Hi Friends,
The rat race to Financial freedom is not a book, it's a journey. It is my dream to attain financial freedom one day and this book brought me so much closer to my goal in terms of mentoring & guiding me to become one, the rest depends on my intent and efforts I put in to do the same. This book is definitely different from all the books I have read on this topic by various international writers but I have never felt that connection with the author ever. The experience of reading this book written by Shri Manoj Arora is amazing as the book is his journey to achieve financial freedom and sharing the same with all of us. In a nutshell, it's the combination of all the knowledge collected from various sources and reproduced in a way so that a common man like me feels motivated to achieve my dream of attaining financial freedom. I am really thankful to JAICO Publishing House for printing the book and pricing the same at Rs. 299/- only. This is a must-have book if you ever want to come out of the rat race of jobs, stress, shortage of time etc. The second edition brings in a lot of new modifications and gives a plan of action to do it along with the author and a website that supports your understanding further.
In my opinion, I have never agreed more with any writer on the way, the book has been progressed. This might be possible that I myself was looking for ways to be financially free or it's his style of writing. The author's style of writing is very simple so that his words reach the masses. The way he has explained financial and technical terms is really great. The whole story behind the book and the journey thereafter is written in a hopeful & motivating style. You never feel that you can't achieve the same yourself while reading the book, which I have never experienced with all the other books I have read.
Let's me review the book as per the Index and also what I have learned. There are no fees to access Manoj Arora's website, even if you have not purchased the book and can directly seek his advice & guidance on your way to achieving financial freedom. Also, all the excel templates created by him in his financial freedom journey are also available to download for free. Due to this half, the battle is won as we kept postponing things based on the amount of hard work it requires to create several headings & sections of an excel and were never satisfied with the way our excel looks or works. This is surely a sure-shot path laid out by the author and I really appreciate all of his efforts.
The book is broadly divided into 10 sections.
Introduction and Overview – This section covers the idea to be financially free as and when it came in the mind of the writer and what factors motivated him to go for the same? It's his journey and the way he visualized it.
1. Wealth Myths – This is the section where the writer breaks our age-old myths about money and investments. The best thing he said is we don't require any fancy degrees to achieve Financial freedom but just the dream and passion to achieve the same.
2. Technical concepts in Financial Independence – This section deals with some of the basic financial formulas and terminologies required to understand financial freedom. This section deals with calculating the returns based on your investments as per different scenarios and some investment rules like Rupee Cost Averaging and Portfolio Asset Allocation.
3. Financial Investment Tools –This section covers all the types of investment opportunities available in India. He also explains the pros and cons of investing in those investment tools e.g. PF, PPF, VPF, Gold, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Real Estate etc. This section really is an eye-opener to many of us as we continue to put all our money in one basket which will be taxed heavily later. He explains all of these tools with relevant examples from his own life and how to create a perfect bouquet of benefits out of all of these investment tools.
4. Tools for Wealth Protection - This is a new chapter added in the second edition and covers the various types of insurance available to protect your hard-earned money.
5. Principles of Wealth Accumulation – This section covers some of the knowledge which he has acquired through wide reading and from working in different environments across the Globe. He has summed up the knowledge which he has gained in all these years of his existence for us. I loved this section because it really made me jump out of my bed to make a plan for myself. I really felt resonated with all the learning as I was able to reflect it with my life.
Reproducing some part of the Index for reader's benefit -
1. Have a strong reason
2. Decide to become Wealthy
3. Start Early
4. Unleash the power of Compounding
5. Get rid of credit cards
6. Sharpen your financial saw
7. Stop Procrastinating, get started
8. Invest regularly
9. Keep your partner informed
10. Get the right attitude
These are some of the learning, and all of them are explained in a unique style and you will learn them very quickly as the author comes up with his life examples.
6. Building and Balancing your portfolio - Based on your age, general criteria for portfolio asset allocation have been provided but you can decide your own as per your risk appetite and various other important timelines and factors in your own life.
7. Track Your Own Financial Freedom Plan – This section is the main part where you need to actually get down to work. This section is more about doing and execution. This is the main part of the book if you want to achieve financial freedom. If you just want to read through and no action is taken will leave you with nothing in the end. The author has divided the process into 8 simple steps but this journey takes lifelong for many of us. This 86 pages section is the summary of the author's many years of hard work and learning put in front of you so that you achieve your dreams. At this juncture of my review, I remember the words of Swami Vivekananda, “Arise, Awake and Stop not till the Goal is reached”.
8. Saving on Taxes – This section tells you about safeguarding your income & cash flows from the teeth of tax. He tells you various ways to save some tax through different Sections of Income Tax. As Income Tax is a vast field, so he has covered some of the relevant topics only.
9. Before Calling it a Day – This section helps you decide on when to say bye to your job as you are fully confident that you have achieved your goal of Financial Freedom.
10. Go For It – This section deals with the feeling and confidence it gives you once you are Financially free. The author shares his experiences and wants the same for us too.
Glossary – All the financial terms are explained as a part of this section.
I would definitely give 5/5 stars for this book as the author has shared all of his knowledge & experience so that we too can achieve what we set out for! This book is definitely better than reading some International Authors who explain things as per USA or UK economies. This book is for all Indians dreaming to achieve FINANCIAL FREEDOM!!! Thanks!
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Cheers!!!
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