I listened to this book, then took out the physical copy from the library.
I felt like David Bach is not condescending and doesn't make you feel stupid for not having your money perfectly under control. Although this is actually the first financial book I have listened to, I've seen other financial advisors on TV or YouTube and they seem scary and like they're yelling.
I like that this book has steps and that the steps start out with values. It makes saving money not so impossible and in a way that works for each individual, based on their priorities, not someone else's.
The only issue with the book is it was published in the early 2000s when the economy was better. So I had to tweak some of his suggestions for the current economy. Also, he doesn't really talk about debt. Which I need to conquer my debt before saving the amounts he suggests.
I plan to read his book on conquering debt next.

The Automatic Millionaire, by David Bach, was such an easy read and so motivational, I thought I'd see what he has to say in this book for couples. It gave really great information, but was almost identical to Smart Women Finish Rich, so you don't need to read both. I really had a hard time noticing much difference at all between the two.

But this was a great source on how to easily save money regularly and invest for retirement, focusing on pre-tax contributions. A lot of the information is rather obvious, like paying yourself first, watching even the little purchases you make, and the power of compounding interest. But it also gave very helpful advice on chosing good insurance plans (health, life, disability, etc.) There was also a good chapter on how to increase your salary by 10% in 9 weeks. Overall, very good and basic information for people who might not understand much about investing.

Yes, it's self-help. Yes, the writing is mediocre-- it's spattered with exclamation points, rhetorical questions, and incorrect uses of the word "literally." But who cares! The advice is invaluable, and thanks to this book I know with certainty that Adam and I will be more than comfortable in retirement. Hell, we might even be able to retire much earlier. Here are two of the choicest nuggets of wisdom I picked up:

1. Start a retirement plan. Now. There's a reason that the phrase "compound interest" is usually preceded by the the participial phrase "the miracle of." It's miraculous. If you start saving $2,000 a year when you're 30 and STOP saving when you're 40 but leave the balance untouched in an IRA, you will STILL have over a $100,000 more in retirement than if you start saving when you're 40 and continue to save until you are 65. The terrible paradox is that it's always harder to save when you're young. But seriously, everyone needs to do it anyway-- especially if your employer matches your contributions (in that case, contribute the maximum! You're getting free money!!). People think it is impossible to save a few bucks a day, but as Bach points out, most Americans spend around $600 a year on Starbucks anyway.

2. Pay off your mortgage early. Again, it doesn't sound so easy, but think about it: you will pay much more than DOUBLE the total cost of your house in interest if you take the full 30 years to pay it off. 30 year plans are scams. Much better to rent until you can pay off your home in 15 or 20 years. Adam and I did some calculations and we realized that if we cut our payment schedule in half we'll save $87,000. Wow. Banks are getting rich off us. And, people who pay off their mortgages in 15 years retire an average of seven to ten years earlier than they would normally. Sign me up.

There are all sorts of other pointers in here that I'd never thought of: important kinds of insurance to have, the importance of making a will, the different kinds of investing available. I'm not going to follow every little tidbit of advice right now, but I figure if I can get a few of the biggies under my belt-- save for retirement, save for emergencies, pay off the house-- then I'll be miles and miles ahead. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants the same for themselves.

Solid gift to read.

I appreciate that everything was discussed optimistically and practically. The only quality advice to having more money is to make more money, but I liked getting to read descriptions of all the options.

This book has some good advice, but it's nothing I haven't already read elsewhere. Most of it is common sense, although it has motivated me to want to sit down with my husband and write out specific values, dreams, and plans for our financial life, so that's good. The biggest problem is that this book was published in 2001, and there has never been a second edition. Financial books should be updated once a decade in order to keep up with the changing economy and any new laws that affect retirement accounts and other investments. Also, Bach assumes that the "smart couples" in the title are all dual-income households. Although it is a lot more common for women to work outside the home than it used to be, there are still millions of men and women who stay at home full time with their kids.

Offers straightforward dvice to couples on how to put together retirement savings, security investments (the different types of insurance and how to buy), and savings for your dreams. Somewhat complicated financial concepts are explained in a logical and easy-to-understand way. One kind of strange thing is that this book appears to be targeted toward couples just starting out (i.e. lots of references to "if you're not married yet" etc.), but there is a lot of information presented as if the reader is of middle age. Some other examples of contradictory advice exist in this book also, but overall, I found this book informative and helpful.

I read this book 10+ years ago, newly married. Originally I gave it 3 stars, but didn't write a review. Now I'm increasing it to 4 because this really did give us a good basic financial foundation for starting out: have some type of budget, contribute 10-15% to retirement always and never touch it, pay attention to how retirement accounts are invested, do an inventory planner/finance summary sheet, etc. I also read and learned a lot from Ramsey's "Financial Peace." And what has really made the most difference in our finances is using the software, YNAB (YouNeedABudget) for our budget. I recommend it to EVERYONE.

We love, love, love this book. We actually use it for reference all the time. We also used it to organize all of our paper work and it is so awesome to be able to find ANYTHING at anytime from any year. I suggest this book to everyone. LOVED IT.

This is really one of those books that change your life. There was a time when I carefully followed a budget and managed every category. That may be important, but it was so freeing to learn to the steps in this book. Pay yourself first, spend the rest. Don't worry. Highly recommended.

Precise, concise and informative as ever.

I'm reading this book because David Bach is speaking at the conference I'm organizing in October. Most of what he says is pretty staightforward and not all that earth-shattering. That said, I guess my husband and I are doing a pretty good job...

I think the first few chapters about communication with your spouse are good, but the rest of the book seems to just be standard advice. If you've read Bach's other books or any other books on the subject, then there is nothing new here. A good beginner book, though.