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DISCLAIMER: If you are looking for a book that would give you "tips" on investing or trading, don't pick this one up.

First thoughts - A super easy and fun read, but it was a little different than what I had expected. Just going by the title of the book, I had anticipated that the author would probably take a deep dive into the behavioral economics and decision analysis of all aspects of money in our life but it turned out to be a rudimentary take (albeit an insightful one) on these topics.

This book can be read by people of all ages and it would probably make sense to them, you don't need to have much background in investing, trading or finance in general. Each chapter of the book is essentially a broad "psycho-financial" concept (if at all "psycho-financial" is a word, if not I just coined it and you likely understand what it means) which the author tries to elucidate by a mixture of real-world examples both of finance and non-finance flavors, quotes from renowned people and excerpts from other famous books. For example, when explaining the concept of compounding assets, the author uses the example of ice ages, and how a small starting base can lead to results so extraordinary just because a little growth serves as the fuel for future growth. You just need to give it time. Warren Buffet's skill is investing but his secret is time.

Most of the lessons in the book are trivial commonplace by nature but as it is often said, cliches exist because they work quite well in real life. Some major personal takeaways from the book which I can safely recall are:

1. Finance and investing is not HARD SCIENCE. Your success is driven by luck and how you behave and often your intelligence and efforts don't play a role.

2. Set your own financial goals, what works for someone else might not work for you because their goals are different. When people start following each other randomly, just because something is
"talk of the town", it leads to bubbles. Depending on your goal, follow a long term strategy and stick to it, even in lean economic years.

3. There is a semantic and experiential difference between being rich and being wealthy. One should focus on being the latter rather than the former. Simply put, rich folks flash money while people become wealthy by saving money. Unfortunately, we often underestimate the power of frugality and savings, and put more faith in investing strategies. If we just try to focus on being less extravagant, it can often have more compounding long term effects on our wealth than a supposedly high return investing strategy.

4. You're an emotional entity. Trust your gut more than what your rational mind asks you to do. If you are not comfortable in investing in the stock market, as it makes you more anxious, don't do it. Invest in something safer which at least guarantees you a good night's sleep. Your rational mind might say that it is probably better to invest in the stock market for high ROI but if it leads to anxiety, then what's the point of it?

The book is replete with great quotes which I hope I'll remember. Some of my favorites were:

The line between “inspiringly bold� and “foolishly reckless� can be a millimeter thick and only visible with hindsight.

Getting money requires taking risks, being optimistic, and putting yourself out there. But keeping money requires the opposite of taking risk. It requires humility, and fear that what you’ve made can be taken away from you just as fast.

Money’s greatest intrinsic value—and this can’t be overstated� is its ability to give you control over your time.

YOU’RE NOT a spreadsheet. You’re a person. A screwed up, emotional person.

It sounds trivial, but thinking of market volatility as a fee rather than a fine is an important part of developing the kind of mindset that lets you stick around long enough for investing gains to work in your favor.

Pessimism isn’t just more common than optimism. It also sounds smarter. It’s intellectually captivating, and it’s paid more attention than optimism, which is often viewed as being oblivious to risk.