From - Reviews, Vol I, Issue II
Though
CBSE has introduced stock markets in its curriculum, most of the India is
financially illiterate. People have all the money lying in their accounts, but
still they seldom know how to make that money work for them. Taking advantage
of this disadvantaged population are the marketing guys ready to offer hassle
free loans to help you buy your dream holiday home overlooking the vale, or
that SUV which you always hankered to buy.
Mehrab
Irani's Mad Money Journey should be welcomed for it speaks about financial
literacy. In the Indian literary scene very few books have been written on the
topic of money, that too in a language which even a common man can understand.
On this count alone Mad Money Journey should receive all the adulation.
Mad Money
Journey is a financial adventure. A successful orthopedic surgeon by name John
Pinto is in neck deep financial crisis. His unsuccessful suicide bid
reintroduces him to his childhood friend Vijay Desai. Vijay arranges for his
financially ailing friend a 30 days around the world trip, which will offer him
the wisdom to get well soon. On this journey he will meet mentors who too have
faced a financial disaster, owing to some reason or the other, at various
points of their lives and have emerged as winners after a little help from
Vijay. So John's financial adventure will take him to Thailand, Afghanistan,
China, Australia, Kenya, South Africa, USA, England and Deolali and Haridwar in
India. He will meet people from all walks of life – a prostitute, a terrorist,
a mystic, a runner, a gracious daughter, a happy family man, a divorced man
managing his two daughters on his own, a widow of a gold retailer, an army man
and a sage. Each of them has a special lesson to impart to him regarding money.
The book
speaks of what is an asset and what is a liability. It tells us what is
positive leverage and negative leverage. It reiterates that insurance should
not be mixed up with investments. It explains how exposure to equity markets
will help to cope up with inflation. It steals the sheen away from gold as a
lucrative investment option. It introduces us to the concepts of running income
and asset income. The book also answers the questions as to whether you should
buy a house, if yes whether you should borrow money from a financial
institution and whether you should opt for fixed or floating interest rates. In
keeping with the age old adage, don't keep all your eggs in the same basket,
says the book while talking about asset allocation.
The
writing is simple, crispy and soothing. Mehrab's characters are of different
nationalities with their peculiar traits. In a very little space, he breathes life
into them by making them human with their own sets of tragedies and never say
die attitudes. Their pasts justify the lessons which they impart. The book is
as much about these people and their lives as it is about money. The same can
be said about travel. While imparting lessons about finance, the book takes us
on a world tour making us taste all the international cuisine in the homes of
locales and arranges a visit to the tourists attractions as well.
The book
emphasizes on strong moral values. Mehrab tells us that you cannot be
financially successful in the real sense unless you have loving relations, good
character, respect for the law and a generous heart. This is an eye-opener for
many people who are ever ready to do anything for money. To double your net
worth, first double your self-worth, he says. He also makes a revelation by
saying that happiness come free i.e. money cannot buy happiness. About change
he says, change is the hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and
best at the end. For those who claim to get tips from the insiders, he says
that tips are for waiters not for investors. An investor chases value while a
speculator chases price. The book is abound with such one liners and is bound
to make the reader financially literate while relating the same to incidents,
some of which are humorous and some poignant.
The book
says that the protagonist was a prisoner of money. The basic premise of the
book is don't work for money, let money work for you. So the book compares
financial advisors with pimps. The book opines about education in a manner
which may be unacceptable for the majority. One wonders how and why do all the
financially successful people who impart lessons to the protagonist have
flawless skins and look younger than their age.
Yet, the
book is an interesting read. Once you start reading the book you will not keep
it down until you have finished. Incorporating travel, food, morality,
friendship, real men and women along with the financial wisdom, Mehrab has
ensured that book will turn out to be a block buster. Given the financial
illiteracy rampant in our country, the book is a must read.
If you
are avid reader, you would agree with me when I say that Mad Money Journey can
be mathematically expressed as
Rich Dad
Poor Dad + The Monk who sold his Ferrari = Mad Money Journey
Nevertheless
this book should be embraced as till date many, including both rich and poor,
have not even heard the word financial literacy.
Reviewed by Mahesh Sowani
Mahesh
Sowani is a writer, poet, book reviewer, speaker and a legal professional. His writings have been
published on websites like www.adviceadda.com
He writes on his blog https://maheshsowani.blogspot.in.
Many of his writings have been conferred titles and prizes by blogadda.com,
indiblogger.in and mouthshut.com
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