Chapter 1 Summary:
Our financial decision-making process is greatly influenced by our core financial belief system, or subconscious. However, this financial belief system has been highly contaminated by years of internalizing advertising and marketing from the big financial firms. One of the differences between rich and poor people is that the rich identify and avoid such corrupting financial influences, and have learned to neutralize their disruptive effects on their lives. In short, they have learned how to think critically for themselves.
Just as a farmer must clear the weeds and rocks from a field before he can plow and plant, we must weed through the massive amount of inappropriate financial advice and concepts that we have internalized from self-serving sources. We must remove corrupted financial beliefs and relearn how we think about money
To invest wisely, we must fully examine the motives behind the advice one receives, review the math, and check the facts related to this advice. A larger account size or an increased growth of certain accounts, will not always translate into the spendable cash we need. It is necessary to re-examine the sources of our financial beliefs and decide if those beliefs are untrue investment truisms. This book endeavors to expose exactly how we have been misled and demonstrate why it was not an accident. This book reveals why it is important to question your own financial beliefs as well as those of your financial advisor.