Years from now, when the internet is as obscure and unknowable as Linear A, archaeologists are going to unearth books, still well-preserved, that say things like:
“If you haven’t taken the R:IQ assessment yet, do it now! Take it for free at chrishogan360.com.”
And these archaeologists are going to scratch their heads and say, “what in the world could this have been? If only they were able to preserve this internet thing better, we’d know what this meant.”
Yes, Chris Hogan’s first book, Retire Inspired, is a “bionic book”, in that it requires a web site to be used most effectively.
But unlike the Tony Robbins book: Money: Master the Game, which despite its heft felt like one big ad for the site (which no longer exists in its original form), does this book deliver?
Table of Contents
Enter Chris Hogan
At this year’s FinCon, Chris Hogan was one of the keynote speakers.
He was doing a promotion where if you pre-ordered his upcoming book, Everyday Millionaires, you could get his previous book, Retire Inspired, plus a meet and greet with him.
I had never gotten around to getting that book, and was very curious about the new one, so I went in on it. Because, who doesn’t want to retire inspired? Hell, a lot of people are worried that they won’t even be able to retire at all.
Chris Hogan is a “Ramsey Personality“, which means that he is part of the Dave Ramsey organization, pushing a particular angle or speaking to a particular demographic. Chris Hogan is the retirement expert.
It makes sense that Dave Ramsey would try to expand his message away from just Dave himself. After all, the guy can’t keep it up forever.
However, I’ve always thought the people in Dave’s orbit have it a little tough. Because let’s be honest, there is basically no room for original/individual thought. Dave will not, understandably, tolerate any deviations from his recommendations, his plans, or his Baby Steps. They can’t do what I did recently, which is to discuss the Baby Steps critically.
Consequently, the book sometimes reads a little like “Chris Teaches Dave’s Baby Steps”. Which is no bad thing, to be honest. The Baby Steps are generally spot on, and Chris Hogan is funny, charming, and has that I’m-gonna-pump-you-up attitude that resonates with a lot of people, myself included. He is totally an asset to Dave’s team.
However, I’m left with a sense that this book could have been a little bit more. And perhaps this is where the idea of the R:IQ assessment test comes in.
R:IQ
The R:IQ assessment test (it stands for “Retire Inspired Quotient”, and I have no idea why there’s a colon in there) is an online assessment that steps you through a few simple questions about your financial situation, and then outputs a number that is your financial retirement savings goal.
Now, I’ll talk about the R:IQ in a different post, but an obvious problem with tying the R:IQ to the book is that the book assumes that the R:IQ website will be around as long as the book will be read, and there is a 0% chance of that happening.
This is a problem. Print media and digital media have different very shelf lives, and authors and publishers continually fail to realize this.
Will this book be useless once the R:IQ is no longer around? Thankfully, no. The lessons in the book are still valid; you just won’t get an opinion on what your target savings goal is. That’s fine; you can get that other places.
Summary
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The book sometimes reads a little like “Chris Hogan Teaches Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps”. Which is no bad thing.[/perfectpullquote]
On balance I think this is a solid book with lots of good information. I recommend it for those looking for a solid boost of encouragement regarding their retirement plans.
It feels very similar in content to Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, but some people may feel like Chris speaks to them more effectively than Dave does, and that’s just as important as any new original idea.
Just make sure to take that R:IQ test while you can; I have no idea how long it’s going to be around.
