Soaring fuel prices have many families scrambling this winter.  I know the feeling, so I picked up WEALTH ODYSSEY with extreme interest.  Larry Frank, Sr. has spent twenty-six years in the world of finances, and holds an MBA in finance.

WEALTH ODYSSEY is well presented, though not always easy to follow.  The dry writing style makes it hard to stay involved in the book.  The basic goal of Larry Frank, Sr.'s book is to help the reader achieve a financial plan for the future--a road map.  He uses charts, masses of helpful information, additional reading sources, and detailed examples.  However, despite all the beneficial information, I found certain items to be lacking.

The author discusses SOIL (Standard of Individual Living) and gives a quick demonstration comparing your income and expenses today compared to the income and expenses when you retire.  Based on that example, I am afraid I felt the book then missed an important reality.  The living expenses between the future and today never change.  Personally, I find that misleading.  In the past ten years alone, my school and property taxes have tripled, grocery costs have increased dramatically in just the past year, car payments are much higher, insurances are soaring, and fuel prices are almost triple what I paid when I moved into this house.  There are no guarantees that your living expenses will decrease, even when you remove mortgage costs I'm betting everything else will create a dramatic rise that will leave many people in a serious bind come retirement.

Another issue I had involved salaries.  The "typical" couple in the book are pulling in $78,000 a year before taxes.  That is extremely high for this area of Vermont, even with two salaries.  Most couples I know make no more than of $55,000 per year before taxes.

I'm not saying that this book has no merit, the author does offer some thoughtful advice.  However, I think it a case where not everything will apply to your personal situation.