Business Money Books

The differences between western financial systems and African financial systems is well described here. While there are no easy "fixes" listed in the book, it does help put the issues in context. With context the differences do not seem so deceptive, but rather understandable.

Easy to read, and without a lot of "intellectual" language used. I think anyone who has traveled or worked in Africa will immediately connect with the author.

Although being Politically Correct can mean that reality is ignored for the greater good, this book would not be deemed PC. However, it is cringingly full of generalities and embarrassingly full of platitudes about Africans. While trying to show that societal organization in Africa is so very different from that of the West, it actually just shows that poor people and rich people act the same there as they do here. And the book shows it over and over again.

As a missionary in Africa, I have found this book to be one of the most detailed, insightful and practical books on interactions between Westerners and Africans on many levels- not just financial ones. It gives very specific examples on a variety of areas of tension between the cultures, from both a Western and African perspective.

Informative, but very redundant. Author repeats himself over and over. Everything in the book could have been written in two chapters.

Essential reading for any Westerner going to live in Africa. Might also be useful to Africans living in the West, or with Western friends and colleagues.

My eight year old liked this book, but not as much as some other books about money and investing. The illustrations could have been a little more colorful.

This book is ok. I have been reading it with my eight year old daughter. The reading contents are somewhat complex for an eight year old to grasp. I have to really break down what the author is saying. If this book is for kids I believe the author could have done a better job in making it a little friendlier. I am looking for another book to invest in, one that is a little simpler.

This book definitely teaches a lot about money itself. Over half of the book is on the history of money, how it has been used in the past, America's coins and paper money (including reading a dollar bill and anti-counterfeiting), different types of banking (savings, checking, plastic and electronic) and even ventures into discussing the Euro. On page 80, it begins introducing where money comes from (allowance, gifts and working) and the book closes with a chapter on investing but parents may wish to look for a book devoted to teaching investing (if that is your objective).

This book reminds me more of a fun trivia book or a book one would use for a school report. It definitely has a lot to teach in terms of money facts, several of which, I am sure many adults do not know. There are also "Fun with Money" sections (penny relay races, don't move the penny, hiding the coin, etc.) in each chapter which will surely keep kids entertained. This is one of the unique things found in this book as opposed to others. I wouldn't be surprised if kids read all those pages first!

This is a valuable book about $$. And it isn't just for kids. I'm actually buying one for a grown-up for the terrific advice!

Great book for kids to learn about money. Not only does it give suggestions on how to make money, but most importantly what to do with the money once you've earned it.

*Ideas for making money.
*Tips on how to spend money wisely.
*Most importantly ways to invest the money that you've earned so your money can multiply.

In order to become a wealthy person you need two main skills: The first one covers the mindset skills and the other covers the technical skills.You cannot become and stay wealthy without one of them unless you hit the lottery. Then that is simply luck not skills. If you lack one of the previous mentioned skills you can go right to the top but you will not stay there for long. In conclusion this book covers in an excellent way the skills that we need in our mind to start the process of becoming wealthy. Think of both set of skills like the jockey and its horse. You can have the best horse but if the jockey is lousy I doubt that you will win the race. Buy it, read it an reread it. It will teach you exactly what you need to think in order to start the process.

As a 20 year old college student majoring in business, I enjoyed this book. I suggest (as others have) to read this book in one sitting. It is a short read and I remember (and use) the steps in my everyday life. I gave this book 4 stars because I believe the book should of had more of his real life examples ... When he does start talking about his real life examples, the stories were great, but quickly ended. He repeates himself in the book saying to talk to elders and to other wealthy people; however, I find that he should of spoke more about himself. Overall a good read. B+

This book provides you with thought provoking insights to shift from Middle Class to Millionaire mindset. It helps you recognize the barriers that keep you from reaching your Millionaire potential.

Your thoughts, attitude and the way you view Earning Opportunities will change as you will learn from the Distinctions in this book. These 10 Distinctions will align you on the pathway to become the next Millionaire in your area.

WHY IS THIS BOOK GOING OUT OF PRINT? IT DESERVES THE STATUS OF "Classic", and should NEVER go out of print! I hope to use its principles to get copies for all my friends and relatives, in the next 5 years or so! IF THIS BOOK DOESN'T MAKE ONE A MILLIONAIRE, IT WILL
D E F I N I T E L Y....LET YOU KNOW HOW MILLIONAIRES THINK!!!!

PLEASE KEEP THIS 5 STAR....NO, 100 STAR! BOOK IN PRINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...........................................................

THIS BOOK, "The 10 Top Distinctions Between The Rich And The Middle Class", CAN BE READ IN NEAT LITTLE SECTIONS! This is especially impoertant for those who, like me, grew up with TV -- and, despite TVs many wonders, have, (due to 10 minute segments between commercials), had our attention spans totally, (or almost), decimated -- making reading of most books difficult at best. (Is this how "Farenheit 451" becomes reality?_

Luckily, a wonderful book like this one, is, as I have said, divided into neat, easy-to-read sections. One need not read it all the way through! It's a small book -- but full of wisdom and VERY good advice.
AMAZON.COM, and the publishers, (and probably the writer), have also graciously allowed would-be buyers a "peek" inside this book! My advice:
read the "peek", then buy the book. The "peek" consists of a listing of the "10 Top Distinctions", the book itself is an enlarged, elucidation of these 10. The language is simple, yet full of wisdom. For instance:

7: Millionaires Take Calculated Risks. The Middle Class Is Afraid To
Take Risks:
The Middle Class is trapped in the rat-race because it doesn't take
risks. The only way out of the rat-race is to take risks. The
only way out of the rat-race is to take risks. No, that is not a
typo. I intentionally wrote it twice. In fact, let me write it
once more. The only way out of the rat race is to take risks. If
You take risk out of life, you take opportunity out of life.
Taking a risk doesn't mean taking a shot in the dark.
Millionaires take CALCULATED risks. What does "calculated" mean?
It means to gain knowledge first, and to consider the consequences
of failing before taking the action......
.................Millionaires practice risk management. One of
the simplest ways to manage risk I learned from my mentor, Nido
Qubein. He taught me to ask three questions...
1) What's the best thing that could happen?
2) What's the worst thing that can happen?
3) What's the most likely thing to happen?

Simple, straightforward, EASILY-UNDERSTOOD advice. It runs all
through the 112 pages of this small, easily-understood, just-about
indespensible book. The print is of a nice, large size too...with
a nice bit of spacing between the lines, to make it easily-read -- delightfully complimenting the easily-understood writing style.

Another snippet of information I got from reading a random paragraph in this book, (can't find it just now), which mentioned that millionaires talk mainly to other millionaires, and not to "ordinary" people. THIS IS N O T DUE TO ANY SNOBBISHNESS ON THEIR PARTS, BUT SIMPLY AS A SELF-PRESERVATION DEVICE. M O S T people talk about other people, or about things. Millionaires talk about I D E A S. Probably, a millionaire will gladly speak to a "millionaire-in-the-making"....a person who, though not (yet) rich, ALSO speaks mainly of ideas, (and not people or things) -- but most millionaires do NOT want to spend time speaking to people who's main conversation topics are what is going on in the lives of Hollywood celebrities, or latest designs in sports cars.
Why? Because millionaires want to LEARN things -- that's why they talk mainly about IDEAS. The thought came to me to equate this to the following: If you are a person, say, who wants to write a book on Sir Laurence Olivier, you probably would NOT spend your time speaking to "Tony Manero", (the character played by John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever") -- as Mr. Manero knew of Laurence Olivier ONLY as a guy on TV who advertised Polaroid Cameras! In a millionaire's eyes, everyone may be equal, and have equal access to the Public Library...but speaking to anyone who's PRESENT msin interest is what went on on a popular TV show, last night, or Jessica Simpson's, (or any other celebrity's), new hair-style or career move, will not, in the millionaire's mind, expand HIS (the millionaire's), horizons one bit! And learning and expanding horizons are one of the, (intertwining!), distinctions, (this one being Number 6), betweeen Millionaires and the Middle class.

THIS IS NOT A SNOB BOOK. THIS IS A BOOK ANYONE, LIVING IN A FREE SOCIETY, CAN LEARN FROM....AND BECOME RICH FROM!

Sadly, though, the publishers of this truly essential, classic book, have seen fit to publish it on inferiour, semi-newsprint paper (!) This is all the more astonishing, since the book not only, (as I have said),
has very well spaced, and larger-size print -- but also has a binding of the second-highest quality! (No -- not sewn with sections, but it does have a general sewn-binding for all the pages together.) Perhaps this poor-quality paper the author's and publisher's gentle way of saying, "time's going fast...read and use this book before the paper crumbles!" -- but a book of this, (just about classic!) quality deserves good quality paper, nonetheless!

money....money....money....money....money...money

When I was going to public school, I begged and begged my parents to send me to private school, (which, of course, they couldn't afford.) Although our public school district, (No. 26 in Queens, NY), was counted amongst the best, I still KNEW, somewhere in my heart, that private schools were somehow, someway, different and better. I never knew WHY I thought this...but I just KNEW it. Now, finally, I think I know why I thought this. Rightly or wrongly, I believed that in public schoolthey taught the three Rs, history, music, art -- and how to be a "good little member of the general public." But in Private Schools -- or so I rightly or wrongly thought -- THEY TAUGHT HOW TO MAKE (LOTS OF!) MONEY IN A LEGAL, MORAL WAY.....JUST WHAT IS INSIDE THIS BOOK!

Whether all, (or even most) private schools teach these lessons, I do not know. But, thankfully, (very thankfully!), they are available now, for anyone to read and study, in the pages of this wonderful small book!
Whether a reader becomes a millionaire or not from it, is basically up to the individual -- but trying to apply as many of these 10 distinctions to one's own life, cannot but help! At any rate, it is a
FIRST-RATE ALTERNATIVE TO ALL THE NEGATIVITY THAT SEEMS TO BE PERVADING LIFE TODAY! Read this little treasure -- and apply as much of it as you can to your own life! Even if you don't become a millionaire, you will know how people become millionaires! Pass it on to your children, and give it as birthday presents to those you love to be with.

The rich are really NOT that much different than you or I -- all they do is THINK
a little differently!

"There are thousands of great books written on success, so why did I feel the need to write this one?" --Keith Cameron Smith

Smith's response to his question is simple, sometimes someone can explain a certain principle in a way that makes a light go off in our minds, and he feels he has done just that. Smith introduces points that he has not heard or read anywhere, points he learned through his own successes and failures. After studying, for years, how people achieve success, he sat down to write, it took him seven days.

On the eighth day his book was ready. To reap the benefits of a millionaire's mindset one has to think like a millionaire. The key to moving beyond the middle class and up the economic ladder is mastering what he calls ten vital principles. I will share two that registered most with me: Principle 5, 'Millionaires work for profits - The middle class works for wages' and
Principle 10, 'Millionaires think long term - The middle class thinks short term'.

Financial freedom is available to all, once you know what separates those who have from those who do not. These simple 'distinctions' of what it takes to become wealthy will help readers acquire the vision that allows them to be financially free. THE TOP 10 DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN MILLIONAIRES AND THE MIDDLE CLASS is a quick but priceless read.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Can somebody please clone Ms. Warren? We can all benefit from her in-dept knowledge and experience of mortgage issues, not to mention making a perfect life-coach. Being that I'm a novice in the mortgage world, she has illuminated all the tips and tricks of securing the best mortgage for the money. This is fair-warning for people who don't buy this book before they take their first mortgage or even re-finance. You *WILL* be sorry!

Michelle Singletary recommended this book in the Washington Post. It's clearly written, full of very useful information, and fun to read. I only wish I'd had it before I signed the loan contract. But, no worries, an email to the author, a quick reply, and I received more valuable advice. Don't get a home loan without reading this book first.

This is a great book for anyone thinking of taking out a loan for a home or home equity. This book can literally save you thousands of dollars and give you a good working knowledge of the mortgage industry and all the scams they run to drive up their profit at your expense.

Unless you work in the mortgage industry yourself this book is a must read before picking up that phone and calling a loan officer. Even if you have had gotten loans in the past, this book will be the best guide through the, at time seems mysterious/dark, mortgage alley. It is everything you will need to know to ensure and feel confidence that you have gotten a good loan. And that's big for me, to know and be able to sleep at night on a relatively big financial decision. ALL your questions will be answered in this one book. It is all collected and packaged for you. Why spend hours to search online, browse numerous websites and collect this valuable knowledge? It is all right here! It was an easy read too! I personally read it like a novel, the next page seems to answer exactly what I was about to ask. Please read, learn and be a savvy loan consumer for you own sake. It will save you and your loan officer a lot of time, grief and MONEY when you guys are speaking the same lingo.

As a retired attorney, I have read my share of how-to books in various areas of expertise. Many have disappointed for lack of follow through and updating techniques such as online access to the author, with up-to-the-minute links to web pages addressing new areas of concern. Carolyn Warren's incredibly thorough, professional and brilliant comprehensible book lacks nothing in this regard. In fact, I would place this book among the various genres as the #1 book I have read in the last year that has made it possible for me to actually understand what was once an almost impossible mess of information for the layman. Having no background whatsoever in banking, financial management, debt, mortgages, credit, equity loans etc., this was a perfect book for me to rely upon for clear and concise knowledge. Oh, and after reading this book along with accessing her free info online, you will be delighted to know that Carolyn Warren does not just leave the reader there. She actually answers your emails! Yes, an author who cares about you -- long after you have purchased and read her book! You just gotta get this one - she is a star who knows what you need to survive like no one else out there.

A great introduction to bonds and there place in a portfolio. The perfect place for the individual to start if they are considering purchasing individual bonds for their portfolio.

However, anyone looking for more in-depth information and strategies will likely be disappointed. Relatively little information about Zeros, TIPS and other products that are likely to be of interest. Start here, and then increase your knowledge with a title specific to your interests (i.e. municipal bonds, etc.).

I ordered this book for my business library. I enjoyed the book, but if you want more specifics on the methods of detailed bond calculations, I would recommend a good financial investments text book.

Thau over complicates her points. The book is too difficult to understand. I am an attorney who has been investing in stocks and bonds for over 10 years. This book is not appropriate for any level investor.

This is an accessible introduction to bonds by a financial professional whose first book - as unlikely as it may seem - was a study of Max Jacob, the French poet. The literary background of the author, Annette Thau, may account for her book's clear, easy-to-read style. Most authors who write about bonds tend to get lost in the complex mathematics and specialized jargon of the bond markets. Not Annette Thau. Whether you are an individual investor trying to balance your portfolio with bonds, or a student of finance looking for a more lucid explanation of the subject than you can find in your textbooks, we highly recommend this book to you.

Am nearly finished reading the 2nd printing of this excellent tutorial. Although I have been an avid buyer & seller of fixed income products for many years, the author did a superb job of furthering my mid-level expertise especially in the area of municipal bonds. Her plain language explanations were most welcome as opposed to the plethora of financial techno-babble tomes that share the bookshelf. 5 Stars without reservation.

This book contains the very simple steps required to obtain everything your hearth desires; however simple; these steps are not easy and will demand hard work, dedication and an unwavering faith from anyone who decides to improve every aspect of his / her life. Read it and use it as described; it works.

I purchased this book as a referral from 'The Secret'. While the premise is similar, it is harder to follow as to the steps. I understand what it is saying, it is harder to put into practice from the way it is written.

This is a practical and ready to use book. The insight is great. This book summaries a lot of the knowledge I have been getting from different sources.

helpful but basically same info given by tons of books including the Secret which by the way has never been a secret.

Wallace Wattles wrote a great book in very simple language to assist us to create money. This book is very easy to read and understand and easy to apply in everyday life.

Overall, this is a good book. I think the whole "Little Books, Big Profits" series is great and I hope they continue releasing more books.

Navallier isn't the greatest writer, but he's not all that bad either. He's a self-confessed number crunching geek and it shows through his analytical style of writing where he wastes no words.

However, I question his true motive in writing this book. Was it truly to divulge his successful technique or was it the perfect book to guide you to subscribe to one of his newsletters? He offers a free (currently) website that evaluates stocks based on the criteria he lays out in his book, but sign up for it and hope you have a good spam filter.

The true value of this book is actually part of the other "Little Book, Big Profits" series. First, read the whole series and you'll have a good understanding of how the market works and how to invest. But the true value is in combining this book with Joel Greenblat's book and Pat Dorsey's book. Greenblat has a stock screening program as well that is also currently free. Start with Greenblat's screened stocks, evaluate their economic moat, as described by Dorsey, then check the grade Navallier's program gives the stock. Between all three steps, you're sure to find winners.

Good book, great series. Combine the knowledge of all these professionals and you'll learn a lot.

Very simple to understand and very straightforward. It helps an investor to understand he needs to remain cool, rely on facts and forget about emotions.

This book provided an excellent overview of successful growth investing; but, while providing broad strokes, the book seems primarily focused on selling further services from Mr. Navellier. I share Mr. Navellier's love of numbers, but I wish there were further information on the exact forumlas used so I could replicate the calculations on my own...unless he is personally screening each of the 5000 stocks each day.

I tried to sign up for the given website and I have trial access, but have yet to receive credentials to sign on as a member--after two attempts and two weeks later. I have received all of the solicitations to purchase investing newletters though--from $200 to over $1000 per year or more.

Mr. Navellier is one of the few investors who beats the S&P 500 according to the Hulbert Report, but what if I invested that $1000 per year instead of purchasing the newsletter? If I invest $1000 for 20 years at a growth of 12% a year, $20,000 becomes $90,000 in a no load index fund--discounting taxes and other fees...I feel free to discount as Mr. Navellier does it in his advertisements.

The positives of the book are as follows:
1. It gets you excited about returns
2. It makes a good case for growth investing.
3. It is well written.
4. Mr. Navellier has demonstrated he is one of the few money managers to consistently beat the S&P 500

The negatives:
1. No exact way to replicate results on your own, you need the "free" website to do that.
2. The constant reminders that Mr. Navellier's newsletters were successful, if only you had purchased one...

Before employing this strategy, i suggest you review the performance of Navelliers mutual funds on Morningstar.com and/or other websites. Despite tremendous performance figures presented in the book, most of his funds rank poorly over the last 5 years on an annual basis. They are typically in the bottom quartile. Yes, his long-term numbers are still good and occasionally he has a decent year, but the reality is that the performance outlined in the book isn't what he's delivered over the last 5 years.

I'm always very leary of performance claims without the supporting data. For a "numbers guy" I was suprised only the basic return numbers were included. No supporting information is provided the shows the annual returns, risk or tracking error. Nor is the benchmark discussed. Further digging showed why. There is s huge disconnect between the real performance of the funds he runs and what's presented in the book. Be care employing this magic formula as, for the most part, even Louis doesn't produce the numbers he claims.

The book provides 8 clear ways to evaluate if you should buy a stock. These ideas are similar to William O'Neil or other investors, but overall good reminder as to what to look for. You can read this book in an hour. The only issue with this book is that you are basically buying and holding even when the market is down.

Do you want to know what the Author is buying? Go to his web site at www.navellier.com where he manages funds. His model portfolio's are down, some over 20% ! Yes, the issue here like many people that manage funds or model portfolios is that they stay invested even in the worst times.

Indicating what to buy is good as this book outlines, but having people hold on for a gut wrenching ride losing over 20% to wait YEARS to get it back to me is foolishness.

What is missing in this book is an overall market viewpoint to answer the question "Should I be a buyer, selling short, or stay in cash?"

This book does not answer that question. A great book that will and pointed to the down market in 2008 is the classic "Martin Zweig Winning on Wall Street." This book is a real winner and has a similar formula for picking stocks but you will get few results.

I would take Navellier stock picking recommendations then be a buyer based on Zweig's marketing timing model. Why buy big in a down market? If you want a gut wrenching experience go to Cedar Point or 6 Flags.

In these days, in which we are discussing and fighting over the issue of the financial crisis, nothing is better than this chapter of Milton Friedman "Banking History" which reviews carefully and seriously the causes resulting in The Great Contraction 1929-1933, and sent the world into the greatest depression of modern times. Men who do not know history are bound to repete the errors of the past. We hope it will not happen due to Dr. Friedman excelente study

This book is similar to "Richistan" in nature in that it profiles many wealthy people and how they obtained and spend their wealth.
It's quite a bit more detailed in terms of comparisons, statistics, historical information than Richistan, however.
But again, if you are looking for explicit and detailed information of what you should and shouldn't do to obtain your own wealth you'll want to look elsewhere.
It does give examples of how some of the super rich got their money but that's a fairly small part of the book.
To summarize, the rich got rich by taking advantage of underserved markets by creating businesses, inheritance, finance deals, and sometimes just plain dumb luck.
If you want to know about other rich people and what you can do with your money once you have it then this is a good reference to have.

Very well written and researched. A good insight into the lives of the Forbes 400, how they got there and how they spend their money. Great book if you have a business that targets these people as customers!

I must say this book is also a lot better than those books about how to get rich, this book tells REAL stories. If you are thinking of buying this books have a look at the book RICHISTAN too. They go along very well together!

This was a satisfactory read, although if you are a diligent reader of Forbes and Fortune as well as WSJ and FT there probably won't be much in here you didn't already know. I did enjoy the sections on Family Feuds and Blue-collar Billionaires but got a bitter taste in my mouth while reading the Conspicuous Consumption section. All in all it was a decent book, and what you'll learn is that if you want to have billionaire status you need to have drive and determination as well as be a workaholic.

I have always been fascinated with wealth, and have enjoyed reading about the Forbes 400 for years. "All The Money In The World: How The Forbes 400 Make - And Spend - Their Fortunes" by Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan was an extremely fascinating and enjoyable read. If you are interested in the superrich, this book paints a revealing portrait of the wealthiest of the rich and shows how they succeed, how fortunes are made in various industries, and how, once made, they are saved, enhanced, and sometimes squandered.

This thoroughly researched book provides abundant anecdotes and insights as well as compiled data in illuminating tables, sidebars, and factoids. Did you know that Bill Gates comes in as the thirteenth richest American if you converted past riches into today's dollars? (Actually 2006 dollars when the book was being researched) John D. Rockefeller's wealth would be 305.3 billion dollars when converted to 2006 dollars. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined don't make a third of that. Did you know that in 2006 the average net worth of 400 members without a college degree exceeded the average net worth of those with a degree by a considerable margin - $2.8 billion? That's partly due, of course, to the Gates factor. Did you know there were 97 immigrants from 34 different countries that made the Forbes list over the last twenty-five years? The book is filled with so many interesting stories and facts.

The book also shows that money is not everything. The superrich have problems just like everyone else, and sometimes those problems are at a greater scale. So while this book describes those that may seem unobtainable to most, you also realize that they are still people just like everyone else. Well, maybe not like everyone else, but they are still people.



Chapters include:

Part One: What It Takes
1. Education, Intelligence, Drive
2. Risk
3. Luck - and Timing
4. Winning Is Everything

Part Two: Making It
5. Blue - collar Billionaires
6. West Coast Money
7. Entertainment and Media
8. Beyond Wall Street

Part Three: Spending It
9. Conspicuous Consumption
10. Heirs
11. Family Feuds
12. Giving It Away
13. Power and Politics

Afterword: Money and Happiness

Appendix: The Forbes 400, 1982-2006

This is a vastly entertaining behind the scenes look at the superrich. I found it fascinating to read about those billionaires I was familiar with, but also those extremely wealthy that you never really hear about. It made me feel good to read about the money these Forbes 400 members give away to help others, and then sometimes shake my head wondering when you see what some of these people spend money on. Forget about the enormous cost of purchasing a yacht, but think about the upkeep running into tens of millions of dollars a year and you may wonder as I did why Paul Allen wants to own two of the top ten U.S. owned yachts. Octopus at 414 feet is number two, and Tatoosh at 301 feet 8 inches is number four. If you are wondering, Larry Ellison's Rising Sun at 452 feet 8 inches is number 1, and no one knows who owns number seven's Laurel at 240 feet and number nine's charter yacht Reverie at 229 feet, seven inches.

If you want to read an extremely interesting and fascinating book about wealth and those that have accumulated the most of it, read "All The Money In The World." Besides being entertained, you just might learn some insights to help you accumulate more wealth yourself. After all, you will see that if these people can do, so can you or anyone else.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series and articles including a regular column on negotiation for The Montana Lawyer. Alain Also wrote a series of articles called Lessons From The Apprentice.

I was particularly interested in Part One; 'What it Takes'. A fantastic chapter on Education, Intelligence, Drive, Risk, Luck & Timing. The essence is that 1) if you don't inherit money, you have to take a lot of risk and 2) not everybody can become a billionaire, but a billionaire can come from everywhere. Particularly interesting is that Forbes 400 types have often a different perception of risk and often sink their money into deals that are the opposite of what conventional wisdom deems a prudent investment.

Astonishing 70% of the Forbes 400 list in 2006 were self-made. A lot to learn on financial success incl. people like myself who never ever aim at become a billionaire.

This is a great book. I found it very easy to read. Mary speaks from personal experience and it's like have a close friend right there with you in the trenches. We've begun to implement her plan and I can already see a difference in our monthly expenses. It's not an instant fix, but then we didn't get in this financial hole in a day either. Steady progress without any steps backwards, that's our goal.

Thanks Mary for taking the time to share what you've learned with the rest of us. You're making a difference one family at a time!!!

Fantastic book! If everyone in the country read it and did what Mary recommends, this country would not be in the situation it is!

After reading this book and implementing Mary's plan, my husband and I were able to organize our credit and shorten our payments from 15 years down to 5! We are two years into it, and only have three more to go before we are debt free. I cannot express how great this book is. Mary addresses how to live without using credit, how to pay off the credit you do have, and how to make sure you don't need to fall back on credit in the future. She suggests in the book to use her website to plan your payments on current debt. It costs $20 to enroll, and I would highly reccomend it. It allows you to plug all your debt into the worksheet, and it tells you which bills to pay first, second, etc to get the debt payed off the fastest. Well worth the $20!

Everyone should read this book and follow her steps. This is a great way to get out of debt.

I first checked this out of the Library but after the third time decieded I needed my own copy. Positive and not degrading like some of the other budget cash only spokes persons.