You might think that a race car driver’s life and an extreme athlete’s life are interesting and exciting, with never a calm moment, where you never know what the next day will bring. Believe it or not, there is another profession where you simply never know what the next moment will bring – teaching.

Yes, you got it right, teaching is the one job in the world that is simply full of unexpected hazards and the kind of surprises that can either make you fall asleep that night with a smile on your face or the kind of surprises that cab make you tear your hair out.

So you might reasonable think that at the time of retirement teachers heave a sigh of relief and keep the books away at last. But that is not true. When they reach retirement, teachers always seem too sad for words.

This is easily explained, actually. Teaching is one of the most challenging of jobs, and also one of the least financially lucrative of jobs, as well. This combination means that if a person decides to become a teacher, it is purely from love of teaching. This is why when they reach retirement; teachers suddenly seem not to know what to do with themselves.

This is also why, once they do reach retirement, teachers have to keep busy. They might expect themselves to be relieved that they can finally take things easy, but that is not true – after years on the edge of the seat, sitting back and doing nothing is simply not something they can do very well! They are always so used to having young people around them that the change of pace can be disgruntling after a couple of weeks.

The only way to tackle this little problem is, of course, to make sure that they keep busy – after retirement, teachers have to make sure that they still play an active role in the lies of the children they taught. This is especially true in the case of kindergarten and primary school teachers. At that age, children idolize their teachers, and will welcome having them in their lives again, even if not as teachers.

If you are a teacher who has just retired, and you have a hobby you have not had the time to pursue for ages – be it gardening, knitting, painting, writing or hang-gliding – this is the perfect time to take it up. If you do not have a hobby already, go back to the time when you were the age of the children you spent years teaching, and you are sure to find one. Teachers were born busy. Not being busy is something they just cannot get used to!

For most people today, financial planning isn’t optional. Unless you were born rich, it is necessary to have a financial plan to see you through buying a home, sending kids to college, and retirement.

Some people will employ the services of a professional financial planner, and that is a good thing to do. People who are in a position of knowing what the best investments are can be of a great deal of help to those who are trying to develop a viable financial plan.

It isn’t usually until a bit later in life before people realize that they could use the services of a professional financial planner. Most of us struggle along for years just using our own best judgment.

The first step, of course, is to set goals. There’s an old saying, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail,” and it is true about finances. You need to know where you are going first. You need to spell out your financial goals in black and white so that you and your spouse or significant other are on the same financial page, so to speak. Make sure both of you are going in the same direction with the same goals in mind.

The next step is to make a financial plan for achieving those financial goals. If you want to buy a house, then start setting aside a specific amount of money out of each paycheck so that you can make a substantial down payment. If you want to send your kids to college, set up a college fund for each child. Don’t forget about retirement.

You’ll want to keep some funds in savings accounts that you can easily lay your hands on in case of emergencies, but you will need to make investments that will grow over time as well.

This book’s title “Wealth Is a Choice: How to Choose Wisely” says it all. Wealth is a choice. No one gets rich without making the decision to do so, whether it is deciding to buy a lottery ticket or pragmatically planning for retirement. The first thing people must do is make conscious decisions that they will have wealth and then set goals to achieve that wealth. Of course, the goals must be realistic, which rules out the lottery. In “Wealth Is a Choice” James Studinger provides valuable advice for setting realistic goals based on his own experiences and his many years of helping his clients increase their wealth.

Throughout “Wealth Is a Choice,” Studinger relates personal experiences-his childhood in Manistique, Michigan, his working for a firm that helped prison employees with managing their money in the Marquette Branch Prison, various firms he has worked for in Michigan, and examples of the clients he has helped to grow their wealth, as well as examples of clients who did not grow wealth and what held them back. He also tells his own story of personally learning how to handle his money so he was not in debt. He began writing “Wealth Is a Choice” because he wanted to leave his sons a money road map should anything happen to him. That idea grew into one of the best books on money management I have ever read.

“Wealth Is a Choice” stands out for many reasons. First of all, a lot I know about money I learned from Suze Orman. Her books and television show are fantastic about money management, but Orman and many others focus primarily on how to get out of debt, and how to save money by spending less. Studinger talks about debt briefly, but he notes that many good books already exist on the subject. His purpose is instead to help us learn how to grow our money, which is what I’ve most wanted to learn. I’m apparently one of the fortunate few in America not in debt who has always been good at saving money. My need has been trying to figure out what to do with the money I save-how to invest it, what to invest it in, how to know whether an investment will be good or bad.

I have read books about mutual funds and stocks and how to determine which ones are likely to grow. Most of it I quickly forget. What was missing from the equation, and Studinger is the only author I know who has made this clear, is that the ultimate goal is to figure out how much you need to retire, and then to track your progress regularly toward that goal.

One point Studinger covers extensively, which cannot be underestimated, is the importance of finding a reliable advisor. He warns us that many advisors try to sell clients products based on how much commission they will receive rather than what is best for the client. He tells us to ask advisors upfront what the benefit is to them, while reminding us just because one investment will pay off for the advisor more than another, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t choose the investment that will help the advisor more, we just also should choose what makes most sense for our investment needs. After all, advisors deserve to make a good living off their work provided they are giving their clients good advice. Studinger tells us to ask three basic questions of advisors before we make an investment: What is the rate of return? What is the risk? What is the cost?

Beyond finding a good advisor, Studinger suggests we find a good software program that allows us to track our investments. I have tried to track my investments by paper statements, making spreadsheets etc., but it is tedious and I never keep up with it. A software program sounds like the way to go. Studinger’s own wealth management firm, JPStudinger Group, provides a wealth management solution tool that is web-based so clients can track their investments. A video of this tool can be viewed at http://www.jpstudinger.com.

The only slight flaw I see in this book are the examples of wealthy clients Studinger uses. The majority of them have significant incomes ranging from $80,000 annually and upward. Most Americans do not have such incomes, so they might find such numbers intimidating. Unfortunately, it is people with such high incomes who will most likely be reading this book. However, the person who makes $30,000 a year will find the advice given just as useful. Don’t let the numbers intimidate you. A person’s current income does not have to determine whether someone has the choice to become wealthy. As Studinger points out, it’s about making good choices with the money you have that will make the difference.

“Wealth Is a Choice” is an easy to understand book. Unlike with many investment books, I never once felt lost or confused. Studinger writes in a straightforward style, and his honest advice leaves me with no doubt that he has the reader’s best interests at heart. He has great cartoons throughout the book to illustrate his discussion, and he uses effective analogies, including football offense and defense and archery anchor points to get his points across. I think male readers will especially be able to relate to his examples and find the advice practical.

Lots of people read about money or tell themselves someday they will get their finances together. This book will inspire people to do so. Many readers, after completing this book, will realize that wealth is a choice and be inspired to make that choice for themselves. I know “Wealth Is a Choice” has encouraged me to review my financial goals and plan better for retirement.

Evaluating your financial resources will determine how prepared you are for the future.

If you want to control your finances, you can’t let them control you. You gain control by making wise day-to-day choices, following the path towards long-term goals and by building a foundation of necessities, such as insurance and emergency savings.

In order to do any of these things — make choices, realize goals or save — you have to budget. I know it doesn’t sound fun. But it is the one way to achieve financial success.

Start by thinking about it this way — by sticking with your plan, you will gain more than you ever expected. Budgeting will allow you to realize your goals. You will have more money to spend in the long run.

No matter how much or how little you make, budgeting is essential. If you already think you know where your money goes without writing it down, try writing it down for one month. You will be surprised at what those pennies are adding up to be.

Budgeting lets you know where your money goes. You are managing it. You are able to start saving for a home, for college and for retirement. You can even find room for that trip to Hawaii.

Someone said once, and I really like the idea, that you can’t just make more money to have more money. You have to spend less than you make.

I will admit that software programs make it nice to track a budget. I used one for years to track our spending through our checking accounts. Not only can you easily balance your checking, you can print out reports that divide your spending into categories. You can easily print out the totals of your tax deductions. Many programs even allow you to scan your tax receipts in for safe keeping.

We no longer use the program, due to my husband wanting to help with the financial management. He is uncomfortable with computers. So we keep log books instead. The key to tracking your expenses isn’t necessarily to write down everything you spend when you spend it. It is to ask for and keep all of your receipts for things. If you don’t get a receipt, you’ll have to write it down.

So either way, take the time to add up all of those spending categories. For example, a daily cup of coffee can cost you $547 a year. If you smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, you are spending approximately $3000 a year. If you eat your lunch out every day, you could spend around $2,600 a year. Three drinks after work once a week can add up to $1092.

Cut all those things out and you could save over $7000 a year. That’s a lot of money. Did you know that coffee, cigarettes, lunch and drinks were costing you that much money?

By budgeting and tracking your spending, you are able to see the areas you can cut back on. You may find that you don’t have to sacrifice very much to achieve your goals. After all, what is more important, putting $7000 a year into your retirement savings or keeping up with your current spending habits?