Review: True Riches by Jeff Lestz (USA/UK, 2013)

(ed. note- Survivors have a long history of spending so much time surviving childhood that they never really learn how to be adults. Ken’s review of this book, which provides financial advice, can therefore be seen as an attempt to bridge that skills gap.)

They call it retail therapy but it’s all too easy to be profligate with money to make yourself feel better, without resolving any issues at all. Anyone with a spendaholic or financial self-abuse problem will now be feeling the general economic hangover from the recession and the medicine (unless you live in Canada whose banks didn’t go crazy) is being served without anaesthetic.

Enter Jeff Lestz and the book True Riches (TR) which is a new release aimed at trying to make anyone, whether religious or non-believers, financially secure in the end with the ultimate goal of trying to take financial dead weight off your shoulders and figure out the next step in your life. The best self-help or advice books achieve two things. Firstly, it’s not really about the author all that much even if Lestz gives examples from his own life and summarises his own story very neatly at the beginning.

Secondly, despite appearing on Christian Radio stations such as Premier UK to promote TR, multiple readings of the book will show that it balances out all the religious perspectives and biblical interpretations with sledgehammer common sense and a large amount of humour. Joking aside, if you have the problems he describes over money, you will be kicking yourself that you either didn’t follow his suggestions earlier, or didn’t stick to them if you had already carried out some of his suggestions in the past.

Lestz also provides a budget chart sheet which you can recreate in any computer spreadsheet you wish and the book is a handy comparison piece to websites such as moneysavingexpert.com or other examples outside the UK for trying to get you the best value for money in every single area of your life. Anyone without a church can apply his often repeated tithing references and translate them to donations to charities in general although naturally, that depends on the charity. At the time of release and review we are going through the Autumn charity season in the UK though so it’s easy to see the range of them in the build-up to Christmas and pick according to your preference and percentage level to your finances.

In fact the only criticism I can make about the book is the fact that you might want to break Lestz’s own advice and buy a second copy for someone you know if what he says speaks to you directly. If you are religious in any way you will have your own bible to research the quotes further and directly from the text. Otherwise, True Riches is a great self-help book in lieu of one of Lestz’s speaking engagements that concentrates on trying to get your financial house in order, (however long it takes for you to help others) and well worth a read.

We obtained our copy direct from the site due to the current long wait for Amazon UK to deliver, you’ll find it at www.jefflestz.co.uk otherwise order a copy into your library as well. At just under 150 pages it’s easy to re-read again for reminders.

– Ken