Book Review: Psych Yourself Rich by Farnoosh Torabi

The title of this book is unfortunate – Psych Yourself Rich will not teach you how to sit on a cushion and attract wealth through meditation. Rather, the author combines the latest behavioural psychology with practical advice on how to develop the mindset, discipline and habits that are needed to build a strong financial foundation.

Torabi discusses how to map out a plan of action that matches your needs and goals and, most importantly, how to put that plan into action. To add interest, she includes lots of examples and case histories. Woven throughout the chapters are anecdotal stories of the author’s life.

Psych Yourself Rich chapters include:

Craft Your Money Philosophy

Your money philosophy is a basic statement about how you should manage your financial life (based on your goals and values): how you personally should save, spend, invest, donate, and control (your money), in addition to your backup plan should money become tight.

Organize. Don’t Agonize

Three clear-cut steps can help you put your financial life in order. 1 – Understand your priorities and goals. 2 – Cut the clutter from your life. 3 – Establish the right habits and stay committed.

Be Your Biggest Advocate

The average person often remains on the sidelines even when getting into the game means the chance for a better deal or rate. We come up with excuses to avoid change and this reinforces the status quo.

Being an advocate means being in charge of your financial decisions, knowing your rights, being insistent and keep pressing for what you expect, understand your risks and assume accountability.

Make Your Money Count

Just because something is affordable doesn’t make it worthy.

“Worth” includes purchases that are of benefit to you and are satisfying; investing in yourself; making the most of your earnings, savings and investing by securing better rates and avoiding unnecessary fees.

Think Five Years Ahead

When it comes to our life savings, we often refer to two primary buckets: rainy day and retirement. But what about everything else in between?… What about all those tremendous milestones (buying a home, getting married, starting a family, changing careers) that help shape the purpose and meaning of life?… For those events we tend to just fly by the seat of our pants and hope we’ll have the means and resources to handle them when they occur.

Embrace the Entrepreneurial Spirit

The world around us is changing, and we need to adapt.

We are shifting toward an individual-based economy, turning away from corporate conglomerates that evolved after the industrial revolution, going back to our roots of individual-based services.

Final thoughts on Psych Yourself Rich

I am not of the demographic this book is aimed at. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading it.

The target audience is young adults starting out in life. Psych Yourself Rich shows how to build a healthy view of money, investing, wealth and aspirations, and shares tips for clearly evaluating your personal finances.

It has good, practical, common-sense advice written in an engaging and friendly manner.