This is part of the series “Bitesized Insights: Books in under 5 Minutes”, where I summarise books worth your time.
The book in one paragraph:
The book teaches the basics of financial responsibility in a perfect way for beginners. It’s key message is: start now, set up a good system and don’t touch it again.
What are my 3 key take aways?
- Apply 80:20 rule to finances: get the big things right instead of chasing pennies. Those are: (1) get your credit cards under control, (2) start building up emergency savings, (3) invest monthly % and (4) automate everything
- Investing isn’t about predicting the next Apple or Amazon. Picking individual stocks is pretty much the worst you could do. Instead, invest in index funds that mirror the whole market. As a whole and over time, the market increases in value (yay, capitalism!)
- Instead of “cutting your spending” and never buy a latte again, start conscious spending: what do you really value? Create a conscious spending plan!
Who would I recommend it to?
- anyone who doesn’t have an automated savings plan in place or who feels like he “needs to get a handle of his finances”. The book has a clear american perspective, so implementing it in Europe isn’t without friction – but it is still an amazing ressource to start with
