More Money for Beer and Textbooks (Book Giveaway)

Comments closed pending a winner…

“Many students stumble through their late teens and early twenties in some sort of student-loan-fuelled, lifestyle inflating haze. They believe that a budget is more confusing than advanced calculus, and debt becomes some imaginary concept to be dealt with in a faraway land called The Future…”
(More Money for Beer and Textbooks, pg. 13)

[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”left” asin=”0991748204″ cloaking=”default” height=”auto” localization=”default” locale=”CA” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515rxO6VhZL.jpg” tag=”divninjaca-20″ width=”225″] [easyazon_link asin=”0991748204″ locale=”CA” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”divninjaca-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]More Money for Beer and Textbooks[/easyazon_link] is the new book by Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard. When Kyle emailed me last year to let the cat out of the bag, and let me know about his new book venture, I was of course very interested and supportive. I thought his idea was brilliant and encouraged him to go for it! I was immediately impressed with the draft he sent me for review.

Kyle and Justin were initially concerned about their target market, the younger crowd that is too busy with school, friends, and learning the ropes through money and life. They felt the crowd they were writing for would be less likely to embrace the book than us older folks. I suggested the market was irrelevant – as the book would find its way into the hands of those who would find value in it – young or old.


Kyle writes the following:

“The only problem with writing a book about financially thriving while going through post-secondary education in Canada is a “fairly trivial” one: Our target audience doesn’t buy books, and they really don’t buy books about money.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to create a product for a demographic that doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to engaging with the topic?”

“When I talked with Avrom at the beginning of this whole process he said it sounded great, but clearly it didn’t apply to his current situation.  He then said he was definitely interested in getting one for a teen-aged family member. This got us thinking.  Perhaps a sizable chunk of the people who buy our book might not be students or future-students at all, but instead people looking to help out the young folks get a good start in their financial life.”

“I realize there might not be a lot of crossover between dividend-conscious investors, and your average Canadian post-secondary student.  There is however, a lot of crossover between people who understand the value behind personal finance, and the massive advantage that starting off your adult life on the right foot can provide.”


So here we are a few months later, with a great book titled [easyazon_link asin=”0991748204″ locale=”CA” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”divninjaca-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]More Money for Beer and Textbooks[/easyazon_link]. I’m really excited to get the word out on this book. If you are a teen or twenty-something who (by remote chance) reads the Dividend Ninja, then get yourself a copy – you will be glad you did! If you have kids going into college or university, get them the book. If they don’t read it, then you probably will. Bottom line – this book is Ninja Approved. 🙂

Most Finance Books Are Boring – Not This One!

[adsenseLeft]

Let’s face it, most finance and investment books are utterly boring! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started a book on asset allocation, dividend growth or value investing models, only to fall asleep after the first 20 pages. Although Kyle and Justin are both academics, they have avoided the academic style, and written the book with the ordinary person in mind. That’s to their benefit, as I think anyone who picks up the book will immediately be drawn to the easy writing style and personal approach. I think of a few other great books I’ve read over the last couple of years, such as Andrew Hallam’s Millionaire Teacher, and the recent books by David Trahair, and they all make for great reads. I’ve added Kyle and Justin’s book onto that list as well.

Perhaps what makes the book such a great read is the personal experience of both authors. Justin is the Dean of Residence at St. John’s College on the University of Manitoba campus. Kyle is a high school humanities teacher at Birtle Collegiate in southwest Manitoba.  They work with young people every day, which gives them a unique perspective. Kyle writes, “We like to think we’re old enough to have garnered some hard-fought wisdom from our mistakes, yet young enough to remember what it was like to be 18 and experiencing your first taste of freedom. “

What’s In the Book?

OK, so what’s inside and why should you buy (or hopefully win) the book? Kyle and Justin cover just about everything a parent of, or a young adult entering university or college needs to know. Some of the chapters in the book include: the cost of going to school, living at home versus living on campus, as well as the untapped resources of scholarships, bursaries, and grants. Kyle and Justin also cover the importance of student loans, student lines of credit, insurance, and managing credit cards.

I also liked the fact that Kyle and Justin covered the social aspects of student life. Chapter Four for example, is titled “Party Like a Rockstar Student.” I also found the final chapters of the book to be most pertinent: The Importance of Choosing an In Demand Career, Into the Real World, and Top Ten Resume Tips.

More Money for Beer and Textbooks Covers:

  • How Much Post-Secondary Education Will Cost
  • Student Housing Options
  • Applying for and Repaying Student Loans
  • Partying without an Empty-Bank-Account Hangover
  • Getting Great Part-Time and Summer Jobs
  • Preparing Student Tax Returns
  • What a Student Budget Should Look Like
  • Saving Money on Textbooks
  • Responsibly Using Credit Cards
  • Transportation Options
  • Student Travel and Much More!

The Book giveaway

If you’ve read this far, then you have realized this is a book giveaway (there was also a subtle hint in the post title). Since I’m keeping my copy, I’m delighted to announce that Kyle and Justin have provided me an extra copy of [easyazon_link asin=”0991748204″ locale=”CA” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”divninjaca-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]More Money for Beer and Textbooks[/easyazon_link].

To keep it simple, and make sure the book is going to someone who really wants it, I’ll only be drawing from readers who post a comment below. I’ll close the comments and select the winner on Sunday, March 24th, 2013.

Good luck everyone! 🙂

PS
If you’d like to learn more about Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard, be sure to visit their websites. Kyle is the (not so new) owner of Young and Thrifty, and Justin is the blogger behind My University Money.

Comments closed pending a winner…

39 thoughts on “More Money for Beer and Textbooks (Book Giveaway)”

  1. “If you are a teen or twenty-something who (by remote chance) reads the Dividend Ninja, then get yourself a copy”

    That fits my profile 🙂
    Sounds like a great book, I know a few people who would benefit from reading this

  2. Well, I’m a twenty something who just started taking proper control of his financial future, in September 2012. I finished Millionaire teacher yesterday, and got two more recommendations from there! That being said I’m always happy to sink my teeth into some new material, count me in to vie for a copy!

    • Nathan, I think Millionaire Teacher is an excellent start! If you are in your twenties and already taking control of your finances and looking into investing, you are well ahead of the crowd! 🙂

      Cheers

  3. I would really like to win this book for my boys! I would also read it from start to finish, just like I read all your posts.

  4. Sounds like something I should have read back in the day, but I’m betting it will be helpful for my two high schoolers.

  5. Sounds like an awesome book, one that needed to be written and definitely needs to be read. Would love to see a college professor put it on his syllabus but I won’t hold my breath. Thanks for hosting the book giveaway.

    While I would love to read this one for free, I believe others could benefit from it more. So please do not consider this post an entry.

    • Marvin, I’ll make sure you don’t win. Ha! 🙂

      I like your comment, becuase I think this book, Rob Carrick’s book for students, and Millionaire Teacher should all be on the reading list. In fact I think high-schools desperately need a “personal finance” course as a mandatory course! Andrew Hallam specifically says that point in his book. Would save kids a lot of grief before they get into the “real world.”

      Cheers

    • I’d love to see it on a syllabus as well! Rob Carrick’s offering and of course Andrew Hallam’s “The Millionaire Teacher” are favorites of mine too, and if our book ever shared a spot on any list involving those two books it would be a pretty great deal and we’d be honored.

      We are making progress (slowly but surely) on getting more personal finance stuff in schools. The battle in Manitoba at least seems to be getting people to understand that the math behind compound interest and how tax brackets work are a good start to personal finance – but aren’t nearly enough. Right now we have a few personal topics touched upon in “essentials” (non-university) math, and that gets thrown out every time I try to bring up that a PF course should be a necessity.

      Kudos on the altruistic comment Marvin.

  6. I have two kids who are currently in University on my dime. This book sounds like a great resource. If I could only get them to read it.

    • I hear you Jimmy. Hence the semi-edgy (for a PF book at least) cover art and name. Universities have already told us that they can’t really support the book because of the imagery and the word “beer” in the title. We figure that if the post-secondary powers that be won’t accept it, that probably means we at least have a chance of getting teens to pick it up!

  7. The lack of adequate financial teaching in our educational system needs to be addressed. Kudos to Kyle and Justin for attempting to bridge that gap with this timely tome.

  8. I wish I had this book 30 years ago while I was at University.I am going to read and pass to my 2 twenty something year olds that are still in school.

  9. I wish there had been a book like this one when I was in my teens. It may be too late for me but I would love a copy for my soon to be 15 year old grandson.

  10. Hey Ninja, first time reader and I am impressed! I will surely be picking up this book even though I am slightly into my mid 20’s at this point.

    I actually had a question relating to a previous post from Feb that I read tonight as I discovered your blog. Are you still very down on Pengrowth even though they recently announced the dividend would be kept and the stock has rebounded a good amount? I see that it is still a relatively high dividend, but if management says they can support it (at least for the next quarter) should I ride it out?

    Looking forward to reading this blog going forward!

    Tom

    • Tom, thanx for the great feedback, and I look forward to seeing you around the blog! I was going to write a post on PGF and never did. Can you post your question for PGF on that post? And I will answer it there for you. 🙂

      Cheers

  11. Sounds like a perfect book for my son… who finds budgeting more painful than calculus!.. Several attempts to get him going have failed so far!..

  12. About a year left before I finish my master’s degree and I have just started to learn about investing. My girlfriend started her full-time job and is also looking to invest. Sounds like it would be a great resource for us.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

    • I’ll be honest with you Jeff, the book doesn’t cover a whole lot on investing. If you’re looking for investing advice I think the aforementioned resources by Rob Carrick and Andrew Hallam are probably your best bet. That being said, there is some valuable info in the book for people in the final stages of post-secondary education and who are just entering the workforce.

  13. My twin grandaughters recently turned 16 and will need all the help they can find to afford university. They come from a split family and have 2 younger brothers, so money is tight. As grandparents we have started a RESP for all 7 grandchildren, but it isn’t enough.

    Grampy

  14. I was always short on cash for beer (and textbooks). I’ve got 8 neices and nephews in and around the post secondary education level, not to metion my own 2 kids. This would be an awesome book to cycle through the family. May your beer mug runeth over!! Cheers!!!

  15. my daughter is heading off to university in September. It would be great to send her with a copy of this book.

  16. As a university accounting professor and Mum, I think this is a great topic! Looking forward to reading it. I remember it being a difficult balance to party like a student (vs. rockstar!!)

  17. There are four nieces and nephews heading to university over the next two years who would love this book! Sounds like the kind of resource every parent should include in the duffel bag packed up for the dorm; one thing these guys have that parents don’t is peer-cred, and likely to be listened to. Good idea!

  18. This post has stirred my curiosity in the book. I have two young children and trying to teach them some simple lessons has inspired me to start my own blog this year and learning how to blog as I go. Looking at other bloggers and seeing them published is most inspiring!

Comments are closed.