TLDR; Money Master the Game is a good primer on the investment industry and investment strategies. I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s starting to think about investing for retirement.
Reading Money Master the Game (affiliate link) provided me with a wealth of investment knowledge but it also left me uncertain about how I can apply that knowledge to my unique situation. When I began reading the book I thought that once I’ve completed it, I would have mastered the game and have all my finances in order. The reality is that my journey has only begun. I have to apply what I’ve learned, make mistakes, and make adjustments to gain the experience I need to be a master.
What follows is my review of Money Master the Game. If you haven’t read it yet and want to know what to expect before you dive in, continue reading.
The good
1) It tells you what not to do.
Section 2 of Money Master the Game reveals the misconceptions of the financial industry. This section covers 9 things you shouldn’t do and be aware of when investing your money into the market. It helps you avoid shooting yourself in the foot before investing and saving. If you are already suffering from one (or many) of the pitfalls described, the book offers ways you can dig yourself out of the situation.
2) It shows you how to create financial goals
Goal setting is tricky because when you’re starting out, you don’t know what’s possible. You may set your goals too high or low. Section 3 of Money Master the Game walks you through creating personalized financial goals based on your current expenses. It provides you with a method of getting concrete numbers for different levels of financial freedom you’d want to achieve. The book also has real-life examples of other people’s financial goals so you can get a sense of how to put the information together to create your own.
3) It explains investing concepts
I’ve heard about allocating and rebalancing a portfolio but I didn’t have a good understanding of what “allocating” or “rebalancing” meant. Beyond explaining those two concepts, MMG also talks about the process of “dollar-cost averaging” and “tax harvesting.” If you know how to uses those principles, you can create a personalized strategy that makes the most out of your investments.
The bad
1) The book was repetitive
In every chapter, Tony talked about what he was going to talk about in later chapters. At first, this made me anticipate the upcoming chapters but after a while, I was tired of the repetition. If you’re going to read this book, I would suggest that you skim/skip the repetitive parts.
2) Motivational speaker speak
Tony has this coaching/motivational speaker writing style. He’d begin with naming a concept, like asset allocations. Then he’d talk about all the benefits of asset allocations. Next, he’d tell 2 or 3 stories of people who had benefited from asset allocations. Finally, he’d get to what asset allocation is and how to apply it to your portfolio. The more I read the more I picked up on this formula. It distracted me from focusing on the content. I was interested in the what and the how of investing. I could’ve done without all the extra content.
3) Up-sell everywhere
Tony Robbins owns or has stakes in several businesses. In Money Master the Game he recommends a few of those businesses to the reader on many occasions. If he did this once or twice, I wouldn’t complain about it. But as I dug deeper into the book, the more I felt like I was been sold his other products and services. I understand plugging his other businesses but positioning them as essential to the success of the reader makes the book feel like a long sales pitch.
Bottom line
Despite what I didn’t like about Money Master the Game, I got a lot out of reading it. The book helped me identify why passive income is so important. Without it, you’re living check to check and as soon as you stop working, those checks will stop coming. This has dire consequences as you enter retirement age but I feel this angst even now as a 30 something-year-old. I want the freedom to not work. To get that freedom I have to own, save, invest and have my investments pay for my expenses. Money Master the Game has put me on the path to doing that. I’d recommend this book to people who want to know the core principles of investing and saving for retirement. You may not find all the answers here (I didn’t) but you’ll be able to ask more informed questions at the end.
What’s next
If you’re interested in diving deeper into Money Master the Game (without reading all 700+ pages) I wrote a section-by-section summary of the book that explains in detail the strategies and key takeaways in each section. Click here to check it out.
If you plan on buying the book, do me a favor and use my affiliate link for Amazon to make the purchase. Thanks!