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Understand Money: Your First Step to Financial Freedom (And Not Eating Cat Food in Retirement): Book #1 of 6

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#1 Best Seller in Personal Finance!

Retire rich and spend it all. Or create lasting wealth for your family as a first-generation millionaire. Or simply get a good night’s sleep because you are finally in control of your finances.

The choice is yours when you “get” the simple rules of money and start to Think Wealthy .

After all, no one wants to be burping cat food in retirement at the hands of a shaky government program, the possible fate of the 80% of Americans who currently live paycheck-to-paycheck.

There is no Big Secret to wealth – but there are a few simple, timeless rules and one powerful equation you only need to learn once .

In Understand Money: Your First Step to Financial Freedom , Todd Havens, a debt-free dad and first-generation millionaire who spent his 20s and 30s as the “poorest guy in any room,” walks you through the first of his six-step Think Wealthy Personal Finance series with a sense of humor so you can master your money and set yourself up for financial safety, security and freedom for life.

Understand Money: Your First Step to Financial Freedom will show you:
Not understanding money is not our fault, of course. When the majority of Americans do not even have $1,000 set aside for an emergency, the system is obviously broken.

Fortunately, having confidence with every financial decision you make is much easier than you might think.

The full Think Wealthy Personal Finance 6-Step book series consists of:

1. Understand Money
Your First Step to Financial Freedom

2. Understand Wealth
What You Have in Common with All Wealthy People

3. Meet Your Inner Billionaire
The Three Core Beliefs of Your Inner Winner

4. How to Think Wealthy
Top 10 Ways to Train Your Brain for Financial Success

5. Create Your Fortune, Big or Small
The Only Two Paths to Financial Independence

6. Master Your Money for Life
Living by the Four Pillars of Well-Rounded Wealth

Now let’s have some fun talking about money and laugh our way to financial freedom together!

81 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

269 people are currently reading
85 people want to read

About the author

Todd Havens

7 books4 followers
As a debt-free (and now cancer-free) dad, I LOVE talking and writing about money because for years and years (and years) I was the poorest guy in any room. (And years.) Who else but the broke guy would dream of one day having a zero net worth and feel like he was a financial genius? Insanity.

No one had ever taught me everything they knew about money so I had to do it myself – and now I’ve made it my mission to help others learn to Think Wealthy and completely transform their lives like I did. What a ride! So much gratitude for the journey.

In other news, I am a brand and marketing executive in Hollywood and, in my volunteering time, I save awesome digital movie marketing campaigns from extinction (kind of like a digital Indiana Jones), I love having the big conversations in life with friends because…as both Madonna and Socrates said…an unexamined life is not worth living. (I’m not sure who said it first.)

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5 stars
92 (52%)
4 stars
45 (25%)
3 stars
24 (13%)
2 stars
11 (6%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Taylor Glick.
2 reviews
September 21, 2020
Some good takeaways but a lot of fluff

This book has some good takeaways but it's a lot of fluff. Ultimately food talks about mindset and that is a very good place to start.
Profile Image for Jamie Bee.
Author 1 book122 followers
August 11, 2020
More Money Mindset Than Strategies

Having recently read a spate of personal finance books that were not well written or were simple rehashes of what others say, I was not holding out much hope for this one. But the author surprised me. He calls it “Understand Money,” but it's really more about getting real about what money is (and is not) and what it can do (or can’t). The author corrects mistaken thinking about money, looking at it from a variety of angles. The author is clearly passionate about his subject and wants you to “get it” so you and your family can benefit from it. He does come across as a little excited at times, using all caps on probably more occasions than he should. But his enthusiasm and positivity are infectious. I like that he is completely transparent about his own (previous) misguided thoughts about money. This book does not discuss strategies or actual steps; he has future books coming out that will probably be more specific. For lack of a better word, it's more about mindset and your mental approach to money. I actually found this to be a surprisingly enjoyable read because I liked his positive spin on what we should think about money and financial freedom. So long as you don't expect strategies, you might get more out of this book than you think.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
1,003 reviews
August 12, 2020
This book is hard to rate because it is so very basic, it is for people who are completely confused about money and get it mixed up with their ego, with status, with life. So there is a place for it. It just didn't' tell me anything I didn't already know. But it is well done, a short and entertaining read.
4 reviews
February 21, 2023
great great book!!! GEMS 💎 🤓

this book was beyond helpful. I’ve been on my journey of financial literacy and all of them (the good ones) say the same thing. Todd did a great job of portraying his fun personality and sense of humor. There is not one lie in this book. Love it and have shared it already!
136 reviews5 followers
August 11, 2020
Money

Thank you for a concise book about money. A great book for those of us we have no idea how to have and use money. Something I very much needed. Highly recommend reading this book.
9 reviews1 follower
August 11, 2020
This is a good book for folk just starting on their financial journey. It explains some pretty neat concepts regarding money in easy to understand language. The author lists this as the first book in a series and therefore is not as comprehensive as it could have been.
Profile Image for R Joseph.
24 reviews
June 18, 2021
A quick treatise on money

The author takes you through a quick synopsis of what money is or ain't. He really pounds and grounds the word money until the reader cries uncle or aunt or which ever you prefer, its a quick read also. Thanks Todd
8 reviews
November 27, 2021
Please Read...This Will Change Your Mindset!

Please Read...This Will Change Your Mindset!

No one taught us about money books like this are a massive blessing and should be put to practical use to change our lives and future generations!
5 reviews
January 22, 2023
quick, simple and entertaining

This book was quick, simple, easy to read and enjoyable. It gave good information on the basics of money and helpful to those wanting to learn more about it. I enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Mrs. Arvia.
108 reviews5 followers
October 24, 2023
Understanding How Money Works

I have learned a great deal I was unaware of. This is a great book the author is humorous and made learning fun. I do recommend reading this book. Change your financial mindset.
22 reviews2 followers
November 17, 2024
Step to Financial Freedom

Great read for you that is looking to have a better
understanding of money and uncover any biases you may have associated with it. “All cash is money, but not all money is cash”. Look forward to reading the rest of the series, thank you!
Profile Image for Luis E Lugo Jr.
1 review
August 30, 2020
Not bad

It wasn't bad, I felt there was a lot of filler content but the information was still worth it's weight in gold.
43 reviews
October 18, 2020
Understand money

The book was not what I thou it will be it goes into the author life story and events. The book did not give me any information that I already know.
5 reviews
August 3, 2022
Eye opener

can't u enough about opening my eyes to the true value about money ,how to get it,what to do with it, and how to keep it was very insightful
15 reviews
November 3, 2022
Wow

In short, this book opened my eyes about money. Yea was already saying to myself to make my money work for me but this book made it clear.

This one belongs on my bookcase.
Profile Image for John.
979 reviews21 followers
March 21, 2023
Not necessarily bad advice in this book, but it could all fit into one article instead of a book of 100 pages where the author try to write the way he speaks - it does not work for me.
11 reviews
August 12, 2023
understanding money

What a great read and not your typical book. I had some great takeaways. Truly worth the read if you want to be wealthy.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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