Not sure if I will spring for it yet. Waiting for more reviews. I have read the original (1993) and the second edition (2008).
The references/sources are more up to date, but the methods and nine steps remain the same. I bet it hasn't changed much over time, but I only have the 2008 and current editions.
Here's my quick review of the steps:
Step 1 - Lifetime Earnings vs Current Net WorthIt's a good exercise that probably shows the majority of people that they don't have a lot of what they've spent their life working for. Meant to trigger readers into continue reading about how they can change their financial trajectory.
Step 2 - Real Hourly Wage & Spending TrackingI really like the real hourly wage exercise. As far as I know, it's unique to this book and is something that helps add perspective to each purchase made by the reader. There are times it really helps me evaluate a purchase, but typically only if the total cost exceeds my the real hourly wage. I can't say it's helped me avoid smaller purchases, like the daily cappuccino.
I cheat by using Mint.com for spending tracking. I look at the transactions each day, but that probably doesn't fulfill the intent of this part of the step.
Step 3 - Where's All the Money Going?Again I cheat by using Mint to create a budget, track monthly spending, catergorize transactions, etc. I export that data and can add the real hourly wage calculation into my Excel spreadsheet to see that I spend 7.13 hours to pay for my pets per month or 85.62 hours per year.
Step 4 - What's Enough & Spending with PurposeI go back to two of the three questions pretty often; "Did I receive fulfillment/value from this purchase?" and "Does this purchase align with my goals?" Applying them together would probably prevent me from buying that daily cappuccino, so I probably should re-read this chapter. Right now I use the questions exclusively. Coffee doesn't align with a real goal, but the walk to the coffee shop, interactions with the pople and break from work give me a feeling of fulfillment that's worth the cost in relation to my hourly wage.
Step 5 - Monthly Income, Expenses, & Net Income ChartI update my household's spreadsheet regularly. It's highly visible, colorful, and gets a lot of views. The 24mo. trendline I added really helps display a future projection.
Step 6 - Methods for Not Spending MoneyI already practice a lot of these, so I skipped over the 95% chapter.
Step 7 - WorkThis is a chapter I go back to quite a bit and a reason I bought the book. Some concepts take time to soak in and this is one of them. I've seen the same ideas expressed elsewhere, "your profession is different than what you do," but there are days I need a refresher and a reminder to appreciate the job I have for what it gives me in exchange for the time I spend at work.
Step 8 - The 4% FIRE LineIt's on my spreadsheet, but I also use the Madfientist's lab, Personal Capital and another spreadsheet I put together for early retirement projections. I feel like there should have been a healthcare expense dicussion somewhere. That's an expense that changes in a huge way if you leave your employer provided health care benefit program.
Step 9 - InvestingThis is a huge topic that's covered in a very small chapter. "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" left me feeling much more confident about choosing investments, so I would highly suggest reading that book for more information.
Overall the book is worthwhile and worth owning. It poses a lot of questions, thoughts and concepts that most people don't approach. I get a lot of value from it and it aligns with my goals.