Monday 27 November 2017

BOOK OF THE WEEK: THE POUCHPLAN BUDGET BY MITCHELL WALKER



Hello people.

The Pouchplan is a budgeting tool created by Mitchell Walker to help individuals take control of their finances. In the introductory chapter of the book, The Pouchplan Budget, Mitchell seeks to establish credibility by explaining that he worked for fifteen years as the vice president of finance for a Berkshire Hathaway company and thus has experience analysing and reviewing thousands of budgets. 

He then describes how he was broke and in debt in the late 1980s, to the extent of looking for change under the couch cushions in his home just to get gas money for his car. The Pouchplan, he claims, was the shovel he used to dig his family out of financial distress and into financial security.

The author in chapter one explains how the Pouchplan works. All that is needed is for users of the plan to write down their regular income, their fixed expenses and finally their variable expenses, and then the Pouchplan budget system will provide specific instructions for users to follow when payday arrives. Someone is probably thinking now; “This is just too good to be true.” 

I must confess that I had mixed feelings after reading the book. First, I think I sort of expected more; perhaps the dos and don’ts of budgeting or that sort of thing. The book, however, is based entirely on the Pouchplan tool. I also wondered as to the seeming simplicity of the tool; bearing in mind the fact that a lot of budgeting tools are rather complex and complicated, to say the least.


Fortunately for doubting Thomases, the Pouchplan can be downloaded for free via the website, www.pouchplan.com. It’s a plus on the part of the author that he is interested in receiving feedback from users, whether positive or negative, and he even mentions the possibility of tailoring the Pouchplan to suit the individual’s needs where possible. Readers interested in a budgeting tool will find this book quite useful. 

Monday 20 November 2017

BOOK OF THE WEEK: KIKELOMO; THE MEMOIR OF AN ABUSED GIRL

Hello people.

The more books I read, the more I am convinced that there is truth in the saying, “Do not judge a book by its cover or title.”

About a couple of weeks ago, I saw a book titled Kikelomo on the Okadabooks store. The cover was not particularly eye-catching and the bland title did not help matters either, so I simply moved on and looked at other books on the app.

Some days ago, however, I came across the book again and was surprised to see that it had been downloaded over a thousand times. Intrigued by this occurrence, I downloaded it[seeing as it was free], started reading and, filled with a sense of incredulity, looked up the author on Google hoping to get some sort of confirmation regarding her story.


The book, Kikelomo, is a memoir written by well-known Nigerian photographer, Kikelomo Woleosho, in which she describes in details the sexual abuse she suffered as a child; her struggle with masturbation as well as her journey to wholeness.

Raised by a mother who suffered from chronic depression, Kikelomo, whose father was based in the United Kingdom, found herself alone and having to tend to her younger siblings for a better part of her life.

Left in the care of a neighbour at age seven, Kike was sexually molested by him and thus, was introduced to the world of sex and masturbation.

The sexual abuse did not stop there. Entrusted to the care of a relative who also abused her, Kike was molested right up to her adolescence and only until she encountered the Spiritual did she begin to receive a sense of healing and wholeness as an individual.

I love Kikelomo’s frankness in the book. To be candid, at a point I had to check her profile via Google to be sure the author was for real and not writing  made-up stories. Amongst other things, Kikelomo Woleosho is a member of Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative [YALI] and a recipient of the World Bank scholarship for women in business.


Parents, child care givers and all lovers of children will do well to read this evocative book as it offers insight into the world of children and how they can be preyed upon by sexual predators. Interested readers can download the book on the Okadabooks store via this link: https://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/kikelomo_the_memoir_of_an_abused_girl/15306#.WhLa-aSgnqE.link

Monday 6 November 2017

Welcome to Lauretta Ani's Blog: BOOK REVIEW: DESTITUTIO QUOD REMISSIO by BRETT ARM...

Click on the link below to read the book review...

Welcome to Lauretta Ani's Blog: BOOK REVIEW: DESTITUTIO QUOD REMISSIO by BRETT ARM...: Hello people. The first time I saw the book Destitutio Quod Remissio , two things struck me immediately. First, the title of the book. ...