A review on "Let's Talk Money: You've Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You"

Disclaimer: 

Reviews are subjective. What I like or dislike about this book might not be the same things you like or dislike about it

This is not a paid/sponsored review. 

Name of the book: Let's Talk Money: You've Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You

Author of the book: Monika Halan

What is this book about?

    A holistic guide on how to get your finances in order. The books talks about having an insurance for yourself, segregating your money pool into various accounts, investing (Equity and Debt instruments), Asset allocation, retirement planning etc. The book touches upon various investment buckets to put your money in.

I'm a beginner in financial world. Would I be able to understand this book?

    Yes. This book is written in a simple manner. Helps a beginner understand money and investing well. In fact, this book might be more useful for a beginner than for someone with a fair knowledge already on money, stocks, debt and mutual funds.

If I were to buy only one book on money and finances, would this book be sufficient?

    No. This book is a great beginner for one to understand how to get your finances right. It helps you understand various asset classes, helps declutter various financial products and gives you a path forward. The book doesn't provide you suggestions on individual stocks or mutual funds (the purpose of this book is not that anyhow). The author could have made the asset allocation part easier to understand by putting the information in a pictorial way than putting a lot of verbiage. Interestingly, the book has a dedicated chapter on Mutual funds, yet doesn't stress a lot on index ETFs- something that I felt should have been given much more importance.

Does this book suggest which stock or mutual fund to buy/sell?

    No.

Is the book worth its price?

    Oh yes, definitely! At the time of writing this review, the book is being sold for less than 300 Rupees on Flipkart and Amazon. A great bargain for an awesome book! You'll probably benefit much more than what Rs300 can get you. How to manager your money, how to plan for emergencies, what are the various investment avenues available in India are all important steps to attain financial independence. This book serves great purpose in that regard.

Any real world purpose this book has served you?

    Often, I used to get confused after visiting a branch of my bank. Almost always, a banker would talk at length about their product (usually a ULIP), show some illustrations based on my age and the investment amount. I would get lost in that clutter and fail to understand if that was worth investing. This book helped understand this product better. Helped me make an informed decision on whether to go for this product or pass it.

    I didn't understand Term insurance well, before reading this book. I didn't know if it made sense to forego the premiums you pay, for the cover they provided. This book helped understand how term insurance can fit in your overall financial stability.