BLUF: There’s a lot in this book. Regardless of where you are on your financial journey I expect you’ll get quite a bit from this book whether it be adding technical knowledge or improving your money mental game.
Read This If: You want a book that will give you broad exposure to a number of different personal finance topics from a number of different viewpoints. I think everyone can find articles in this book that will give them value but someone in the beginner to intermediate stages of their personal finance education will get a ton of value from it.
I’m quite advanced in my financial education and I got great value from it. I actually picked up more the second time going through it.
This Might Not Be Your Favorite If: You are looking for a book that dives very deep in one particular area. Some articles do go into good levels of depth on a narrow topic related to personal finance but the goal of the book is more breadth than depth. Some might not like the variation in writing styles that comes with multiple authors.
If you’d like to buy this book you can do so here. I don’t get any money if you do decide to buy this book. Click to buy the Money Mastermind book.
Book Organization
The book is divided into different topic areas so you can absorb different but related topics all at once. These areas are:
- Personal Finance Basics
- Money Psychology
- Investing Basics
- Advanced Investing
- Money and Family
- Making More Money
- Further Reading
Writing Style
One thing worth noting that a book that is written by so many different authors is going to feel very different from article to article. Each has different levels of writing ability, different styles and goes into different levels of depth.
Some are previously published authors, most have some blogging background and many are proficient on financial twitter. As such, don’t be surprised by the generous use of white space, less formality and more personality as compared with a traditionally published book.
Book Details
I was debating how to handle a “review” of a book that’s so diverse in topics. I decided to give you a little more detail on exactly what’s in the book on each topic and a little bit of my personal commentary. I hope it gives information for you to decide if you want to buy this book.
Personal Finance Basics
Emergency Savings Fund: How to Set One Up & Maintain It – By Fiona, The Millennial Money Woman
What an emergency fund is, why they’re important, how to build one, where to store them and how to open a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA). She goes into great detail talking about HYSA’s and things to look for when you’re looking at the options.
I also have a two part series on emergency funds with some additional perspectives: How to size an emergency fund (part 1) and where to store it (part 2).
Budget Myths You Believe (But Shouldn’t…) – By Hipster Finance (Website)
Hipster finance goes into the importance of budgeting and helps you get past some limiting beliefs that you might have that are keeping you from taking action. There are also 5 tips related to the topics of tracking spending and budgeting.
I would have liked to see some more prescriptive steps to guide someone that wants to budget to know how to get started and do that. People that are new to the idea often need that to take action. Certainly good info in here though.
If you’re looking for some additional info on budgeting basics you can read this.
The “Big Income Deception” – By Steve Adcock (Website)
An interesting discussion about the difference between having a good income and that translating (or not) into becoming wealthy. Steve goes into different ways where a high income can actually translate into financial problems for you. It’s got some good things in mind if you’re trying to pursue (or already are in) a high income situation. If you make the right choices you can turn big income into big wealth instead of big debt.
Investing vs. Paying Down Debt – By Syed at First Step Finances
Syed discusses the age old question of when should you pay down debt and when should you invest. He walks through things you should consider for each option and also lays out his own version of the financial order of operations to help you make the right choice.
Side Hustles Are OVERRATED! – By Brandon-Richard Austin at Rinkydoo Finance
A discussion about side hustles but from a slightly different point of view. We often hear that you should be doing some form of side hustle. Brandon does a nice job of challenging some of the common arguments for why everyone should be doing a side hustle. I thought this was a nice counterbalance to the common advice that might make you think twice about your current and future side hustles.
Money Psychology
Get Rid of “Analysis Paralysis” in Your Finances – By Ceci Marshall at Finances Reimagined
An important topic since personal finance often has many big and complex decisions where this phenomenon can creep in. An exploration of where analysis paralysis comes for you from your personal history and then a series of steps to help you eliminate it.
Make Your Bed. Improve Your Finances. – By Mark Palmer
A discussion about habits and the role that they play in your financial life. It explores why it’s so important for you to create good foundational habits and why it’s critical to get back on track if you slip up. References some concepts from another one of my favorite books – Atomic Habits.
Money & Neuro-Linguistic Programming – By Leandra Peters at Female In Finance
This one was brand new to me! As Leandra says “Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a way for you to change your thoughts and behaviors to achieve a specific outcome.
The article helps explain how you can change the way you think about a money question or idea and completely change your thinking. A Jedi mind trick of sorts to help you get over your own limiting beliefs. I found this really fascinating and will certainly look for ways to use this idea in the future with myself and others.
You Can’t Predict. You Can Prepare – By Jesse Cramer at The Best Interest
None of has a crystal ball but with the proper preparation we can be ready for anything that life throws at us. This articles explores how a budget, emergency fund, insurance and diversified investing can prepare you for that unknown future.
Investing Basics
Stocks, Mutual Funds, and ETFs – By Brennan Schlagbaum, aka “Budgetdog”
Diving into the basic elements of most investing portfolios Brennan makes sure you understand mutual funds and ETFs. Then build upon that to add in index funds (which can be implemented in either a mutual fund or ETF).
The difference between actively and passively managed funds is covered before diving into some discussion about diversification and the risk reduction advantages that funds have over single stocks.
Bonds, Real Estate, Commodities, and Beyond! – By Brandon-Richard Austin at Rinkydoo Finance
The title of this article says it all! A good overview into bonds, real estate (including REITs), commodities and futures and a deep dive into options. An important topic to understand since you can make and lose a lot of money with leveraged investments like options. Go search for Wallstreet bets on YouTube or Tick Tok if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
I especially liked the discussion Brandon-Richard added on understanding risk in investing, your personal risk tolerance and what aggressive vs. conservative investing means. Wrap it up with the difference between speculating and investing.
Index Funds: The Core of A Portfolio
This article is a great piece about all things index funds. What they are, how market cap weighting works and how index funds give you diversification. There’s good information on how to choose a great index fund and the pros/cons of index funds.
I especially like the detailed comparison between index funds and actively managed funds showing the true cost of fees to an investor. The author makes a compelling case for why you should stick with the boring low cost index funds instead of those “sexier” actively managed funds.
There’s a pretty extensive section on the efficient market hypothesis and what that means for an investor. This might be of interest to some hardcore personal finance learners but I think it’s a bit too much for the target audience of this book.
Understanding Fees and Where to Find Them – By Roger Lopez at Upshot Wealth
A deep dive into investing fees and expenses with a specific focus on those in your 401k (which should also apply to your 403b,457 and TSP). This breaks down expense ratios, administration and management fees. How to locate the fees, what fees are reasonable to pay and what these fees can cost you over an investing lifetime.
Just START! The Power of Investing While Young – By Ross, the Dividend Hero
All about the power of compounding to highlight the importance of getting started as early as you possibly can. I really like the energy that Ross puts into his writing to make you want to take action. It’s a positive article motivating you to get up and get started NOW regardless of how old you are.
Timing the Market: Worst, Best, or Slow-and-Steady – By Jeremy Schneider at Personal Finance Club
An article that everyone needs to read. In a world where new investors dream of selling at the top and buying at the bottom Jeremy uses some classic case studies to highlight a key lesson. Time in the market beats timing the market.
The Starter Portfolio: Just Be “Lazy” – By Business Famous
All about investing portfolios! Business Famous takes you through a variety of example portfolios from the very simple one fund portfolios to slightly more complicated 2-5 fund portfolios. Most of these are centered around low cost index funds. Wrap things up with an explanation of what rebalancing is and how to do it with your portfolio.
The Hurdles of Real Estate – By Tyler at Defining Wealth
A motivational article from Tyler explaining how he got started in real estate and how you can too! Tyler really goes through some of the limiting beliefs that people use to explain why they can’t invest in real estate. Have no money? Tyler has ways to get around that. In a “bad” market for real estate? There are ideas to work around that too. Makes you want to go out and buy some doors!
How “House Hacking” Helped Us Beat Debt in Our 20s – By Ali and Josh – The FI Couple
A great overview of the concept of house hacking. This is a key concept since housing is usually peoples largest budget expense. Ali and Josh take you through ways to house hack different property types and then explain how you can leverage those savings to hit your goals.
Trust Your Numbers! – By Uncommon Yield at Uncommon Yield
A well done article comparing a classic decision for those buying a home. Do you take out a 30 year mortgage and invest extra or take a 15 year mortgage and pay off the house faster. Uncommon yield going into the numbers to make you understand the tradeoffs at play in a decision like this. He makes a strong case for why you should really consider a 30 year mortgage.
I should have guessed that Uncommon Yield was an engineer like me because this article is full of great data, graphs and examples.
Explaining Bitcoin in Simple Terms – By Jesse Cramer at The Best Interest
This is a really comprehensive introduction to Bitcoin and it builds up the user to understand it from two different perspectives.
First there’s an in depth discussion about what money is, how it works in the US and who is in charge of that money. This is an important setup because you need to understand those basics to understand why Bitcoin was created and it’s purpose as a digital currency and store of value.
Second, the article helps you understand all the different pieces that go into how the Bitcoin system works: blockchain, updating the ledger, mining, cryptography, proof of work. It really helps you understand every step in the process from a transaction occurring all the way through the blockchain being updated.
I came into this article with a basic understanding of many of the concepts and this article really helped pull it all together for me. If you don’t know a lot about how cryptocurrencies work then you’ll get a lot of value from this article.
How I’m Going to Leverage the Next Crypto Crash! – By Your Friend Andy
This article takes you on Andy’s journey through the 2017 crypto peak, subsequent crash and how he used that event to springboard himself into the crypto space. I wish I had taken action at that time like Andy did but better late than never?
Almost more importantly is a discussion about the mental side of dealing with a bear market or crash. These events are hard but Andy sprinkles in some advice on how to deal with these events so that you profit in the long term and don’t sell at the worst time. These are important mindset principles regardless of whether we’re talking about crypto, stocks, commodities or any other asset class.
Ethereum: The Future of Crypto? – By Stephen Wealthy at Stephen Wealthy.com
Building upon Jesse’s article, Stephen gives you an overview of the Ethereum network and the associated second most popular cryptocurrency, Ether.
Stephen goes into great detail to explain different use cases for the Ethereum network and why you may want to invest in it. I found this very useful since often the conversation is around owning cryptocurrencies and not around the technology and what it could do for people. Digital ownership and NFTs are all the rage at the writing of this so its interesting to see the tie in to Ethereum.
The Power of Leverage – By Nate Dean
Nate talks about the concept of using assets that you own to finance buying other assets cheaper. The use of leverage and collateralization are introduced using an example situation. The problem I have is that the article doesn’t really give you enough information to see if this concept has merit. The example given to illustrate the concept where a CD is used as collateral to buy a car is not realistic.
I’m only familiar with the infinite banking idea at a high level but I assume that’s what’s really trying to be introduced here. To get you interested in a concept so that you seek out more information. I’m just not sure what’s so secret. Are we using margin borrowing with stocks as collateral? Other debt options with whole life policies as collateral?
What is Dividend Investing? And How To Execute It. – By Alex, a.k.a. “The Dividend Dominator”
All about dividend investing! This article goes in depth to explain all the basics of what dividends are and what it means to be a dividend investor. There’s a nice overview of the important difference between an investor searching for yields and a dividend growth investor (which is much better). He also addresses a common debate: dividend investing vs. growth investing. Which is “better”, you’ll have to read.
I’m glad that Alex went beyond the basics and gave you information to take actions. There’s a detailed portion to help you understand what to look for when trying to select a particular dividend stock if you’d like to do this type of investing. There’s really a lot of great content here.
In full disclosure I’ve yet to be fully “sold” on dividend investing although Alex makes a good argument for it’s merits. A few of detractors for me and dividend investing are single stock risk, taxes and the added work researching and picking stocks or funds. My mind is a bit more open though having read this article.
Money and Family
Investing for a Family – By Jose Hernandez, “The Millennial Money Mentor” at Financial University
A great discussion on generational wealth. Jose does a nice job of discussing ways that you can setup the next generation for financial success. This is two in depth parts with different ways that you can invest money for the benefit of your children.
Part one is all about 529 educational savings plans including both and overview and details of how to open one for yourself.
Part two discusses custodial investment accounts in depth helping you learn the basics of the two most common account types (UGMA and UTMA).
I like that Jose made sure to discuss the interplay between these accounts and college financial aid impact because that’s important to understand.
Getting Your Partner Onboard with Financial Planning – By “5AM” Joel O’Leary
Joel goes into a really important topic of why and how to ensure you and your partner are aligned with your goals financially. This is such an important topic because two people who are working towards different goals will go nowhere. Some great tips here of how you should (and should not) talk to your partner about money to get you both working as a team together.
When “Personal” Finance Becomes “Familial” Finance – By Jared Fannin
A discussion about how finance is an important pillar to your family. This financial pillar is broken down into four areas and Jared goes into detail on the importance of each, what they are and things that you should consider. These areas are insurance, investments, emergency funds and budgeting / tracking spends.
All really important areas and I have some detailed articles on each:
- How I reduced my car and homeowners premiums.
- How to size an emergency fund (part 1) and where to store it (part 2).
- How to track your spending and why it’s so important.
- What budgeting is and how to you can do it.
Making More Money
Side Hustles for Busy People – By Mark Allan Bovair at Frugability Finance
A discussion about side hustles with an important discussion about finding the right side hustle for you. Mark is a single dad so he needed to find side hustles that fit into his life.
Mark goes into 7 different side hustle factors that you should consider when determining if a side hustle is a good fit for you. For example, #1 is whether it is scalable or not. Driving Uber is a time for money trade. Writing a book like this an upfront investment of time but is far more scalable.
I love thinking frameworks like this because it helps people figure out what’s best for them. The only thing I would have liked to see more of here was examples of side hustles and how they fit into these different factors.
5 Ideas to Make Extra $$$ in Your 20’s – By Kolin, the “Decade Investor” at the Decade Investor
A look at side hustles providing you with 5 very real examples of ways to make $500/month. Kolin also gives tips on how to make each of these hustles work better for you.
What NOT To Do When Starting a Small Business – By Your Friend Andy on YouTube
Andy gives you 10 great tips for things to avoid when starting a business. These tips will help you focus your time and energy in the right places to help get that business profitable and efficient.
Tip #1 – Don’t focus on being perfect is a great one that I can attest to personally. This blog was my first and sure the first articles weren’t great. But I still wrote the articles and the experience of putting out work that was good enough let me learn and grow. Early on I stressed about proof reading, errors, grammar. You need to get it good enough and hit the publish button or you’ll never get anywhere.
The $mart Sales Mindset – By Josh @ $mart Money
An interesting perspective about how sales is a key part to success in life. An overview of a general sales framework that can be applied to a variety of interactions in life.
Selling yourself to a prospective partner (dating), selling yourself to a prospective employer (interviewing) or selling an idea to prospective investor or customer (business/sales) are all areas where these concepts can be used.
I think Josh is onto something with how critical these skills are. Sales often gets a bad rap but in life you always need to be able to convey your ideas and value to other people. The people that do that the best are going to be far more successful.
Raises, Negotiations, and $67,000 – By Jesse Cramer at The Best Interest
An interesting story about how Jesse secured a 30% raise. More interestingly it goes deep into some key observations about the role of HR at a company (hint – they’re not there to pay you more). There’s some great actionable tips here to help you pursue raises yourself by understanding how they’re playing the game so that you can win.
Being a manager at a large company myself I can confirm that Jesse is spot on with this article.
The 15 Finance Books To Boost Your Bank Account – By Unleash The Knowledge
Any excellent group of finance books that cover both the technical and mindset side of money. Includes some personal favorites of mine like the Psychology of Money (Rational vs. Reasonable concept) and Your Money Or Your Life. I’m looking forward to reading some of the others that I’ve heard are good but haven’t gotten around to yet!
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