BOOK REVIEWS

The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod

‘The 6 Habits that will transform your life before 8am’

If you’re looking for ways to improve your approach to everyday life and achieve more enjoyment in your day, then this is the book for you. As the subtitle suggests, The Miracle Morning offers a transformational approach to each day that will accelerate your ability to achieve your goals and increase your enjoyment in life.

I believe this book is particularly useful if you’ve recently come through a significant transitional period in your life, and are looking for ways create new structures and habits to increase your energy, motivation and focus.

Find The Morning Miracle HERE

Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz

‘Transform your business from a cash-eating monster to a moneymaking machine’

I believe this is a must-read for all entrepreneurs and business owners. Just reading this book could very well transform your business and your life.

One of the reasons I love this book is that it proposes a similar approach to cash flow for business as that which I recommend through Mindful Money for individuals and families (including for personal finances). I have also applied the same cash flow approach outlined in Profit First for my own business.

In Profit First, Mike points out that what you focus on is what you will get. So, if you focus on expenses and debt, then it’s likely that is what you will get. If you focus on profit, then you are more likely to have greater success in your business, because you ensure you do not allow your expenses to get out of kilter.

There are loads of other tips and ideas in this book that can help you move your business away from the lumpy cash flow scenario that often happens in small business. It offers some excellent guidance on how to gradually get your business onto a rocksolid foundation, so you can start to build the life you are trying to create.

Find Profit First HERE

Rising Strong, by Brené Brown

‘If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall.’

Some of you might be wondering why I have included a ‘personal development’ book in the Mindful Money Book Club. In essence, this book is all about exploring courage, curiosity, vulnerability, fear, self-doubt, failure…and as the title suggests, ‘rising strong’. The concepts explored in Rising Strong don’t just relate to personal growth. If we are to have strong financial wellbeing and fitness, then it is crucial that we explore these areas as a pathway to developing our own relationship with money.

We all have stories of financial failure that can hold us back, and keep us stuck or on repeat. And even without our personal experiences of financial mistakes, we often contend with a huge amount self-doubt, frustration, fear, and confusion around money. Wherever we find opportunities to explore and improve our ability to understand ourselves, communicate with our partners, and engage more effectively with our life, we have a chance to apply those same skills to improve our understanding and relationship with money.

Find Rising Strong HERE

The Year of Less, by Cait Flanders

‘How I stopped shopping, gave away my belongings, and discovered life is worth more than anything you can buy in a store.

Some of you might be wondering why I have included a ‘personal development’ book in the Mindful Money Book Club. In essence, this book is all about exploring courage, curiosity, vulnerability, fear, self-doubt, failure…and as the title suggests, ‘rising strong’. The concepts explored in Rising Strong don’t just relate to personal growth. If we are to have strong financial wellbeing and fitness, then it is crucial that we explore these areas as a pathway to developing our own relationship with money.

We all have stories of financial failure that can hold us back, and keep us stuck or on repeat. And even without our personal experiences of financial mistakes, we often contend with a huge amount self-doubt, frustration, fear, and confusion around money. Wherever we find opportunities to explore and improve our ability to understand ourselves, communicate with our partners, and engage more effectively with our life, we have a chance to apply those same skills to improve our understanding and relationship with money.

Find The Year of Less HERE

Cashflow Game – Get out of the rat race

By Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad)

This truly is an excellent game. Robert Kiyosaki is the creator of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and numerous other quality financial reads written for the everyday reader looking to build their financial knowledge.

This game builds financial IQ from everyday life and cashflow, all the way through to shares, property and business. It leads to the ultimate objective for all of us—financial independence and passive income that exceeds our expenses. It’s loads of fun and a good challenge.

Importantly, this game teaches you how to achieve financial independence, regardless of how much you earn, offering insight and experience into other ways of making money. A great game for older teenagers and adults.

Find the Cashflow Game HERE

Your Property Success with Renovation, by Jane Slack-Smith

If you’re thinking of buying a property, then this is the book for you! It’s full of inspiration and technical know-how for buying a property. 

I have known Jane personally for years, and she is well recognised and acknowledged as a leading educator by other financial commentators. 

Jane has always been excellent at sharing her knowledge in a way that just makes sense. She’s passionate about seeing people use property to achieve financial independence, and she helps you to do that by providing as much knowledge and research as you are prepared to soak up!

So if you want to learn about property, Jane’s book is the perfect place to start.

Find Your Property Success with Renovation HERE

Motivated Money, by Peter Thornhill

There is considerable misinformation about shares out there on the infosphere. But, in Motivated Money, Peter Thornhill draws on his 40 years’ experience to do an excellent job of explaining how you can obtain a really strong regular income from shares with capital growth as well.

If you’re interested in investing in shares, or are simply keen to learn more about them, then this book is a must-read. Peter dispels myths and common falsehoods that even current financial commenters and the media generally keep pushing as the truth.

Find Motivated Money HERE

The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman

Why have I included this book? It doesn’t sound like a financial book. Quite right—it isn’t a financial book and yet it could save you an absolute fortune. 

It is important to keep in mind that money impacts and can influence many aspects of our life. 

This book offers an excellent insight into giving and sharing with your loved ones. The author, Gary Chapman, poses the idea that there are five distinct love languages: quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service and physical touch. Depending on your personal love languages, the things that you appreciate might well be completely meaningless to your partner, and vice versa. The core message is that understanding and appreciating each other’s love language can improve your relationship.

Let’s explore this idea. Say you’re planning to spend at least $200 on your partner’s birthday (because that’s what you have always done). But what impact would it have on each of you, if you discovered that your partner would actually prefer you to give them some solid acts of service or quality time instead? 

Now let’s expand this out to your children (and family and friends) and consider the lessons we are teaching if we always spend money to show love. This is especially prevalent during Christmas and birthdays. What would you be teaching if you encouraged and used other approaches? What if you discovered that your child valued and appreciated a day out playing in the park with their dad more than $500 worth of presents? Or if your mother, brother, or friend would prefer a hand-made present, a home-baked cake, or a picnic with you to a store-bought present?

Imagine being able to take the pressure off your cash flow and the amount you spend on gifts, while simultaneously increasing your enjoyment with loved ones. Ultimately, true value and love is found in the act of giving and sharing—it’s what life is really about.

If you’re interested to explore your love languages, start with the link below (for couples). The book also has editions available for children and teenagers. Remember—you might also find these in your eLibrary or local library branch.

Find The Five Love Languages HERE

The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge, by Ted Klontz, Rick Kahler & Brad Klontz

This enormously powerful book offers five principles to transform your relationship with money. It is written as a fictional story with a coaching format, which enables you to simply read the story and go deeper if you wish by doing the coaching exercises. It’s a highly readable book, suitable for older teenagers and adults.

‘You must act or do something different to change your future.’

This is one of the first books I came across that shed light on people’s unconscious beliefs and attitudes around money—which in turn leads to unconscious money patterns and behaviours. It really did accelerate my own understanding of how deeply interlinked our money mindset is with our practical approach and the resulting impact on our outcomes.

Find The Financial Wisbom of Ebenezer Scrooge HERE