by Hope
Thank you, Susan, for recommending I read the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel when I requested book recommendations back in January. I fully appreciate the knowledge gained even though it is an older book. It is evidently pretty popular around here as I got on the wait list for it at the library on the day (1/20/26) you recommended and just got access a week ago (3/15/26). I just finished reading it today (3/22/26).
My favorite quote of the entire book was this:
“We should use past surprises as an admission that we have no idea what might happen next.”
Truly the story of my life, and profoud in it’s simplicity. It really made me evaluate in a different light, why my “forecasting” hasn’t worked as well as I always think it should. Because if nothing else, my life has been a true roller coaster of surprises – personal, professional, financial and every other which way.
If you have not read it, definitely recommend.
I’ve now got pages worth of notes to review and think through. But I enjoyed all the real life examples the author shared, the analogies for financial fundamentals using related stories, people and subject matter, and especially how easy it was to read. It didn’t bog me down, and there were few sections that I had to re-read to understand and grasp the implications. That has rarely been the case with personal finance books.
And I definitely appreciated that the author was very clear that personal finance is very personal. All of our histories, life experiences, culture, education, and our perspectives is going to lend itself to each of us prioritizing different things, make different decisions with our financial assets. Truly emphasizing the true psychology of money versus the math of money.
Finally, I loved the recognition that happiness is not from having money. It’s ultimately in the freedom that money gives us. Money gives us control our time and how we spend it. Now that’s a concept I fully agree with and appreciate!
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
