Book Review: Stop Over-Thinking Your Money

Here is my book review of Preet Banerjee’s latest book “Stop Over-Thinking Your Money, The Five Simple Rules of Financial Success”. Enjoy!

“Personal finance is a lot like physical fitness. In order to be in shape, everyone knows they have to work out and eat well. A personal trainer delivers results, not by showing clients a new way to perform sit-ups, but rather by simply making sure the sit-ups get done.”* In this book you’ll learn the financial equivalents to the right exercise and diet required to get into top financial shape.

Preet Banerjee is a personal financial expert, host of the television show Million Dollar Neighbourhood on the Oprah Winfrey Network, has filled in for Kevin O'Leary as co-host of CBC's The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, writes for the Globe and Mail, and has also appeared on CTV and Global National News. Preet’s latest book contains five simple rules for financial success.

There is a tendency to over-think and over-analyze when it comes financial matters, and Preet is here to tell you (and I agree) that over-thinking about money is a waste of time. Focus on the key concepts and you will achieve financial success. In this book the following five simple rules are covered:

1. Disaster-proof your life.
2. Spend less than you earn.
3. Aggressively pay down high-interest debt.
4. Read the fine print.
5. Delay consumption.

It sounds simple, but these key concepts are just what you need to master. Here’s what Preet has to say about keeping it simple:

“Many people are convinced that they need to get everything figured out before they can start overhauling their finances. They think they need a perfect plan. But making a perfect plan is so daunting a task that they never make a start. The difference between a good plan and a perfect plan is like the difference between an A and an A+. Considering most people are somewhere near a C-, an easy A seems like a much better goal than a hard-to-get A+. This book is going to show you how to get that easy A.”**

Preet does an excellent job in showing you how to get that easy A. The book is easy to read, everything is clearly explained, with a little bit of Preet’s trademark humor added in for fun.

Beyond the five rules, the topics of Investing Basics, Financial Advisors, and Insurance 101 are also covered. I also think Preet did a great job covering the huge topic of insurance, and guiding the reader to the right type of coverage he/she would need.

I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone just starting out, and for those who need to learn more about insurance, spending less, and managing debt.

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* Back Cover, Stop Over-Thinking Your Money, by Preet Banerjee

** Page 3, Stop Over-Thinking Your Money, by Preet Banerjee