Book: The Financial Diet
Author: Chelsea Fagan
Publication date: 26
September 2017
Publisher: Regan Arts
No. of pages: 208
The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan is an interesting and fun book
about the basics of personal finance.
Fagan
learnt the hard way what it means to have a credit card, why you can't just
spend, spend, spend, and why you should have a credit score. In her book, which
is divided into and introduction followed by seven chapters, she highlights
financial basics for every aspect of a person's life.
Fagan
begins The Financial Diet with an important note and reminder about
spending: "Saving money isn't about depriving yourself. It's about deciding you
love Future You as much as you love Today You."
In
the intro, she shares her nine tips on how to get good with money in a year.
One
of the things I liked about The Financial Diet is Fagan's sense of
humor, which appears in every chapter, like when she shares one of her
experiences when she learnt about retirement plans.
"Did I
have any other plans for retirement besides "die before my bad money
choice catch up to me?" Of course not."
The Financial Diet, which shares the name and is inspired by a blog
Fagan started a while back, is meant to deal with finance in a fun and
educational way.
One
of the things that surprised me was the occasional use of profanity and in
chapter one, though needed and funny, Fagan has a section she called the
"Don't You F***ing Dares" or DYFDs.
Again,
it stresses an idea that these are BIG no-no's but I was surprised to find some
"shit" and "damn" scattered around as well.
The DYFDs can
be summarized into:
1.
NEVER surpass your ability to
repay your debt within a month because the day you start spending more than you
can repay is the day you fall into financial ruin
2.
NEVER allow yourself into the
lifestyle of a CEO or the life you think you should be living.
3.
NEVER skip checking your
account balance; in fact, you should do that at least twice a week. You have to
confront your spending habits, no matter how bad they are. You have to look at
the history of your transactions.
4.
NEVER expect your savings to
create themselves. (If you keep postponing saving money till you suddenly get
rich suddenly, you’ll never save.)
An
important to point to remember, which Fagan and the experts she interviews in
the book constantly reiterate is that Your
current and future selves are the same person. Your future self will never be
financially stable unless your current self starts saving money.
"Giving a shit about money doesn't
seem fun, but ultimately it's the most liberating thing you can do with your
otherwise chaotic young adult life."
Since
Fagan is American, The Financial Diet is geared towards Americans more
but as an Egyptian, I found several useful tips and ideas to consider in there.
There are things I may disagree with and others, like pension funds, that are
not applicable where I am but they do give food for thought.
A
highlight for me while reading this book was chapter 2, which focuses on
investing and making money on the side, whether by investing in a business or
stock market or doing another job besides your own.
"Be patient. Investing will
test you, wear you out, make you grow, and change you. Trust in the process, and
make your big decisions based on the long term. You'll need to stay true to
your vision in order to realize it." – Jane Hwangbo, a woman Fagan interviews in The Financial Diet.
Although
some points seemed obvious to me, you can never know who has problems with
what.
Basically,
you should read The Financial Diet with an open mind and see what works
for you. You can try different things until you reach a solution that helps you
save money without being austere.
Financial
issues are universal - we all have difficulty saving money - which makes The
Financial Diet a useful guide and rescue boat to your finances.
"Unless you have an iron grip
on your budget, know what you're spending and why, and have explored every
possible avenue to diversify your revenue and money growth, you can't expect to
have much professional freedom."
"Embodying your professional
selves outside the office means forcing yourself to take your habits as
seriously as you do your deadlines."
"We should all strive to find
multiple streams of fulfillment, challenges, and income."
Overall rating:
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