A lot of authors and "experts" recommend starting with a household budget. It seems from the review that Tobias does too (I haven't read the book). It is sensible: your budget defines your ability to invest (how much you have outside your day-to-day needs) and helps define your need for risk (you can get a sense of your budget in retirement by starting with your working-age budget and making some adjustments).

Yet I think too little is written about easy, sensible ways to get a handle on one's budget. I have my own ideas about this and hope to express them somewhere someday. Most advice I've read about how to establish a budget is just not helpful for many people. It gets lost in the details. Perhaps it is the right approach for someone living outside his means or deep in debt. But many will not have to get down to the "how much do I spend on coffee" level. It can really be done much more simply.

While the author is witty and smart, sometimes he comes across (to me at least) a little too impressed with himself. Given all his stories on oil & gas, commodities, etc., I get a vibe of "do what I say not what I do" from some of his advice.

All in all I can see why it has been around so long. There is a lot of wisdom and knowledge packed in there.