MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your “Enough”
Manisha Thakor
HarperBusiness/An Imprint of HarperCollins (August 2023)

If you are ensnared in the Cult of Never Enough, here’s how to extract yourself.

Why did Manisha Thakor write this book?

Her response: “MoneyZen is a concept I coined roughly a decade ago to describe a brand of financial well-being that focuses on financial health as a precursor to emotional wealth…What I’ve ultimately come to learn is that the individual concepts of ‘Money’ and ‘Zen’ must be woven together to fully unleash the magic. And that’s what this book will teach how to do.” Her book addresses money worries — a woefully underdiscussed issue that requires emotional and intellectual solutions…the goal of this book is to help you understand WHY you became ensnared in your unique flavor of the Cult of Never Enough in the first place — and how to extract yourself.”

“How much is enough?” is a legitimate question to ask. If nothing is ever enough, there will almost certainly be deeply serious problems that money alone cannot possibly solve.

Over the years, I have known many people who were workaholics. They seemed obsessed (and probably were obsessed) with achieving more, doing better, increasing wealth and recognition, etc. Many of them justified their attitude and efforts in terms of what they could contribute to the standard of living — if not quality of life — in their marriage and parenthood.

The information, insights, and counsel that Manisha Thakor provides can help almost anyone  to complete a candid but sensitive “reality check” of what they really value, and, what can be most valuable to them in months and years ahead. Rather than dwelling on the damage that results from bad habits, she focuses on  how to develop the most appropriate habits. She redefines “net worth” to include integrity.

Here are two concluding suggestions while reading MoneyZen: Highlight key passages, and, record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), and page references as well as your responses to questions posed and to lessons you have learned. (Pay close attention to the key reminders in introductory head notes and end-of-chapter reminders.) These two simple tactics will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.