Financial Empowerment - 2nd ed.

Reviewed by Christina Wooten, Business Technology Faculty, Rogue Community College on 12/27/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text begins with basic financial terms and information to ensure students are equipped with a solid foundation. Case studies are woven throughout the text to demonstrate concepts.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

From my perspective, the book is accurate on concepts, descriptions, and processes. The book is written from a Canadian perspective for Canadian students, there are some differences an instructor in the US or another country would need to make. For example, Canada has different federal income and tax processes than those used in the US and other countries.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text was updated recently (2024). There is a section toward the back of the text that indicates revisions for each previous addition. Content is up-to-date- in a way that allows the text to be used for multiple years. There are some websites listed in the text that could change, but other than that potential consideration, the text is relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

The book content is accessible to various levels of learners. The case studies (or stories) that are used to demonstrate concepts add an additional level of clarity for students. For example, in chapter

Consistency rating: 5

The layout of the text is consistent and user-friendly. Key terms are in bold face, learning objectives are clearly labeled for each chapter, references are listed (not hyperlinked) for each chapter. The framework of each chapter is similar and easy to follow.

Modularity rating: 5

The test would be easily divisible into a quarter or semester course. It also has chapters that could be used in a stand-alone fashion.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The table of contents does follow a logical path for a finance text. I did find it interesting that Career Planning was the last chapter of the text. In my experience, this chapter has landed much earlier in the text to help students gain an understanding of why the information they are about to learn matters.

Interface rating: 5

There were no interface, navigation, viewing or display problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text uses clear, easy to read language with no noticeable grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is culturally relevant, especially for Canadian students or those planning to live in Canada or Canadian territories.

While I will not be able to use the entire text, I do plan to use several chapters in my next course. I appreciate the amount of detail and the foundation of story that is so evident in this text. The story is, in my opinion, what helps the learner understand the content. Excellent text!