I might not have picked this book at this stage of life, but for the fact that it was written by my Batchmate from IIM A- Class of’ 87- Sandeep Dasgupta. As the name of the book suggests, Sandeep tries to provide a complete guide to investing in yourself to attain personal and financial wellbeing. All of it is about ‘Balancing: Mind, Matters and Money’.
I have mixed feelings about the book. I found the book’s first part, which concentrates on personal wellbeing, fundamental and basic. However, my interest perked up, and I liked the second part on financial wellbeing. Maybe one likes reading what one lacks. Perhaps it is easy to be re-impressed on subjects that are not your expertise, where you don’t hold command, or you have mostly failed. This holds true for the audience as much as it holds true for the author. And the book comes alive and starts buzzing when he tries to sketch the arena of financial wellbeing and investments towards financial impendence and freedom. That has been his corporate success area. For example, the three golden rules on investing are- 1)Keep expenses lower than your income. 2) Pay attention to correct asset allocation. 3) Respect the power of computing.
However, Sandeep oversimplifies everything, including balanced life. And in trying to touch on too many subjects, he sometimes seems superficial in approach- which is true about the first part of the book.
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT INTENT.
Whatever the reasons for liking or not liking the book, Sandeep must be given credit for sharing his experience and expertise in a de-glamorised, de-jargonised way. The intent is clear and strong. But, when you read such books for self-improvement- self-empowerment and development or balancing- the expectations are higher.
The two chapters that made huge sense were ‘Common sense approach to investing in stocks’ and ‘Avoid these mistakes’ under the financial wellbeing section. There are simple gems of advice woven into these pages. Some of these would sound generic, or you may have heard them before, but that is how it is. One needs to be repeatedly reminded to remain on track.
H.A.C.K.E.R.
In personal wellbeing, Sandeep shares something called H.A.C.K.E.R. scorecard for self-assessment. Something that he and his family use on an annual basis. The audience interested in personal wellbeing would want more details. And in a book, stating that the examples are for illustrative purposes and not exhaustive is short-changing the audience. And here, Sandeep does not even share some strong scoring way. He suggests that the reader could assign the score based on broad parameters and pointers. Now that seems like a half-baked tool to me. When I invest in a book about Mind, Matter and Money balance with a proprietary tool covering a broad spectrum of subjects like Health, attitude, Communication, Knowledge, Empathy and Relationship, I expect to be better guided- including how to score and read the score sheet. Or, if there is a service where I can take the test and be graded digitally or offline- it must be shared.
CAUTION.
Sandeep Dasgupta makes it clear and reiterates in a few places that these are his experiences and learning; there is no guarantee that they will work for you. So everyone must find their own sweet spot.
In the financial wellbeing section, Sandeep Dasgupta clarifies, “The target audience for this book are successful professionals and corporate executives who excel in their respective fields and have an enviable career before them. They are well-read and knowledgeable about the capital market but have not had enough time to venture into this activity, as it entails time and patience. More importantly, I am assuming that these set of executives enjoy analysing companies, investing in stocks and can digest the volatility of stock markets“.
A DETAILED CHAPTER SUMMARY AND MORE WOULD HAVE HELPED.
Sandeep provides a very crisp chapter summary, but I found them falling short of expectations. Sandeep Dasgupta must think differently. However, it is not a complaint or a shortcoming of the book. An astute reader wanting to draw from the book will surely use the earlier way of underlining or rewriting the suggestions- thus re-iterating the points.
I would advise Sandeep Dasgupta to invest more time and effort in properly formatting the book. Maybe he used the large type-size and interline spaces to add to the number of pages. I would have wanted (as said earlier) to expand and have a more detailed explanation of his many pointers in the personal wellbeing section. The subject ‘Appreciation’ on page 106 is hardly 100 words, broken into two paragraphs that come under feedback and relationship with subordinates. More so, when he claims at every stage that the book is not for experts and more for a layman.
NET NET
The book Financial Wellbeing will make sense for youngsters as they will get good advice and understand the need for early investments. The personal wellbeing section works for both the elderly and the youngsters- as it is still worth investing at any stage of your life. So, I suggest if you are under 35, this book is definitely for you. Order the book here.
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