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Moolala: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things with Their Money - and What You Can Do About It
Smart, capable people are doing dumb things with their money. They can teach high school, write a marketing plan, navigate the Metro in Paris, file their own taxes, brew their own beer, program a PVR, and even raise teenagers. And still, these smart, capable people often do dumb things when it comes to their money. In Moolala , business journalist, professional coach, and popular speaker Bruce Sellery provides a simple, essential guide for those who, when it comes to managing their money, could use a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
The goal of Moolala is simply To inspire you to get a handle on your money so you can live the life you want. Through an engaging combination of interactive exercises, personal stories, and great practical advice, the book will take you through five simple and painless steps that will dramatically improve your financial well-being. Inspiring, informative, and fun, Moolala will transform the way you think about your money — and your life.
The goal of Moolala is simply To inspire you to get a handle on your money so you can live the life you want. Through an engaging combination of interactive exercises, personal stories, and great practical advice, the book will take you through five simple and painless steps that will dramatically improve your financial well-being. Inspiring, informative, and fun, Moolala will transform the way you think about your money — and your life.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2011
16 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Sellery
3 books3 followersBruce Sellery is a Canadian business journalist, personal finance expert, television news anchor, and keynote speaker.
Sellery is one of the journalists who helped found CTV’s Business News Network (BNN) in 1999. He worked there until 2008, covering the stock market and the economy in depth, both as an anchor in Toronto and as BNN’s Bureau Chief in New York City. He interviewed thousands of CEOs, economists and analysts, produced a series of documentaries and hosted a primetime show about the workplace.
Sellery is one of the journalists who helped found CTV’s Business News Network (BNN) in 1999. He worked there until 2008, covering the stock market and the economy in depth, both as an anchor in Toronto and as BNN’s Bureau Chief in New York City. He interviewed thousands of CEOs, economists and analysts, produced a series of documentaries and hosted a primetime show about the workplace.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 7, 2023
Nice to read a book about finances geared to Canadians
October 23, 2011
Moolala is at once comprehensive and refreshing. It's excellent. It's like your smart, chatty friend came over, to help you sort through your account statements and clean out your life.
Author Bruce Sellery has divided the book up into 5 parts:
Lay the Foundation
Determine What You Want
Develop the Plan
Take Action
Stay Engaged
So much of Sellery's advice was so commonsense, it was hard for me to believe that I hadn't seen it before. Sellery, at one point, describes a Priority Pyramid, which he models off Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow, a psychologist, proposed that some of our needs are more pressing than others, and must be met first. I'm grossly oversimplifying, but: you have to make sure you have enough to eat before you can spend the day cultivating a new breed of orchid.
Sellery describes a pyramid of priorities where the foundation is built on cash flow. Are you spending more than you're earning? Don't look to optimize returns until you've mastered your cash flow.
He encourages readers to think holistically about goals: you can't separate your life goals from your financial goals. If you want to be a parent, for example, there's a price tag attached. In fact, thinking of your financial goals in terms of your life goals may be more motivating.
Sellery's observations, too, felt natural and obvious, even though they're unusual. When he describes determining users to find their own "context" for money, what you want your money to be for, he argues that society has two obvious contexts for money: money is for retirement, money is for stuff. He writes:
I loved this. I feel this way too. I don't want to spend a life working towards retirement. I want to work towards travel, towards being my own boss, towards trying different careers and spending years at home with young children. I understand that it's important to think about retirement, but it feels like there's so much advice on it, and so little on "Staying at home until your child starts preschool", which, for me, resonates far more.
He looks at investing in later chapters, which is of particular interest to me. A lot of the advice is centered around a central tenet: Don't gamble with money you can't afford to lose. After reading it, I spent some time looking at the benchmark and checking my own investments against it.
There's a lot more, too much to cover here. But it's definitely worth reading. I borrowed my copy from the library, and I may need to buy one, so I can make notes in the margin. The money I save following the advice will pay for the book many, many times over.
http://www.moneychallenge.ca/blog/201...
Author Bruce Sellery has divided the book up into 5 parts:
Lay the Foundation
Determine What You Want
Develop the Plan
Take Action
Stay Engaged
So much of Sellery's advice was so commonsense, it was hard for me to believe that I hadn't seen it before. Sellery, at one point, describes a Priority Pyramid, which he models off Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow, a psychologist, proposed that some of our needs are more pressing than others, and must be met first. I'm grossly oversimplifying, but: you have to make sure you have enough to eat before you can spend the day cultivating a new breed of orchid.
Sellery describes a pyramid of priorities where the foundation is built on cash flow. Are you spending more than you're earning? Don't look to optimize returns until you've mastered your cash flow.
He encourages readers to think holistically about goals: you can't separate your life goals from your financial goals. If you want to be a parent, for example, there's a price tag attached. In fact, thinking of your financial goals in terms of your life goals may be more motivating.
Sellery's observations, too, felt natural and obvious, even though they're unusual. When he describes determining users to find their own "context" for money, what you want your money to be for, he argues that society has two obvious contexts for money: money is for retirement, money is for stuff. He writes:
I read a lot of personal finance magazines and am often struck by the homogeneity of the advertisements that fill the pages. It isn't just all those good-looking couples with grey hair, smiling smugly about their good fortune as they walk along the beach. It is the constant focus on one particular life stage.
Retirement.
Sure, retirement is a compelling context for money for some people. But for me, it is uninspiring and insufficient.
I loved this. I feel this way too. I don't want to spend a life working towards retirement. I want to work towards travel, towards being my own boss, towards trying different careers and spending years at home with young children. I understand that it's important to think about retirement, but it feels like there's so much advice on it, and so little on "Staying at home until your child starts preschool", which, for me, resonates far more.
He looks at investing in later chapters, which is of particular interest to me. A lot of the advice is centered around a central tenet: Don't gamble with money you can't afford to lose. After reading it, I spent some time looking at the benchmark and checking my own investments against it.
There's a lot more, too much to cover here. But it's definitely worth reading. I borrowed my copy from the library, and I may need to buy one, so I can make notes in the margin. The money I save following the advice will pay for the book many, many times over.
http://www.moneychallenge.ca/blog/201...
July 7, 2015
Whoever thought that talking about money could be this funny and insightful? From comparing money investments to baking Butter Tarts, you will come away from this book with a whole new appreciation for what you should know about your money. There is no avoiding it – information is power and this book is filled with the simple knowledge and tools you need to feel intelligent when talking to the bank, your friends or your financial advisor.
When it comes to managing my money, my strategy has always been to submit the monthly contribution and hope that my Financial Planner was managing to eek out a respectable return. However, meeting with him to review the investments has not been part of the plan nor has reviewing the quarterly statements (which I often found made me feel stupid) so they often got filed unopened.
Surprise…surprise! Turns out that I am not alone in this. Most Canadians are simply not doing enough to understand our investments and as a result, are simply not getting the returns we deserve. The cost of this avoidance is tremendous!
After hearing Bruce speak, I picked up a copy of the book (for my husband – he likes numbers better than me) and I forced myself to read it (while on vacation no less). I was delighted to discover a simple approach to money management, an effort to make the idea of money management a more manageable process and, more importantly, the realization that I was not alone in my lack of knowledge (or participation) on the subject. It would appear that more people will talk about sex than they will about money.
Instead of diligently saving for the magic retirement day, Bruce encourages readers to develop a new context for money and start playing with it. He views money as a means to adventure. Oh sure the bills still need to be paid, but there is nothing in doing that which would invite you to become motivated to save is there? So, author Bruce Sellery invites you to consider what you want money for? What does it mean to you and how can you start playing with it – today! Not just when you retire.
This book offers a refreshing alternative to the tired old investment books and encourages you to embrace your money and your financial advisor with renewed enthusiasm. He even has a section on DIY investing for all you die-hards out there. The pages are full of quick assessment tools to help you
evaluate where you are and where you want to go to. I must admit that I have yet to complete those assessments myself, but at least now I am clear on what needs to be done and why!
If you have been avoiding getting a handle on your money and your financial future then this book is a compelling read and one that should be read by all Canadians! You can order a copy at www.moolala.ca today!
When it comes to managing my money, my strategy has always been to submit the monthly contribution and hope that my Financial Planner was managing to eek out a respectable return. However, meeting with him to review the investments has not been part of the plan nor has reviewing the quarterly statements (which I often found made me feel stupid) so they often got filed unopened.
Surprise…surprise! Turns out that I am not alone in this. Most Canadians are simply not doing enough to understand our investments and as a result, are simply not getting the returns we deserve. The cost of this avoidance is tremendous!
After hearing Bruce speak, I picked up a copy of the book (for my husband – he likes numbers better than me) and I forced myself to read it (while on vacation no less). I was delighted to discover a simple approach to money management, an effort to make the idea of money management a more manageable process and, more importantly, the realization that I was not alone in my lack of knowledge (or participation) on the subject. It would appear that more people will talk about sex than they will about money.
Instead of diligently saving for the magic retirement day, Bruce encourages readers to develop a new context for money and start playing with it. He views money as a means to adventure. Oh sure the bills still need to be paid, but there is nothing in doing that which would invite you to become motivated to save is there? So, author Bruce Sellery invites you to consider what you want money for? What does it mean to you and how can you start playing with it – today! Not just when you retire.
This book offers a refreshing alternative to the tired old investment books and encourages you to embrace your money and your financial advisor with renewed enthusiasm. He even has a section on DIY investing for all you die-hards out there. The pages are full of quick assessment tools to help you
evaluate where you are and where you want to go to. I must admit that I have yet to complete those assessments myself, but at least now I am clear on what needs to be done and why!
If you have been avoiding getting a handle on your money and your financial future then this book is a compelling read and one that should be read by all Canadians! You can order a copy at www.moolala.ca today!
June 7, 2012
One of the best personal finance books I've read!
Moolala takes a complete approach to looking at your finances - from determining how you personally feel and interact with money, to saving, spending, investing, budgeting and everything in between.
The short activities given at the end of each chapter are short, to-the-point and reflect back to the previous chapter. They are easy to do and insightful. He also offers a free download of any of his activity pages from his website if you don't want to write all over your book.
What I really enjoyed with this book was Sellery's focus on money as a personal paradigm. By figuring out what money means to you, and how you approach it, you can achieve a better handle on your finances and spending patterns. I liked that introspective aspect.
Well written, in neither a paternalistic or condescending way (I'm looking at you David Bach), and easy to understand - this is a solid personal finance book, and one that I won't hesitate to recommend to anyone else!
Moolala takes a complete approach to looking at your finances - from determining how you personally feel and interact with money, to saving, spending, investing, budgeting and everything in between.
The short activities given at the end of each chapter are short, to-the-point and reflect back to the previous chapter. They are easy to do and insightful. He also offers a free download of any of his activity pages from his website if you don't want to write all over your book.
What I really enjoyed with this book was Sellery's focus on money as a personal paradigm. By figuring out what money means to you, and how you approach it, you can achieve a better handle on your finances and spending patterns. I liked that introspective aspect.
Well written, in neither a paternalistic or condescending way (I'm looking at you David Bach), and easy to understand - this is a solid personal finance book, and one that I won't hesitate to recommend to anyone else!
March 23, 2011
Great personal finance book that really got me motivated. It asks you to focus on what your money is for so you will enjoy working towards your big or small goals. I especially found the Priority Pyramid helpful - just seeing what you should be focusing on right now and not being distracted or overwhelmed by financial stuff that would only complicate things for you at present. There are lots of personal examples, both from the author and his money group. It never does describe what the title means, but I'm guessing that it's just a new way to think about your money (moolah)?
April 15, 2014
This book takes a different approach to personal finance ing by focusing on what your money is "for". It's about identifying how you feel about money and your goals, weaknesses, etc, including a lot of personal stories (both his and others'). I didn't find it particularly useful for myself (having done most of this work already), but if you're stuck on how to focus yourself to care about how you manage your money, this might be the book for you.
November 12, 2012
I really liked this book and thought it did a great job of laying things out in an understandable way. I will be recommending it. My only big problem with the book was how he glosses over TFSAs and essentially says they're unnecessary until you've maxed out your RRSPs. He doesn't at all address that in certain circumstances a TFSA can be a *better* long-term savings vehicle than an RRSP.
November 8, 2016
I picked this up because the author was a guest on one of my favorite financial podcasts.
Pros: I liked the inclusion of personal stories.
Cons: It was kind of meh.
The book was fine but I've read other finance books that I like better. Also, it's a Canadian personal finance guy so some of the stuff only applies to Canadians, but the overall information is fine for everyone.
Pros: I liked the inclusion of personal stories.
Cons: It was kind of meh.
The book was fine but I've read other finance books that I like better. Also, it's a Canadian personal finance guy so some of the stuff only applies to Canadians, but the overall information is fine for everyone.
November 19, 2012
This is a very easy to read business book. Bruce Sellery has some good insights on how to manage your money more effectively.
February 27, 2013
Interesting read, helpful
August 19, 2015
Weak writing with limited information of value.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews