The Secret Language of Money

Everyone knows that they should live below their means, save for retirement, pay off debt and so on, but why do so many people fail? The math is simple and does not lie; yet many people fail to save enough money and fall too far in debt. Maybe personal finance is about more than just math? The Secret Language of Money tries to tackle this issue from a psychological point of view.

What is The Secret Language Of Money about
The book is a look at the psychological aspect of money management. What is your money story? How has your early life experience affected your perception of money and money management skills? The authors tackle personal finance from a psychological and behavioral point of view, they do not talk about what our savings rate should be or what type of portfolio to have. It provides the reader with the tools to understand why they perceive money the way they do and how to change their behavior. The primary author of this book is Dr. David Krueger, who is a psychiatrist and an Executive Mentor Coach. Krueger touches on many important aspects of psychology and money, such as early experiences with money and your money story.  He effectively uses many real life examples from his practice to illustrate these notions. The authors’ do an excellent job in brining psychology and money together.

What I Like:

• A different view on personal finance – not just focusing on math but rather on a journey to explore one’s true attitude and feelings towards money and how to change these behaviors.
• Excellent integration of psychology and money, clear examples used to illustrate arguments.
• No jargon, there are no (or not many) psychology or finance jargon used.
• Work sheets – worksheets are included to help reader assess their personal money attitude.

What I Don’t Like:

• Sidetracking – There were times when the authors sidetracked too far away from the main topic, sometimes it felt as if I was reading a psychology textbook.

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Conclusion:
As you can see I do not have many complains about the book. I very much enjoyed it and it was refreshing to read a book on personal finance and learn something new. I believe understanding one’s money psychology is crucial in order to be financially successful and this book does an excellent job in helping readers understand their money story. Just be warned that it might get a little boring towards the middle section of it, but can be of great benefit in the long run. If you are looking for the usual personal finance book and basic budgeting and saving tips then look away, however if you want to get a better understanding of your finances and your thoughts and feelings towards this sensitive topic then this is a must-read for you.

Financial Highway Rating: [rating=5]