The Chinese synopsis, straight from the back of the book:
吉娅是一个普通的12岁女孩，一次偶然的机会，她救助了一只受伤的小狗，并给它取名叫“钱钱”。没想到，钱钱居然是一位深藏不露的理财高手，它彻底改变了吉娅一家人的财富命运……“欧洲第一理财大师”博多·舍费尔用生动的理财童话，教会你如何从小学会支配金钱，而不是受金钱的支配；如何像富人那样思考，正确地认识和使用金钱；如何进行理财投资，找到积累资产的方法，早日实现财务自由！
What it's about:
Jiya is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her financially strapped parents. She loves dogs and finds an injured dog lying just outside her house one day.
Subsequently, the dog becomes her pet and she named the dog '钱钱', inspired by the father's exasperated lament of 'Money! Money! ...'
One day, she discovers that the dog could talk and communicate with her. The dog goes on to become her finance educator. He teaches her about the four laws of success, gets her to list her three most important dreams and pen down her each successful step. He also teaches her about wealth distribution and accumulation. One thing leads to another and Jiya becomes a little rich girl by the end of the book.
It's written by 博多·舍费尔, apparently a renowned financial expert who gives wealth management talks and writes books educating people and children about finance management around the world. I thought it strange though, that I am not able to find an English translation for even his name. Not in wikipedia either.
There are some sound advice in the book though:
1) Save 10% to 50%, depending on one's comfort level, of your income.
When it says 'save', it really means 'savings'. That means you don't touch it whatsoever. Not saving up to buy anything. It's purely for savings purpose, so that it can eventually be your goose which lays golden eggs. The idea behind this is to make your money work for you eventually.
An adult financial advisor Jiya meets in the book advised her to save at least 10%, but both Jiya and the financial advisor save up 50% of their income.
2) Set aside money for your dreams.
Whatever dreams you have, set aside a separate account or piggy bank for it and save up separately from your goose savings.
Jiya has two dreams: to go to California for a holiday and to buy a laptop.
She saves up 20% of her income for each of her dreams. In total, she saves 40% of her income for these two dreams.
She spends 10% of her income as pocket money.
3) List the 3 most important dreams you have
It teaches you to focus on what is important and work towards it. The dog 钱钱said that most people focus on what they can't do and earn money by that. They feel that they should not make money by doing what they enjoy.
I was shocked to read that, because that's me! I reflected on what it says and thought about my past jobs, my past experiences. Haven't I been focusing on what I can't do and try to be better at them? And I am trying to do this to Coco! She loves painting, and I don't approve of her painting and drawing. *Gasp!*
Haven't I thought the same way too? That one should not get paid for doing what one loves. Oh dear! I haven't realised how scary this mindset is till yesterday.
4) Start a 'Success Diary' and list the positive steps you have made every day
I find that a challenge, as predicted by钱钱. I will try, but I have to start doing that really soon. In his words, if you don't start on an idea within 72 hours, you will never start on it.
5) Poverty gives people more problems than wealth does.
If you can't handle the little money that you have, you can't handle big money when it comes, and big money will not come your way if you can't handle the little money that you have.
Many think that money is the root of all evils, which many others know is not true. We say that, instead, the love of money is the root of all evils. However, the book says that it depends on the character of the person who handles the money. If it is a good person, he will use wealth to everyone's benefit; if it is a person of a bad character, he will only use it in foolish or evil ways. And stolen money will never last. Robbers and thieves think that money will solve their problems, but in fact, they will find themselves having more problems than ever after the crimes.
For a finance idiot like me, this is a great read. It educates me on the things I knew but never realised the impacts. It is supposed to be a fairytale version of 'Rich dad poor dad'. However, I have never read the adult and realistic version of it, so I'd never know.
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