At the very beginning of the book, the author introduces a story about an American philanthropist named Ronal Read, who lived in a suburb and lived to be 92 years old, with a simple life. Everything seemed very ordinary until people learned that his net worth reached eight million US dollars, equivalent to about 180 billion Vietnamese dong. Before he passed away, he had prepared a will and used most of his wealth for charity. People were extremely curious: how did he accumulate such a large fortune? Or was there a dark secret behind it? But through investigation, there was no secret at all; he did not win the lottery, did not do anything illegal, and did not inherit any assets. The only thing he did was continuously accumulate the money he earned and invest it for the long term.

Another person named Richard Fuscone, a Master of Business Administration graduate from Harvard University, became a senior manager and was very successful in the finance industry. At just 40 years old, he was able to retire early. However, after a few years of retirement, he borrowed a large sum of money from the bank to rebuild his villa, which was expanded with many luxurious amenities and furnishings, more bathrooms, and even two large swimming pools.

This villa was also his entertainment venue for parties. Just the monthly maintenance cost alone reached 90 thousand US dollars, which is about 2 billion Vietnamese dong. Not only that, he lived very lavishly, often spending a lot of money to host parties. However, not long after, in 2008, the financial crisis broke out, and a large portion of his assets evaporated in an instant, combined with a large debt from the bank and low liquidity assets, which led him to bankruptcy immediately.

Through these two stories, we see that saving money and accumulating wealth is the way to keep money actively moving. No matter how much wealth one creates, if one is obsessed with material life, one may never be satisfied with the wealth they have, never feel it is enough, and will never find a stopping point. Now, I would like to share with you four concepts about money that we should know as soon as possible:

Never be satisfied with the wealth you have

The book mentions a story like this: in 1920, Jesse Livermore, a very successful stock trader, quickly became one of the richest people in America. This made him increasingly confident and still wanted to achieve more success. Therefore, he borrowed a huge sum of money to invest in the stock market, but due to misjudgment and miscalculation, he lost all his money in an instant, falling into a mountain of debt and ultimately going bankrupt. At the same time, his marriage life also faced many problems; his wife left him. The two crises happening at the same time led him to end his life in his own home.

Another story is about Rajat Gupta, the former chairman of the world's most famous consulting firm, who had a massive fortune of about 1 billion US dollars. However, Rajat always wanted to be richer to step into the billionaire circle. Therefore, he had a bad intention to use insider information to profit in the stock market, but in the end, he was exposed and sentenced to 2 years in prison, instantly ruining his reputation and career.

The human desire for material wealth is never-ending; when we obtain something, we always want more. Our greed is insatiable, which is the nature of humanity. On another aspect, it also adds motivation for us to develop financially. But if we use this nature to manage and earn money, it will lead to irrational behaviors, resulting in unpleasant outcomes. Additionally, the social comparison is also a catalyst that makes many people never feel satisfied; there will always be someone richer, you earn more money, you have a bigger house, you will look better, but the reality is that when you own these material things, you will find they do not hold much meaning and do not bring you joy.

In this life, we spend a lot of time striving for a higher income and a better quality of life, but we must know that to a certain extent, we must know how to live sufficiently. "Knowing enough" is a phrase that everyone has heard many times, but to truly apply it in life is not something everyone can do. So what do we need to do? Please remember the following:

• The first is to stop comparing. Comparing yourself with others, comparing what you have with what others own.
• The second is to stop chasing trends.
• The third is not to care too much about what others think of you.
• And finally, appreciate what you have.

With these four things, we will discover that we can easily find happiness.

No need to spend money to gain the respect of others

The author also presents a psychological phenomenon as follows: when walking down the street, if you see a very beautiful, expensive car, at that moment, if you often observe your inner self a little, you will find that: Most of us do not think that the driver is a wealthy, successful person, but will think that: if one day I also have a car like this, then people will think I am a very successful person. Here is something you need to pay attention to: people often want to prove their success through external material possessions, but in reality, others often do not pay attention to the owner of that material; they only care about the material that person possesses.

Therefore, wanting to gain the respect of others through material possessions is completely wrong. Many times you want to have a beautiful house, a car, or an expensive item, the real thought in your mind is that you want to have them to gain respect and admiration from others. If you have such desires and thoughts, then stop and ask yourself: what is your true thought? We will never gain the respect of others through external material possessions; to receive respect, true wealth is what we cannot see in others. Instead, let’s learn to be humble and empathize with those around us.

True wealth is what we cannot see

The author shares a story from his youth: a friend named Roger, of the same age, who did not know what profession he had, but at a young age owned a Mercedes car. The author felt a bit envious at first, but after a while, he saw him driving a Honda car. Upon asking, he learned that he could not even afford the installment payments for several months, so the bank repossessed the car. This made the author completely change his view of him and reflect deeply on money.

If a person has a car with an installment payment of 100,000 dollars, it indicates that they are wealthy, because at least each month they must have enough income to pay that installment. However, we do not know how much wealth someone truly has; their money is often used for investments or business, to generate more money. This is a blind spot that leads to many people's misconceptions; we do not see others' assets, so we unconsciously evaluate financial success based on a person's external material possessions.

But people are very good at imitation; the excessive spending behaviors of others will subtly become something you imitate, and you gradually believe that successful people should own such items. You must know that in the world, those who are truly wealthy are often very simple, while those who appear wealthy may be on the verge of bankruptcy. So if your goal is to strive to become like those you see, living a life of wealth and luxury, with a flashy appearance, then you should stop and reflect immediately.

The author said a very good sentence: "Most people want to have a million-dollar fortune, but deep down, they want to spend a million dollars." There is a simple philosophy about money that we need to understand: spending money to show off that you have a lot of money is the fastest way to run out of money. Be rational in managing and using your own money.

Wealth brings us freedom

Those who follow a hedonistic lifestyle often say: having a lot of money, you can't take it with you when you die, so saving money is meaningless. This book advises us to change our mindset to view this issue differently; beyond material possessions, freedom is what gives us the greatest interest, meaning that freedom gives us the ability to control our lives and our time. A study from an American university has shown that the more choices people have, the easier it is for them to find happiness. When you have the right to choose how to spend time with those you like, to do the work you desire, it will bring more happiness than buying a big house or climbing to a high position in a company.

The more money you accumulate, the more choices you will have. You can choose to do jobs that do not pay very well, but do not require you to work overtime or spend a lot of time, and in your free time, you can do what you love, implement plans for your personal development. Use your money to buy time and choices in your life because very few luxurious materials can bring true happiness and freedom. Our lives compared to our grandparents are now much richer, but studies show that up to 45% of people do not feel happy and feel pressured.

The author points out the main reason is that many of us only want to spend money to buy more expensive items, but this also means that we have to give up the right to control our time. For example, a person who is paying installments for an item beyond their means means that during the installment period, they will bind themselves to a certain job; they must earn money to pay for the item, so this person, until they finish paying off the bank debt, will not have the time to choose to experience other aspects of life.