'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary's outlook on money will make you suspicious of everyone you meet

In his book, "Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women, and Money," Kevin O'Leary shares a pragmatic, if slightly alarmist, perspective on money.

"Here's the cold hard truth," the "Shark Tank" investor writes. "No matter how much money you make, the world is designed to take it away."

Between the bank collecting fees, the lender charging you for a mortgage, the credit card companies facilitating your spending for a price, the insurance companies scaring you into unnecessary policies, and "complicated financial products" like annuities taking advantage of your confusion, O'Leary explains that you have to be on the defensive and have the knowledge to protect yourself from losing money.

He writes:

Student loans, credit cards, and mortgages are powerful financial tools that are necessary if you want to live a full, well-rounded life. But you can see how easy it is for the average person who doesn't understand how these tools work ... to make money mistakes.

This doesn't mean you have to play the victim, he explains. Defending your money against the onslaught of costs and demands "starts by waking up to the truth about your financial situation. By doing that, you'll begin using clearheaded reasoning instead of emotions when making money decisions. And that alone will change the way you relate to money."

So how do you become "clearheaded" about your financial situation? It starts with the most basic of tasks: tracking your spending and creating a budget.