E-Book Review – “The Rat Race”

My good friend Mike over at The Financial Blogger (TFB) has recently released his second e-book, and both of them are definitely worth the price of admission.  I’m sure you have seen lots of blogs and sites that tout a new promotion as “the next big thing” because they get a slice of whoever buys whatever they’re selling.  Full disclosure, we do get paid if you buy “The Rat Race” from our site.  This is the first time we have ever done an affiliate sale review here on My University Money, and I think that proves more than anything we could say that we honestly stand behind this product and its creator.  My guess is that if you have not yet had the pleasure of seeing Mike’s blog, once you read his books, you will be a regular.  Mike has a MBA and is a very successful financial professional (so he knows what he’s talking about here!).  His first e-book was a comprehensive review about dividend investing.  If you have all the basic knowledge of investing down, this is an outstanding book that should answer almost anything you need to know about choosing your own dividend-focused investments.  The best part about this book is that it is absolutely FREE!  After Mike’s successful first efforts, he decided to tackle the bigger financial picture in his newest creation.  It is called “The Rat Race” and it is basically a guide on how to gain financial freedom and live the exact life you want to live on your own terms.

Not Just Money Advice

In the first chapters, TFB shows that there is much more to his strategy for early freedom than merely being good with money.  He talks about how important it is to surround yourself with the right people, and why some people are generally less successful than others.  The key idea here is to not make excuses about why you don’t work harder or “hustle” as Mike puts it, but instead learn that the benefits of working harder and more efficiently are worth the extra effort.  To keep up his ambitious schedule, Mike explains how important little things like waking up early and exercising regularly are.  I generally agree with this sound, basic advice, but for me the real value of the book lies in the more financial-based chapters.  TFB goes on to wrap up the first section by comparing the rat race we run everyday to the Matrix, all I could think about the whole time is if Mike was supposed to be Neo or Morpheus in the metaphor, and if this e-book was the “blue pill” – yes I am that much of a nerd – moving on…

Personal Finance PLUS

“The Rat Race” then goes on to explain elements of personal finance that combine the concepts found in my two favourite personal finance books: The Wealthy Barber and Rich Dad Poor Dad.  There is the standard advice on wills, insurance, basic investing (save 10-15%), and budgeting, that is very useful to someone who doesn’t have an addiction to reading personal finance blogs.  Perhaps the more unique part of this section came when Mike gave his thoughts on leveraging.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with the term, leveraging is basically borrowing money to make more of it, either through investing in a business or an investment vehicle of some other kind.  Mike shows how leveraging to gain income-producing assets is not a negative thing, and that not all debt is created equal.  He even goes into some depth on the Smith Manoeuvre, which is a leveraging strategy that builds on your house’s equity.  I definitely read the fine print here, because I am soon looking to put this strategy into action.

Real Life Proof That This Stuff Works!

By far the highlight of the e-book for me was the section where Mike shows examples from his personal life.  The real value of the book lies right there in my opinion.  Mike’s theories are great and definitely worth reading, but I have read many of them in other places; however, when he clearly shows how he executed these strategies he is advocating for it really brings them to life and pounds his point home – that you actually can get out of the Rat Race using these plans because he is actually doing it himself!  Mike goes into detail on many of his financial transactions, including how to learn from his errors.  It is not written from the standpoint of, “Look what I did,” but rather, “This is what I tried, here are the results, this is how I know what works.”  “The Rat Race” wraps up with some cool tips on how Mike has ran his blog, some of his investment decisions, and how to maximize productivity.  One useful idea involved taking a typing course (Mike said he typed 75-80 words a minute according to a specific test, I averaged 60-65 on the same test).  I never thought about how typing speed could have a huge impact on someone’s efficiency, but when you consider how much time many people (especially those who “hustle”) spend at a keyboard, it is a very valuable insight.  These little advantages are something you won’t see in many other places, and Mike’s success is proof enough of their value to me.

The fact that Mike has an enviable financial statement, an extremely successful stable of personal finance blogs, and a quickly escalating career in the financial field, all give “The Rat Race” a huge degree of credibility with me.  I am a huge fan of TFB and some of Mike’s other blogs and I can’t wait to read his next e-books in this series.  After reading “The Rat Race” I now hope to be a “Rat King” just like Mike!

To purchase a copy of The Rat Race for the limited time offer of $27.00 click here.  If you want to get out of the daily grind and truly build an attractive future out of the Rat Race lifestyle, then it is definitely worth the $27.00 to see what Mike has to say.  Don’t take my word on it, check out Mike’s free dividend investment guide and judge his merits as an author and financial authority for yourself!