With the roughly yearly Exclusive Books, Fourways Mall, R50, Warehouse Sale, (oof that’s a big one) I thought I should get back to reading more physical books! With AI and digital formats taking over, it felt really good to read through a physical book, to get away from screens for a little. I was a little distracted when starting out, but the first physical book in years is finally complete.
It wasn’t too bad, and does bring a few small, thoughtful points across – I chose to start with: How to Buy Your Happiness by Albert Van Wyk. I honestly felt a little too much he shared sided towards a mindset that if you regularly throw away all your money you might get your money to start working for you, and you might become a millionaire.
There were a little too many repetitions of his main idea “I made myself broke yet again for a few months on ideas that didn’t work out,” as well as a few odd spelling/grammar troubles all of a sudden towards the end. Sort of as if it was given up on before finished. His short version of this repetitive part of his lesson, to make money work for you: waste it on everything you ever think of which might make money, and you might become a millionaire. Throw your money at any business idea and you might find something people want. Not any help for how you can get your money to work for you; rather, it’s because his regular wasteful tendencies with money eventually managed to make it work for him: you only might be able to.
Hence, I’d give it a 3 out of 5. There were a few small points in the first half which were decent things to consider for an improved financial portfolio and journey. Like not wasting money on stupid things like flashy cars. Apologies for sounding harsh; for your safe high growth portfolio, it’s actually easier to avoid some of his ‘lessons‘; don’t make yourself broke just because he was able to.
Some acquaintances of mine, a year or two back, started a small craft business. They invested in a small amount of equipment with shapes and designs, probably some melt and pour soap, colours to mix in, and some essential oils. Our friends group supported it as they started to kick it off, they did such a great job, their first sales would have easily paid itself off, and already it can grow to have the business cover its own costs, they can earn an additional passive income already. No massive financial liability that might lose tons of money on a whim.
Part of what is shared is good, the broad idea to make your money do work for you; however, it definitely keeps looking more like “make yourself super broke, over and over” or you will never succeed. I disagree; rather, with some smart research, you can find and build your source of passive income, which doesn’t have to ever empty any of your accounts. If it doesn’t catch on, you can still break even selling the last soaps made with your initial craft supplies to your small group of family, or friend!
Your financial growth should definitely not be a shot in the dark, at a target you don’t know the direction of, which it seems to show off. In our debt-ridden world it’s not as simple as he likes to flaunt, since he eventually got it right.
From the previous books I’ve read, around finances – review links below, they even point out that your wasteful habits are bad for your financial portfolio. To look posh, he made sure he got higher debt with the best expensive car, what was the point? Then his method of making multiple businesses that often won’t stay afloat, or succeed at all, might never make any income, I’d rather class them as a set of massively wasteful bad habits. Yes, some can (maybe, eventually) start to earn you more money, like it did for my acquaintances. I’d rather promote making money work for you with today’s faster more reliable, researched, methods – not his love of financial loss for fun ideas that might never make it past the first month sales.
I even looked back at some sections where I underlined ideas using a pencil. It was catchy in styles of writing, but when reading them all over, they didn’t feel right anymore. It was the same thing in different words, far too often he shares how he enjoyed making himself broke, and how struggled to grow, as his lesson for us. Thanks, you made it obvious you kept throwing money away, without proper consideration, and went broke for every few months, over and over. It eventually worked out for you, but it was good a few past successes carried you further. Not that good, financial advice.
Sure, maybe it’s to push some point I didn’t notice. Perhaps, the main point being if you waste money on useless business adventures one by one, eventually one might catch on enough to make you a millionaire. Darn, or enough small income businesses worth can pick you up to that status. Nope, I feel the opposite is necessary. His methods, and lessons, are an arrow shot in the dark where you don’t know the targets direction at all. Do your research, and investigations, to feel if there’s even an actual market, low cost to start, and you can start first with a business for your reliable passive income – earlier. This felt a upside down. He was lucky I guess, I will donate this book (eventually) to the second-hand book free library near me, unless family or friends would like to check it out.
Perhaps this annoyance comes from my past, I read through books regularly for my self-improvement, finances and investments are always important. My finances are my own, nobody but my future wife will know them, yet I can tell what I learned before reading this book, were way better financial lessons. I’ll stick to my proper budgeting, continue to live a more frugal lifestyle where I still enjoy doing whatever I want, because as my own financial advisor, I can tell you that through proper investments, you never need to throw all your money away to make it work for YOU!
