Business Money Books

The author creates an awareness within you and makes you reach out for creating and working on your goals in an approach which feels very achievable. I would recommend everyone to read this book. If not anything else, it at least helps to motivate you!

Once again, it is a must read!

Trust me, I wouldn't have any trouble letting a money machine run on autopilot, as the bulk of this book is dedicated to explaining.

Many people will read this book, think it's great, maybe give it some afterthought and go back to their lives. Others will scoff at it and say it's trash. Well, I'm writing this review strictly to set the record straight. Ferriss gives us tools. Tools that we can use to create a different, more interesting life. I bought this book in June of 2007, and I'm writing this review, now July, 2008, from Oaxaca, Mexico, where I'm renting a villa with a spectacular mountain view for an entire month. No, I'm not rich. The trip cost $1200 for the rental, plus about $2400 for the airfare. I'm working full time while I am here (except for the odd day off or so)so as not to waste my PTO. What is technologically making this possible for me is my laptop, a good IP phone (a commercial one), and most importantly, a solid internet connection, which is available in most third world countries these days.

A year ago, when I first read this book, this trip would not have been possible. I was able to follow some of his thoughts and virtualize my job. Of course, not everyone will be able to do this...I get that...but it's more than just a fleeting possibility for most than many seem to think.

If nothing else, it's a quick, easy read, and can show you what is possible. The rest, if you have the imagination and will to make it happen, are up to you.

I bought this book when I was trying to find a business that could best use my talent. Mr. Ferriss was referred to in Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Florida. I was at Borders when I was reading the newspaper article, and I bought the book right there and then.

I have read many motivational books by many famous writers, but this one by far, the most practical one. I have not yet tried the method(s) written in his book. But it is all common sense that if you don't try, how would you know? It is a pity that many of us (in the US) sitting in the comfort of mediocrity while the rest of the world is seeking improving their life by finding a "niche". Work 4 hours a week sounds like a "niche" to many of over worked people here in the US. Guess what the Indians and Chinese people do? They work hard, finding "niches", and become rich. And then they acquire the wealth of the world, so the NR in China need only work 4 hours a week or less. Why can't we do that, and what is wrong with that?
I am a Chinese, and have been in the US for close to 20 years. I have worked hard, still in search of a niche that will enable me work 4 hours a week or LESS! I have not found it yet, but I am continuing to look for it...this book serves as another tool to realize my dream. Perhaps Mr. Ferriss had better education, perhaps he has higher IQ, perhaps he had better luck, and the bottom line is, he got to where most of us want to be and should be!
I resent those who preaching that "you have to work hard to make money", NO, I want to work smart!!!!! Work hard enables me live from pay check to pay check, perhaps Mr. Ferriss' book will give me some wisdom. I don't know, but it certainly gives me more hope than the rest of the naysayers. Please, the naysayers, if you have the luxury to work only 4 hours a week, would you still criticize what this book try to convey? Do less, accomplish more will make the world a much more pleasant place to live. At least will make people feeling less grouchy! Thank you Mr. Ferriss for giving us the tips! I love the book, confident will generate positive result for me!
To the rest of the naysayers, please be real, work 4 hours a week sounds like just what you need!

Never before have I been so compelled to write a review--not just because of the overwhelming amount of cynicism that has been spewed about the number of 5-star reviews on this book, but because it is actually a REALLY good read. I listened to the 7-CD audio version of this book in my mobile library aka my car and I was enlightened on my 2 hour daily commute to and from work. As young as Tim is, he seems to have grasped the concept of accomplishing everything that you could ever want to do. There is a certain fearlessness and sense of urgency that arrives after reading this book that the reader will either have to embrace or reject. Embracing will lead to inevitable success; while rejection will lead to more of the same--50 hour weeks, information overload, and retirement at 65. There are a few of things that I picked up from this book that make it worth its weight in gold.

-Dreamlining: This was something that I did my own way before reading the book, but done Tim's way has had a huge impact on the way I view things in life. Figuring out how much your dream life costs and making it happen one peice at a time.

-Mini-retirement: The idea of working until you are old, tired, and rich is beyond played out. Living for the now, and better planning so that you can have everything and do everything that you want is much more upbeat and even (dare I say) logical.

-Time Management: The basis of this premise in the book is simple. Stop letting other people waste your time. it belongs to you and you should protect it at all costs, and free it whenever possible.

Without giving away any of the book in detail, I can not say anything more helpful than BUY this book. It has changed my world, and the world of others that i have recommended it to. There is nothing superficial about it. It is an honest and detailed account of a young person that has capitalized on the understanding of time management and where our businesses are headed. The principles can be applied to those that work for others and those that work for themselves. That is my review. I definitely recommend the audio version for iPodders, and heavy commuters. This review was not paid for by Tim Ferris.

For women who have little or no working knowledge about how finances and investments should be ran, this book is an excellent place to start. It definietely takes the blinders off--especially since women can no longer go under their spouse's credit rating should things happen that aren't forseen. In my case it was a divorce, but this book gave me a wealth of info that I fully intend to apply.

For those of you going through a separation of some sort, this is a good book to start with. She doesn't come out and mention death and/or divorce, but paints out scenarios that often leave women holding the bag and fending for themselves. There are a lot of preventative measures that can be taken also. The bottom line is that we no longer live in an age where women can rely on the spouse or significant other to provide--something has to be set aside just in case the unforseen occurs.

This book is a good investment. I strongly urge women to read it.

I bought this book for my wife for her birthday and she absolutely loves it. She watches Suze on TV regularly, and she thinks this book is the perfect companion to the TV show.

Suze Orman hammers home that women need a will, an irrevocable trust and a durable power of attorney. This is information that she discusses in each one of her books. In some of her books, she goes more in-depth but this book, I found the information more basic, just that in this book, she targets women. She talks about how to come up with a 12-month plan to get your finances in order but I found her overly confident in her belief that her methods are going to work in EVERY situation. Unlike her other fantastic books, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke and the 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, I found most of the information in this book to be common sense financial advice. I understand, though that she needs to rehash this information because not everyone will read all of her books, however, she could have easily limited this information to a single chapter in one of her better books.

This book is just ok. The advice in this book was a no brainer so nothing new to me. I have to say that the chapter on wills was helpful though.

I am a young-ish, successful sales-woman, looking to further my knowledge about general finances and investing. This book is great, as it is easy to read and very informative. Suzie does a great job of speaking to all different types of women: stay at home moms, those heavily in debt, and those who are looking to grow their money in the future. Most importantly, she ties these need-to-know finance topics with the emotional "issues" woman generally deal with when it comes to finances. I would highly recommend this book, but it is a book for finance "beginners" or those who need help.

This book is amazing for the reason that it teaches you the way to financial independence, and how any person would start thinking business. The examples of implmenting this in the real estate are very nice, and help us to start small. A similar pattern / principle can be applied to any other business.

I recently purchased this book for my husband as well as several other books in the series. My husband is in the military and also takes a big interest in real estate. Since giving him the books several of the other guys in his platoon have borrowed the books and have found new passion and insite not only in real estate but their personal goals in life. Although most books in the series expand on the writers experiences in real estate, the principals can be applied to many different occupations, personal and professional goals. I highly reccomend this book to anyone feeling the "hamster in the wheel" syndrome, (running real fast but getting no where) and anyone re-evaluating or concidering a career move. If anything, it may motivate you to make a change. Maybe not into real estate but a change to better your situation.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting and at times funny. I did not want to put it down. However, if you are looking for a get rich quick idea or scheme, it is not in this book. Also, if you are not interested in real estate, you may not like this book, because that is most of the author's story. When I heard about this book, I thought it would show me how to get rich. The book does not show you how to get rich, it tells the story. If you want to get rich you only need do one thing, MAKE MONEY. I know it sounds stupid, but my uncle told me, "if you want to make big money, you have to do things in a big way." You can get rich by going to school, or by working in a restaurant, or by selling cars, getting rich is up to you. Just turn on the tv and you will see lots of rich people who did lots of different things to get rich. Good Luck!

I can't read this stuff. The stories are long and seemingly pointless. I tried skipping through to find the pearls of wisdom, but I never found any. One story tells in endless dull detail how he worked for 10 cents an hour when he was a kid. Who cares? Just get to the point.
I've seen this guy on TV, and he's a salesman. He tells you, over and over, how rich he is and how smart he is, but he never tells you anything you can use. I suspect he got rich by selling these books, which tell you how to get rich, supposedly. Looks like baloney to me.

I like to read good financial books and this book kept getting a lot of buzz, so I finally got around to reading it? I just don't understand why so many people rave about this book.

Instead of giving you tools, this book is about changing your thinking process.

In essence, I'll sum up the lessons here:

1. He redefines assets and liabilities. Assets put money in your pocket, liabilities cost you money. Thus your home is probably a liability while you live in it. Of course, you have to live somewhere, right?

2. Educate yourself about financial matters. No actual education given in this book.

3. Try and be of a mindset to spot and take advantage of opportunities, where ever they may be.

4. Instead of just assuming you can or cannot do something, ask yourself why you can or can't. Put some thought and analysis into it, instead of letting your emotions rule your decisions.

Sorry, I expect a lot more from a book that gets this many rave reviews.

Can we say Dave is a financial genius??
Im sooo glad I found this book at 26 years old! I never had tons of debt, but I had a credit card and believed in the credit score, NOT any longer!

This book is full of wonderful information for anyone! Its easy to read, to the point, and simple steps. Dave has this book laid out for anyone to follow and it really gets you motivated! You know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I have given this book to several friends as gifts and its been a gift that last a lifetime!

A MUST READ for anyone, no matter what your finical situation!!!

Mr. Ramsey's book provide wonderful info on building and keeping wealth. Highly recommended for those that need direction in their money matters.

Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of something, and realize that what you're living right now is a turning point in your life. Reading the Total Money Makeover was one of THOSE awesome times for me.

I was initially skeptical about this book, but last summer some girls on a mother's board I'm a member of were really excited about Dave Ramsey. So in late August I picked up a copy, and started to read. Then I picked up a highlighter and read it again. I started listening to the radio show and I dragged my husband to Dave Ramsey's 12-week financial class.

A year ago, I figured we'd be living in our tiny starter house forever and wondered how we'd be able to afford pre-school and still come up with money for a down payment for a 2nd car.

Today, in the midst of this "economic recession", we are happy, confident, and have hope about the future, because thanks to Dave's inspiring stories and simple plan, we have now eliminated all our debts, bought a house, and realized that we really can afford to send our kids to college in 16 years AND retire comfortably. We're planning to buy that 2nd car in cash next year.

You really can summarize this book in just a few paragraphs, but you can't substitute a description of the plan for the amount of motivation you can get from the inspiration that's inside.

Whether trying to get out of debt or simply not get into debt, this book is the number one answer! Dave Ramsey's advice is borne of experience in blowing a fortune, recovering it and learning his lesson. Now he passes his plan on to others in an easy-to-follow (and understand!) method that really works. Hundreds of callers have told their stories on his radio and TV shows (now on Fox Business Network) and proudly screamed "We're debt free" after applying his principles of money management to their situations, some seemingly hopeless. You CAN climb out of overwhelming debt, and this book tells you how. Not a pie-in-the-sky kind of book, but practical steps to follow that will save your marriage and your sanity as you pay back what you owe and establish a nest egg for the future.

This book provides a very simple, straightforward plan for those looking to get out of debt. It is a very 'easy read', and provides a plan as well as motivation for financial recovery. However, I would not recommend this book to those without debt, nor to those who are able to discipline themselves on financial matters. For those folks, some of the advice is counter-productive for gaining wealth. For all who read this book, don't take any of Dave's statements as sound reasoning without thinking through each statement, as he has a way of only giving 'facts' that support his propositions, and much of his reasoning is very weak. For instance, he states that carrying cash is no more risky than carrying a credit card because muggers don't have x-ray vision to know what you're carrying in your wallet. While true, this is irrelevant. Of course folks have an equal chance of getting mugged no matter what they're carrying in their wallet, but if the victim is carrying cash, it's lost forever. If the victim is carrying a credit card, there will be no financial loss.

I did not benefit from reading this book. However, I do believe that for those who are deep in debt and looking for a way out, this book could be very beneficial.

I do have to say that this book is definetly a must read. Although it repeats too much on how modern political leaders lay back while the lending system is designed to screw with naive childlike modern american citizens, it really outlines common sense principles that we overlook on how to fight back and become wise in our actions of the lending industry. This book is definely an elementary read but I highly reccomend. It is always important to purchase things in life that have great use value and this book is one of them. I have saved $1,000 in literally 5 minutes and I got this book for $19.95. Do the math dummies, readers are leaders. read, read, read, even if you idolize george bush its time to wake up and smell the flowers and read this book.

Kevin Trudeau deserves his props.Even though he`s been in trouble before,he`s learned his lesson and quite frankly, has the b-lls to take on the pharmaceutical industry in his past books and now the credit card industry.Our government is trying to squash him like a mosquito because he shines a big light on areas the government does`nt want lit.
Trudeau has to walk a fine line as our government is waiting for him to make a mistake so they can pounce on him.
All of his books do have helpful information.If you don`t like his books--get a refund or don`t buy them at all.Too many people are trashing this guy.He`s trying to survive in the same cruel world we all live in.
Only complaint i have is when his books first come out on infomercials at full price,you call an 800 number to order and his operators try to hook you into other services.
If i want to read one of his books,i always wait until the book is offered in bookstores at 25% off or order it online.If you`re real patient,you can wait for paperback versions at less than half price.All of his books are an interesting read.

Great advice on how to fix your credit and succeed! I highly recommend this book.

Would you really want to buy a book from someone who claims to be a guru of: finance, natural "cures", memory and weight loss? Would you talk to your investment rep. for weight loss ot natural "cures" information? I think not. I think Suze Orman's information is MUCH MORE sound and recommended. As a banker, I think Trudeau is simply creating a book to go along with the latest panic in the news. I reviewed his Debt Cures book in a bookstore and would not buy it. There is the same free information on the internet. If you are really bent on buying it, wait for it to be sold used for $.01.

I rarely right a negative review. But I bought this book hoping for some new sources or ideas. Unfortunatley the websites and resources he provides ar all available for free with a diligent websearch. SO far having serached for 3 days I have found nothing I qualify for.
Also a lot of his ideas are commen knowledge such as public assistance.
Not worth it the only one getting rich here is him

This book makes a really good job in presenting us our lives sustained by 5 pillars. Honestly, the way James Ray makes this division (although I even agree with it) is not the most important here. The big thing here is that we start looking at ourselves in a different way and invest on different areas to achieve full happiness. To be short, I think this sentence describers the author's approach to life and he states it early in the book: "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.", Ghandi. Totally agree: we will not be very spiritual or truly happy if we can't be objective and wealthy.

the11passiveincomesources.com

Nearly half way thru Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray and believe this is an amazing value for money book. THe information is easy to access and understand and the style of writing is quite logical. When you use the internet support materials with the book the value increases dramatically. Ray has simplified the whole Secret thing to a more practical level making it very user friendly and obvious. Could be my self-help book of the year!

Excellent book! I'm purchasing more for family and friends. James Ray is able to get the message across in a way that will make you really want to be 'all that'!! As an author and speaker, James never disappoints.

This is a great book. Even if you have read lots of self development books, this still has detail and new information that you will enjoy and find useful.
Here are some of my favourite bits:
- The more chaos we have, the more it proves to us that we are growing
- Everything is energy, includng you - energy flows where attention goes
- Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it
- Pay attention to what is keeping you healthy - do you pay as much attention to your body as you do to your mind?
- Move as if your life depends on it - because it does
- I am the adventurer of life
- Get prepared... and then intuition will come
- Meditation brings focus - you will be more intelligent and creative

This is different to other prosperity books because it focuses on all areas of wealth. Recommended for a good chunky read that will make you ponder at points - and definitely give you some new ideas.

James A. Ray is really a genius... I found the book to take a very real and practical approach to The Spiritual Laws of The Universe. He approaches the laws with great respect and balances it with the very practical advice about action that one must take in order to be successful. Intergrated Spiritual Mastery = Action + Spiritual Laws.
James was very honest about his own mistakes and error thinking... I found that very encouraging. Great Book, Great Title, Great Author.

Carletus Willis

It is a very good book that I found enjoyable and thought provoking. I plan on following some of the suggestions in the book.

This is James Bayfield from shortsalesMagic.com. This audio book got me fired up..., I am already doing ok, but it motivate me to acquire alot more... instead of just one realty office, I am now pursuing many more locations...

Instead of buying and selling one houses, now I am selling many more.
The goal is to serve more people.... you guest right , you get more rewards...

What a Great Book. Not only does this motivate you to get out and make money, it also has great pratical tips to keep you on track.

I have bought quite a few of these books and am sharing them with my friends. I bought one and sent it to my son in Colorado and he is going to be the Millionaire. Thanks, Kitty

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2SF4DY5PDWTYJ Get ready, this book will change your money consciousness! Secrets of the Millionaire Mind is inspiring, empowering and life-changing. It explains why most people are broke, unhappy and have no clue what to do about it. After reading the book and attending Harv's FREE Millionaire Mind Intensive twice, I was completely blown away. He teaches you both the inner and outer games of true wealth. If you're ready to have more money and more happiness in your life, add this book to your cart!!
--Adair Cates, speaker and author of Live with Intention: Ten Steps to Creating the Life of Your Dreams

While the book has some interesting insights into the wealthy, what is the point of amassing a fortune if you're living well below your means? If you're looking to make some money I recommend you read some books on investing. Phil Town's book "Rule #!" is a great book based on the same investment strategies that Warren Buffet uses.

Descriptions from interviews of millionaires were the most interesting aspects of this book. The authors occasionally cited actual paraphrases from some of these folks and those statements were often impactful.

At the end, it's all common sense as in almost all business books. My biggest gripe was the overbearing use of statistics - they can make the numbers say whatever they want and there were times that they did this. For example, their questionaire must have had a question about being self-made or did they recieve an inheritance. Everyone always says they are self-made even if they came from a fairly well off family. They oversimplify how difficult it is to become more wealthy than your parents. Relying on the answers to a questionaire for this insight is unreliable.

But in summary, the book makes some great points about the inner workings of a traditional successful business owner. My favorite of which is that any business owner in any industry can become immensely successful, whether it be hauling garbage, running pawn shops, designing software or selling pharmaceuticals. It's all about hard and smart work.

This book just gives stats behind what should be common sense. If you save your money and stay away from the flashy things in life of course you will be better off in the long run....financially. I think we should all remember the fine line though, tomorrow isn't promised so don't kill yourself to save a couple dollars unless you think you are taking your $ with you when you die. I got through half of this book and just felt they could have gotten to the point in maybe 40 pages, why waste valuable time.

On the contrary, I think this book could be beneficial for those lacking in discipline in their finances. If you fall into this category, I would recommend this book.

I am a financial advisor and I frequently loan this book to clients and they usually love it. Its also a great book to give to young people. It really gets across the message that you don't have to make a lot of money to be wealthy, you just have to live below your means and invest well. Highly recommended.

I'm a single woman in my early 30s, my parents are middle-class and doing okay. The only thing i was taught as a kid was "save your money" or "dont spend it". that went in one ear and out the other. i never had it in my mind to rely on a man or get married for wealth, but my Mom always seemed to put that idea towards me...even though i never took it on.
Im an educated woman and working on my Business Degree. Ive made my mistakes in Credit card debt but luckily i am almost debt free and my mistakes never got out of control... i stopped and panicked when my debt hit $8k and for me that was it!

This book is teaching me much more in terms of having a mindset of growing wealth and investing than anything or person in my life ever has.
I wish i had this book 10 years ago when i was 20 but i still have plenty of time to get this thing on track.

When we buy groceries we usually have our brands and favorites we buy on certain things... me i pay good money for ice cream.
This week I saved $3 by switching to a cheap brand. i was proud of myself. That $3 goes into my savings.
I have no doubt in my mind that I will never become a PAW, I plan on putting more time into investing and learning about money each week.

Too bad my Dad never taught me this stuff :(

This book is the financial layman's primer for the credit crisis. It is clear, concise, and offers a mature and historically-grounded view of the credit bubble, past, present, and harrowing future. A great read.

If you want to understand what and why are US (and international) banks suddenly covering every corner of the world to raise capital - this book has the answers!

Morris has an incredible foresight. While the book was written before the Banking Crisis hit the US, you feel as if you were reading the morning's newspaper.

A must for any business person!

The book provides an excellent analysis of the current US inspired credit crisis that is threatening the financial system. The problem boils down to an unwinding of an enormous credit bubble, built up over the last twenty five years, and a corrupt, overly leveraged, wall street establishment that is able the pocket gains and socialize losses. The problem is not necessarily one with the free market (in the real sense), but rather one with the current neo-corporatist model (aka Chicago school monetarism, or soft fascism) where in effect the most powerful and wealthy interests in a country gain control of the state regulatory and legislative agencies and use them as a battering ram to further their own private interests at public expense. Of course the public is usually too distracted and dumbed down to ever figure out what is going on until after their bank accounts are empty, they're hopelessly in debt, and their children are being packed off to fight the latest war for "freedom and democracy".

It seems that this same neo-corporatist model is to some extent also at work in the pharmaceutical, media, and military industrial complexes as well. It creates a type of "tapeworm economy", or ponzi scheme, that eventually caves in on itself.

The author paints a very broad picture in leading us into the main focus of the book, which is the credit crunch resulting largely from the subprime mortgage mess. The sketches of previous bubbles leading up to this bubble give helpful background and strengthen the notion that this debacle is part of an ongoing trend dating back to the 80s. There is precedent for the current troubles in the 1987 market crash, the LTCM hedge fund failure, and the demise of GE's Kidder Peabody in 1994.

A number of ingredients have gone into the mix of these ever arising bubbles. Since the advent of computer trading, investment banks and hedge funds have been able to develop more and more complex financial instruments that have made them more and more enthusiastic about taking on risk. They are aided by the fact that they can essentially work in dark corners behind the scenes with no regulators poking around. Success leads to the prospect that even fatter returns are within reach if they keep leveraging their positions. The fuel that keeps the fires burning is easy money and burgeoning asset values; and it all works well until home prices stop going up or the Fed decides to raise interest rates. Then we have a crash.

The book gives the reader a glimpse into what goes on in the dealmaking recesses of the investment banking world. We learn, for instance, that a Credit Default Swap is a credit derivative that is supposed to hedge against mortgage defaulting and that synthetic CDOs are arrays of Credit Default Swaps with different tranches divided according to risk; and that SIVs are a means the banks use to hide the stuff from their books.

The macroeconomic viewpoint of this book is far too sketchy to enable anything but a scattershot casting of blame. The author would have done better to have maintained more of a focus on the excesses of unregulated finance and the problems of remedy. The recent fallout, which has so far included the government rescue of Bear Stearns - an abandonment of free market principles, leads to the obvious conclusion that sensible regulation is necessary. Nevertheless, there seem to be many in influential positions who prefer to look the other way and parrot that any regulation is bad regulation.

I was very much impressed by Charles R. Morris's "The Coming Global Boom" in the early 1990's, so this book was quite a disappointment. "The Trillion Dollar Meltdown" is an example of the phase Charles Kindleberger describes in his "Panics, Manias, and Crashes" as "looking for the scapegoats." Here the principal scapegoats are Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan. Morris both decries and predicts the demise of Friedman's free market "ideology" and Reagan's idea that government is part of the problem and not the solution.

Morris sets up his argument by describing how liberalism and fiscal Keynesianism lost credibility by the end of the 1970's with what has been described as stagflation. Fiscal stimulus no longer stimulated an economy mired in so much debt. Morris then describes how Paul Volker implemented Friedman's Monetarism policy , but according to Morris, it worked because Volker didn't believe in the ideology. Volker just wanted to demonstrate to the world he was serious about inflation.

While I think Morris brilliantly critiqued the Liberalism of the 1970's, I disagree with his argument that it went away. Reagan promised to abolish the Energy and Education Departments and that went nowhere. Republicans talked about "government as the problem" but then expanded most government programs. The liberal interest groups that proliferated in the 1970's turned their attention to the Federal Courts and achieved many of their goals there. Interest group Liberalism didn't go away in the 1980's. It's agenda was still advanced merely by changing venues.

My point is that big government never died, Morris's claims notwithstanding. Nor did financial regulation end with the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act. In the aftermath of the Dot.com boom-bust, the Sarbanes Oxley Act---which Morris doesn't mention---put heavy restrictions on new stock issuances. So, the money went where the regulations aren't. As it usually does.

I would also say that in dealing with the current crisis, Fed Chairman Bernacke is not using the Milton Friedman approach of letting the "fire burn itself out." Instead, Bernacke is using the Walter Bagehot strategy of finding the lender of last resort to bail out the ailing institutions.

Now, I agree with Morris that many of these `investments" he describes are scams.
I think variable rate mortgages are a bad idea because most people who agree to one have no idea that they are placing a bet on what the Fed will do over the life of the loan. They are signing up for what could be a rather bumpy ride.

I also agree with Morris's criticisms of Sallie Mae and the student loan mess, but I would point out that the colleges themselves are considerably to blame for these problems. Many colleges have accumulated vast trust funds while doing little to help their students. It sometimes seems to me that a college education has become like home ownership: having one is better than not having one but too many bucks have been chasing too little bang for some time now.

I think the institution that is most profoundly in need of reform in America is the United States Congress. When the Republicans forgot what they had been elected to do, they were turned out of office. But, when the Democrats returned to power, I saw that many faces of the Committee Chairs were the same as those who were turned out of power in 1994. Do you think they learned anything in the interim? I don't.

I read this book back in 1994. It has much timeless knowledge.

The Richest Man in Babylon is an inspirational book on helping to create an investment mentality by using parables of how the Richest Man in Babylon would have invested. It is for beginning investors who need good reasons to develop a proper mindset to start working towards becoming financially independent. It also is a good book for recharging a wealth mentality in any investor.

The concepts in the book are simple, but their effects on wealth are profound! For example, George Clason covers The Five Laws of Gold. From the version I read, they are:

I. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantities to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

II. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks in the field.

III. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.

IV. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.

V. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

Overall an excellent book for beginners though advanced investors.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

The book came right on time and looks brand new. I am very pleased.
Thank you!

If you ever read at least one book on personal finance, this must be it.

I am still reading this book. Offers practical
advice about money handling and wise decision
making, as it relates to money. Would HIGHLY
recommend this for young readers or anyone.

I didn't really get much out of this book since what it states is based on common sense and nothing new for personal development in my opinion. There are better books for overall improvement and achievement.