments cloaked in cutesy little stories; and they all are written for mass consumption designed to sell as many books to lemmings as possible. Don't be a lemming.
I've already implemented some of the ideas in the book like: pay cash. And I can see even that little reliance on 0% offers I used to have, has become a burden, when it runs out and the balance must be paid off. Interstingly Pollard likens this to drug dealers giving out free crack. And he's right, even someone as disciplined as myself (who always pays the balance in full) has had his self-control tested by these offers. I only mention this because of how irritatingly negative/sophomoric the previous reviewers comments were about paying off Credit. He is "a young Gen Xer" who has all the answers - probably with one Credit card for 1 year. Just wait - lets see how disciplined you are in the future with paying it off in full - just wait and see.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe more pertinent now than when published
Review: My contention is that if I get one good idea out of a self-help book, it's time well spent. I got one good idea. QED. BUT . . . Ethically, I also have a problem with his advice to treat every job you have as nothing more than a way to make money. His illustrations are almost all of highly educated New Yorkers making 6-figure incomes, who started fairly young and have lots of time to follow his advice. Which is essentially: stay out of debt; pay attention to how much you actually spend; don't sell yourself short in terms of your ability to bring in $. His advice on reverse mortgages, annuities and insurance are good counterweight to much of the received wisdom . . . but if you use this as your only source of advice, you are likely to find yourself in deep trouble. Fast.
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