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Dollars and Sense Book Review

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For all of my book reviews, I will be using a rating system of 1 through 5, 1 for the worst, 5 for the best! I will be rating only books that can be found at no cost through the local library, and that are rated as some of the best career, financial, and self-help books in the 21st century. If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below!


Dollars and Sense By Dan Ariely

Rating: 4/5 Quarters


Dollars and Sense is a book that uses relatable stories to explain how various stores and businesses help manipulate people into spending money. This book does a wonderful job of not just making financial sense relatable, but helping to explain the behaviors that can cause bad spending habits, instead of only focusing on budget spreadsheets.


I chose to review this book because an important aspect of working and managing career goals is also the wages and salary you’re making. This book also has an added bonus of helping to explain business and marketing techniques to the layperson, which is great knowledge for anyone that may be going into a job with connections to that field.


This book does a great job of explaining how spending habits are linked to psychology, our social circles, our jobs and more. This book also addresses “lifestyle creep” or how making more money can lead to people spending more, and provides great insight into how you can leverage the techniques about spending to help yourself professionally. The author also does a great section on self-control and planning for the future that isn’t just applicable to finances but also to planning your career.


The book does have a few flaws in that while the story format is approachable and easier to digest than many financial books, it occasionally can muddle the point the author is trying to make. The other flaw is that while the author offers insight into these behaviors and how they affect us, he doesn’t necessarily supply positive solutions applicable to them. The end of the book does a great job of providing over all solutions, but is also slightly short compared to the rest of the book. Those are the only things I personally didn't enjoy!


Overall the book is an easy and enjoyable read and a great starting point to learn how to save money, control spending and saving habits, and how to leverage your knowledge in different aspects of your life.

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