Money School by Lacey Filipich Review: Become financially independent and reclaim your life

Lacey Filipich is the founder of Money School and the Author of the book ‘Money School – Become Financially Independent and reclaim your life’

Introduction to Lacey Filipich and Money School

Achieving financial independence is not an impossible dream. With hard work, discipline, and the right mindset, it’s possible to take control of your finances and live the fulfilling life you really want.

In 2010, Lacey Filipich cofounded the financial education platform Money School with her late mother Fran White. In 2020, after a decade of working as a financial educator, she collated her lessons learned to publish the book “Money School – become financially independent and reclaim your life.”

The book is a comprehensive guide to achieving financial independence, and it offers practical advice, tips, and insights into building wealth and creating financial freedom. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at Lacey’s book, her company, and her overall take on the FIRE movement – becoming Financially Independent, Time Rich

Lacey also offers a variety of financial education resources through her company Money School, (including free mini-courses and blogs on her website) as well as paid courses and educational presentations on Budgeting, Money Management, Shares, Investing, Growing your Wealth, Debt, Buy Now Pay Later, and Teaching Kids about money.

You can listen to my podcast with Lacey Filipich HERE.

Verdict: You should definitely read Lacey Filipich’s book Money School, and check out her financial education company Money School – she has a heap of free resources and an impressive blog, as well as a number of paid educational video courses you can purchase.

CaptainFI is not a Financial Advisor and the information below is factual review information, and general advice, not financial advice. This website is reader-supported, which means we may be paid by advertising on the site, or when you visit links to partner or featured sites. For more information please read my Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Financial Disclaimer.

Who is Money School for?

Recommended for: Anyone looking to take control of their finances and become Financially Independent, Time Rich to build a life you really want. Beginners and experienced investors alike will get value from this book, and her financial education videos. Those who want to learn more about the FIRE movement or need guidance on how to budget, invest, and build wealth will also benefit.

You can watch Lacey’s YouTube video from TedX about mini retirements HERE.

“Our mantra is simple: Financial independence makes you ‘time rich’ ”

moneyschool.org.au/about

Money School – Become Financially Independent and Reclaim your Life

The book “Money School” is a must-read for anyone who wants to take control of their finances and build wealth. Money School explains the basics of personal finance, including budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt.

She covers everything from creating a budget and building an emergency fund to investing in stocks and property, career advice and estate planning. The advice is practical and well-researched, and Filipich offers useful tips and insights that anyone can implement regardless of their financial situation.

Filipich introduces her take on the FIRE movement – “Financial Independence, Time Rich.” The term reflects the philosophy of achieving financial independence not just to retire early but also to live a fulfilling life where time and freedom are the priorities. Filipich believes that financial independence is not about the money but about the choices and opportunities that come with it.

The book is divided into four sections and 13 chapters: How to get to FI, Get to FITR Faster, Don’t slow down, and Time Rich. Each section is well-structured and offers actionable advice that you can implement in your life right away.

Part 1: How to get to FI

The first section, How to Get to FI, is all about developing the right mindset to achieve financial independence and understanding the basic principles of finance and investing. Filipich believes that education, taking responsibility, and having a positive mindset is crucial to achieving financial success. In this section, she emphasizes the importance of changing your mindset from consumerism and debt to wealth creation and financial freedom – without the need for outsourcing to expensive and potentially dodgy advisors.

Lacey Filipich explains your finances as a flow of money, analogous to the flow of a river, and depicts the various expenses and ‘savings’ you have as a combination of dams, pools, creeks and waterfalls (that’s the spending one!)

1. Save
2. Buy Assets

• Cash
• Bonds
• Shares
• Property
• Constructing your FI fund

3. Retirement Funds

Part 2 – Get to Financially Independent, Time Rich Faster

The second section, Get to FITR Faster, is where Lacey explains some of her techniques and advice to build wealth and passive income so you can be Time Rich, quicker. This covers topics such as how to ask for a raise or switch roles or jobs for a higher salary, as well as ways to be a more mindful consumer and reduce your spending

1. Save More
2. Build Equity Faster

Part 3 – Don’t slow down

The third section, Don’t slow down, is where Filipich offers some practical advice on how to achieve financial independence in the real world, with guidance to help plan for when things don’t go according to plan – such as illness or injury. Lacey talks about how to prevent ‘Money in drops’ (i.e. your income dropping such as an injury that prevents you from working by using things like sensible insurance), how to cover life’s essentials and deal with rising expenses that might leave your buffer fund (cash savings) or FI fund (investments) drained, and finally what to do when passive income might dry up.

6. Money in drops

1. Expenses go up
2. Drain Buffer fund
3. Drain FI fund
4. Passive Income drops

Part 4 – Time Rich

The final section Time Rich is all about what to do with your time once you have achieved financial independence. Lacey talks about how to re-frame and redefine the way you look at work, and encourages readers to pursue meaningful activities that will bring them joy and fulfillment as well as financial freedom.

1. Work less
2. Find another way to spend time
3. Detailed Case Study: Luke

Summary of Money School

Overall, Money School is a great book for anyone who wants to take control of their finances and build wealth. Lacey Filipich offers practical advice and actionable tips that can help you become financially independent and reclaim your life. Whether you are just starting out or already have some experience with personal finance, this book will provide the guidance and tools you need to live a fulfilling life where time and freedom are the priorities.

Money School – the financial education company

Money School, the company founded by Filipich and her late mother Fran White in 2010, offers financial education programs. The company’s mission is to help people become financially independent and reclaim their lives.

“It’s time to learn the stuff you weren’t taught about money in school or at home so you can reclaim your time and enjoy life now.”

courses.moneyschool.org.au

The programs on offer cover a wide range of topics. She’ll teach budgeting, investing, property, and how to teach kids about money with Lacey’s signature course, Maker Kids Club. Lacey’s courses offer a comprehensive overview of personal finance topics. Her courses are tailored for beginners or those relatively new on their financial journey, as well as offering competitively priced rates.

The majority of the courses also come with extensive lesson plans and activities that help learners better understand financial concepts and apply them in real-life situations.

I have personally done most of Lacey’s educational courses and I think they are bloody brilliant. With the exception of the courses deliberately for parents or for kids, I think the courses are probably best suited and tailored to a younger audience and those relatively new on their financial journey.

However, having said that Lacey has very competitively priced her financial education courses and even purchasing *EVERY* course would still be significantly cheaper than any other decent financial course I have seen available, or even paying for financial advice (with the caveat that Lacey is not a financial advisor and does not provide financial advice, she provides financial education). I actually think if you want to get financial advice, reading Lacey’s book and completing her video courses is probably a smart first move so you can understand the language and concepts and get better value for money from your advisor.!

In conclusion, Lacey Filipich’ s Money School provides a comprehensive range of educational courses and activities for all ages and levels of financial knowledge. Whether you are looking to get out of debt or become financially independent, her courses can help.

The courses available from Money School at the time of writing (and prices) include;

Debt 101 – 3 lessons, 30 minutes, FREE

• How debt works – why you pay interest, and why lenders are so darned keen to lend you money (even if you can’t really afford it).
• How to get out of debt fast – using the debt avalanche method to pay as much off your loans as you can, as quickly as you can.
• How to stay out of debt – so you don’t fall back into the downward spiral and keep stealing from Future You.

Buy Now Pay Later – 5 lessons, 16 mins, $7

• How borrowing works,
• How BNPL works,
• The upsides and downsides of using BNPL,
• Three steps to make sure you pay later but not a lot more, and
• How much BNPL actually costs, with a worked example.

Shares 101 – 8 Lessons, 60 mins, $9

• The advantages and disadvantages of shares – what can go wrong, and what can go right.
• The mechanics of buying a share – trading platforms, placing a buy order.
• What’s meant by the four common adages we hear about shares: Buy blue chip, diversify, choose index funds, and invest ethically.

Budgeting 101 – 7 lessons, 29 mins, $17

• How a spending plan works,
• Why you might want one,
• How to build your own and make sure it balances, and
• How to track what you actually spend to make sure your plan is working.

Investing 101 – 6 lessons, 35 mins, $27

• What compounding means,
• How investing works and how it’s measured,
• What types of investment options you can choose – including cryptocurrencies, and
• Common investment strategies like ethical investing.

Manage Your Money – 4 lessons, 60 mins, $107

• How to set up an automated and ambitious saving process to pay yourself first,
• How to plan your spending (a.k.a. budget) effectively,
• Options for actively earning the income that makes saving and spending possible, and
• How marginal tax systems work and legally minimise your obligations.

Grow your Wealth – 19 lessons, 4.3 hours, $347

• How investing works to produce capital growth and passive income (and no, we don’t mean the MLM-type of passive income!)
• How to invest in shares and property.
• How you can borrow wisely, if you choose to use debt.
• How your retirement fund (e.g. superannuation, 401k or Kiwi Saver) fits into your financial independence plans.
• How to look at inflation, interest rates, prices and growth so you can understand what’s happening in the economy.
• What your individual money mindset is, and how to use it to your advantage (spoiler alert: there is not right or wrong mindset!)

Raising Financially Savvy kids (for Parents) – 18 lessons, 1.5 hours, $47

• Teach Kids to Manage Their Money, in which you’ll find activities to teach them about saving, planning, earning actively and tax and teach children money skills
• Teach Kids to Grow Their Wealth, in which you’ll find activities to teach them about passive income, investing, shares, property, retirement funds and borrowing.
• Teach Kids to Adapt Their Plans, in which you’ll find activities to teach them about economic indicators like inflation, interest rates, growth and price, as well as their own individual mindset.

Maker Kids Club (for kids 14 and under) – 14 lessons, 2.6 hours, $55

• Brainstorm, select, prototype and test business ideas so you prove the idea has a market before wasting time on detailed plans.
• Once proven, create business, financial and marketing plans for your business.
• Set up your shop in person or online and prepare to…
• LAUNCH!
• After launch, reflect on your business, adjust your plans, make the most of your money and celebrate!

For Corporates – Financial Independence – 6 lessons, 1.2 hours, Pricing by quote

• Improve your employees’ financial wellness so they can bring their best selves to work.
• They will learn:
• What financial independence (FI) means and why it’s important.
• A framework for how money moves through your life, called the FI Supply.
• The three rules to achieve financial independence: save, buy assets and avoid bad debt.
• Three tips and two metrics to help achieve independence.

Conclusion

Overall, Money School is a well-written and comprehensive guide to achieving financial independence. Lacey Filipich offers practical advice, tips, and insights that anyone can implement in their life. Her take on the FIRE movement, Financial Independence, Time Rich, is refreshing and offers a new perspective on achieving financial freedom.

Lacey founded Money School in 2010 with her late mother Fran and the company is a testament to the effectiveness of their methods, and their mission to help people become financially independent and reclaim their lives. If you’re looking for a comprehensive, approachable and inspiring guide to personal finances and achieving financial independence, Money School is definitely worth a read, and her financial education videos and short courses are well worth doing.

You can visit MoneySchool.org HERE.

You can find Lacey on LinkedIn HERE.