Book Review: Get some actionable knowledge to improve your financial health

Let’s Talk Money: You’ve Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You
by Monika Halan
Harper Business
Paperback/212 pagesPrice Rs 399

Monika Halan, at present consulting editor with Mint, has for years been a columnist dealing with the subject of personal finance. She also has two books, including this one, listed on Amazon. Her years of experience and analysis have resulted in ‘Let’s Talk Money: You’ve Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You’, her latest book.

Here she maps out a system to make investments and engineer our financial security. How necessary this is in today’s India. Halan says that a lot of people who want to sell you investments are looking out more for their commissions or their corporations than your welfare; they are taking the principle of ‘buyer beware’ to ridiculous lows through insufficient information or obfuscatory jargon. Halan writes, “… the current ‘buyer beware’ in the financial sector-- or transferring of responsibility to the investor of buying the right financial product-- is a regulatory failure. It is not unlike a car vendor flinging open the bonnet and saying: ‘Go do your due diligence and ensure this car is safe.’” In this context, ‘Let’s Talk Money’ aims to empower the reader with information. So Let’s Talk Money’ is a how-to book, and an excellent one.

Halan tells us how to organise our cash-flow, save for emergencies, figure out and meet our insurance needs, evaluate and make investments, and plan for retirement-- all in 212 pages. The book is evidently meant to be read in the linear sequence of its chapters, because each chapter is a stage in the construction of the ‘investment system’, and builds on the previous chapter. Each chapter is concise and ends with a summary of its theme. All these features are welcome. But they only partly explain the appeal of the book.

Anecdotes, homilies, similes

You can tell why the writer strikes a chord with her audience-- she makes her vital but complex subject approachable, always keeping the reader’s benefit in mind. For example, you find, in the chapters on insurance and mutual funds, the basics of evaluating and choosing from these financial products, which will serve you well when you face their seller. You find tips for identifying good financial products. Here the writer’s emphasis is on adequacy of information. She knows how much you need to know in order to gain what is called operacy-- the skill of getting things done, which in this case means making initial investment decisions and effectively engaging with personal finance professionals. To be absolutely clear, ‘Let’s Talk Money’ will provide a blueprint that you can fill in with some professional help. The book will also help you smell and steer clear of dud investments-- particularly in insurance. For instance, Halan exposes the tempting jargon used to sell you insurance plans that ultimately yield less than fixed deposits. Halan also questions conventional knowledge about gold and real estate as investments in today’s India, and compares their returns with those from the stock market. She also points out the various offerings in the mutual fund market. She even delves into the hidden costs of various investments.

Halan’s toolbox is full of reader-friendly equipment. Her English is a kind of Indian English, with its exuberant syntax and commingling of other languages, which is also the language of her target audience. Moreover, the writer draws on her experiences and those of her friends to whip up engaging anecdotes, homilies, similes, among others, which enliven and humanise her subject. Her engaging voice is just what a book of advice needs. Her tone is that of a friend-- forthright and compassionate.

The obvious reader of this book is the young person who has begun to earn. True. One might think also of a couple planning for a family or cohabiting partners who are integrating their finances with due regard to the principles of equal or fair financial responsibility. Halan says, however, that a systematic look at personal finance will benefit older, more established people too. This rings true, especially to anyone who has discussed investments with friends or family, and ended up feeling more confused than ever. This book should clear up a lot of confusion, and leave you with a plan to move towards greater financial security and growth-- in other words, it should give you actionable knowledge. So then, I’ll be right back-- I have to call my investment guy.

Suhit Kelkar is a freelance Journalist. He is the author of the poetry chapbook named The Centaur Chronicles.