The Uncomfortable Truth About Money: How to live with uncertainty and learn to think for yourself

by Paul Podolsky

We are all stuck in a money cage. Money isn’t the most important thing, but it is a thing and you can’t get away from it. Birth costs money and death costs money.
So even if you hate talking about money, you need to know the basics, the same way you need to know how to cook yourself a simple meal.

The problem with most money books is that they are not written by practitioners and avoid hard truths.

What a weathered investor knows is that stocks are not always good for the long run. They know that being stingy helps accrue wealth. They know the big thing when you buy property has nothing to do with the property. They know the big thing is less what happens to the markets in a day than if the entire system holds together. And they know what to look for if it’s time to pull out. That’s what this book will teach you, a lifetime of money learnings distilled to a thin volume, like a basic cooking recipe you can follow.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Economics

183 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2024

About the author

Hi there!

I was born in Washington, D.C., educated at Brown University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. I live in Westport, Connecticut with my wife of many years Marina, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. We have two adult children, one in technology and the other the subject of Raising a Thief. I worked as a journalist for a number of years and then spent over two decades on Wall Street, most of that time working for Bridgewater Associates. Raising a Thief is my first book.

Reviews

[Navdeep Pundhir · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author has written a very bad version of Psychology of Money and thereabouts only because he could use the name of Ray Dalio on its cover. Except that name, it’s a pathetic waste of time and money

[Gianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

is an ok book, but there are many better ones

The book has basic knowledge, my complain is that the first half is spent on random stories from the author that do not lead to any learnings. Sometimes they are amusing, but many times they are just dull. Depending on what you want to learn, save your money and buy a better book.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not surprised that this book's reviews are somewhat polarized. It's tough to classify. Is it a self-help book? Is it a finance book? Is it an economic history book? Is it an autobiographical piece?

The answer is yes—and no—to all of those questions.

Thinking about it, the best way to classify it is what Paul writes in the introduction. It's a book he wrote because talking about money is uncomfortable, but still wanted his kids to understand it. It's a "letter to a young person" to better understand what he learned the hard way through his life.

I think his wisdom is excellent, to the point, and it's a book that one can read multiple times and get things out of it. It isn't an EASY book. Paul's prose is engaging and great, but the content is fairly difficult if you try to engage with it beyond a surface level. I'd highly suggest it for everyone, but especially for young adults.

[Sivan Hong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Podolsky’s The Uncomfortable Truth About Money is a rare gem in personal finance literature. With relatable personal stories and practical advice, Podolsky makes complex financial concepts accessible, even for those without a financial background. His candid, engaging narrative feels like learning from a trusted friend, not a textbook. Offering real-world strategies for budgeting, investing, and planning, the book is both informative and entertaining—a must-read for anyone looking to take control of their finances, especially someone starting out in their career.

[Kwang Wei Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good brief and easy read about money perspective by a guy who used to work in one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world.

Paul shared very interesting concepts about how we look at money. I wished it was a little more detailed to cover his own psychology and his process and journey but found that part too brief.

It’s certainly worth to pick this up to just bounce some ideas about money, security and happiness.

[James Fok · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and practical book, which makes use anecdotes about the author’s lived experiences to pass on helpful nuggets of wisdom. While this is not a book that is likely to teach much to people with advanced knowledge of finance, it is a book that I would strongly recommend to young people starting out on their lives.

[Martynas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm surprised I even finished this. This is an assortment of stating the obvious while saying nothing.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, actionable distillation of financial wisdom. Written by a writer.

[Elruin Elmsroot · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most garbage book, i have ever read........

[RT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I follow Paul’s Substack and podcast and find him to be one of the most underrated thinkers and writers in this space. This book offers the same level of insight we’ve come to expect from his work. It was a pleasant and engaging read (many finance books in this area feel dense and take a while to get through, Podolsky’s writing style is so engaging I finished this in one sitting.)

Financial/investment books often focus solely on stocks (perhaps I’m guilty of only buying those…) but I appreciated how comprehensive this book was, covering bonds, currencies, macro, etc in graspable terms for a beginner but offering an amount of insight that makes this a valuable read for even the most seasoned investor.