Business Money Books

PJ O'Rourkes books crack me up. But you still can learn from them. This book is a funny, but true, perspective on various economies. Not from a real scientific perspective, but rather "the Man on the Street".

Barring none, this is the place for a novice P.J. O'Rourke reader to start. He has been in a slight slump as of late, but he is at his peak here. I loaned my first copy to someone who never returned it. If I lose this copy, I would buy it again.

This is O'Rourke's essay on economics, in it he analyzes why some societies work economically and why some do not, regardless of geography or access to natural resources. It has often been said that to be funny you first have to be smart. Here O'Rourke demonstrates that he knows more than a little about free market economics. He posesses keen powers of observation and an even sharper wit. His innate intelligence comes through.

How much funnier would he be had he not burned out all those brain cells in the '60s? It's not likely he could be! This one is hard to top.

P.J. O'Rourke manages to dizzy his audience with a tautological series of stories, comparsions, and self-defacement and then nauseatingly spews empty paragraphs. Don't know what a tautology is? Read this book, you'll figure it out.

An author either takes pride in his ignorance or banks on his authority. O'Rourke attempts to do both, the former almost always shining through the latter. Coming away, you'll feel like you learned something. Of course you did! It just took him 10 angles, 5 anecdotes, and 8 less-than-appropriate similes to convey a Macro 101 principle. If you want a good laugh, read this book. If you want someone who knows what they're talking about, keep looking

I actually love O'Rourke's quips (even though I disagree with most of his theories and viewpoins), and I think the book is well worth buying if you ever write, or speak in public, about matters at all related to economics (including, say, making reports or giving presentations to management): go through the book with a highlighter and small sticky bookmarks and by the time you're through you'll have a hundred funny quips to enliven your next report or presentation (only pick a couple of them for each occasion, of course!-). But you won't learn much from this book -- whether you already know a lot about economics, or just about nothing; it's just too much of a "snapshot" of specific short periods of times in various places, observed very partially and reported with much more attention to being funny than to being accurate and useful.

Smug rich people and their propagandists don't make me laugh, no matter how cute they think they are.
Regarding why some countries are poor and others rich, it's not complicated. The rich nations have been imposing disastrous neoliberal economic policies upon the poor nations that concentrate wealth, destroy local economies, and decimate labor and environmental protections.
Generations of invasions and colonialism haven't helped matters either.
Moreover, those people who work for economic justice are often oppressed by the state forces the rich countries arm and train. For example, the U.S.-backed Colombian forces and paramilitaries kill a couple hundred union activists each year. Subtle Voices: Cries from Colombia and The Profits Of Extermination: How U.S. Corporate Power is Destroying Colombia

O'Rourke does what the rest of the corporatists do, they co-opt the brand "conservative" while they divert their audiences from the realities of geopolitics.
For some actual understanding of economics, I'd recommend When Corporations Rule the World andThe Corporation.

"The money hunger grows on what it feeds. So everyone is compelled to take part in the wild goose chase, and the hunger for possession gets an ever stronger hold of man. It becomes the most important part of life; every thought is on money, all the energies are bent on getting rich, and presently the thirst for wealth becomes a mania, a madness that possesses those who have and those who have not.
Existence has become an unreasoning, wild dance around the golden calf, a mad worship of God Mammon. In that dance and in that worship man has sacrificed all his finer qualities of heart and soul - kindness and justice, honor and manhood, compassion and sympathy with his fellowman. Each for himself and devil take the hindmost. Is it any wonder that in this mad money chase are developed the worst traits of man - greed, envy, hatred, and the basest passions? Man grows corrupt and evil; he becomes mean and unjust; he resorts to deceit, theft, and murder."
-Alexander Berkman

I prefer the "Private Money" equity lending book reveiwed previously, but this one turned out to be informative too. I had originally cancelled my order, but got it anyway. Good information on originating and purchasing real estate notes (discount notes from lenders/banks), and great if you are looking to find an alternative to the stock/bond market funds that most people have their IRAs invested in.

Loved this book, it helps when dealing with your IRA and 401K rollovers and envestments.

This book is a great guide to the concept of self-directed IRAs. Everyone with an IRA or 401K over $50,000 should be considering this option. There is no limit on the returns you can realise in your IRA account. Take this authors advise and go for mazimun returns on investment you control. It's legal and it makes sense. This is one of the stategies every women needs to understand to gain financial independence. Knowledge and a wealthy mindset as recommended in "A Man Is Not A Financial Plan!" helpA Man Is Not A Financial Plan! make women wealthy and wise.

This book got me started asking my financial advisor and the local bank financial advisors questions. I had been told I could not use any of my retirement funds to invest in real estate. I know better now and so do they.
Good book, this type of investing comes with risks and it is expensive because an intermediary has to be used (just a couple of things to weigh into the decision to or not to use). Not something to jump into lightly, good beginning book but recommend getting additional information on the subject and discussing it with your accountant prior to attempting it. If you do decide to plung in, do extensive research on the intermediary companies - be sure they are legit, have bullet proof references and actually ask to talk to current clients. Compare costs, services and reputation - cheapest could cost you dearly in the long run.

A good read, with lots of helpful information. Frankly, I wish there were MORE books on the subject of self directed IRA's, particularly real estate investing via self-directed IRA's. That being said, I'm convinced this is one of the best books you'll find on the subject.

If you're looking to pump up your IRA with smart real estate investments, this is a good book to have on hand. Highly recommended.

What is your learning style? If you don't trust that you know something until you've taken a test, this book can help. It does an excellent job of pulling out the key topics and quizzing you on them. There are no 'silly' questions here--only the important stuff. On the other hand, if you like to read and underline, then return to the text when you are actually 'doing' the activity, then this book is probably a waste of money. One nit complaint: some of the labeling of chart features is a bit unclear. Since it is sometimes tough to tell which letter goes with which feature, answering some questions is difficult, even when you know the material.

Not as advertised, this book will not work alone -, and the added value will not be that much You need to have the book "Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management" and the combination will be great. ...

I ordered the guide along with the actual book and really never did use it. It may be cheap, but I think the book itself should be enough.

In order for this book to work you need to have the initial Trading for a Living. With both books together you will begin to have all of the necessary tools to conquer the most persistent troublemaker of the market...yourself.

In 200 questions you will learn a lot about yourself, your motives, and most of all your personality. This is where Dr.Elder's background shine. In order to conquer the markets you must conquer yourself.

After being involved with futures trading for 11 years and writing several books on the subject I still find books like Dr.Elder's inspirational and mentally clarifying.

This book provides a basis for accountability in making trades as you do. I found the psychological part the best. It is somewhat hard to implement the basic structure required by the author for me personally. However it all rings truth in it's wording. This is a work book and therefore leads the reader through a series of questions to let you know how good you understand the basic fundamentals prescribed of his book "Trading For A Living".
It has increased awareness and led me to stop making the same repetitive mistakes. And that is the basis for success in trading.

So I just set up my first website and didn't have a clue how to get "Optimized" until I read the The Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization. The Additional Resources section in the back with URL's to many SEO tools is incredible. I just saved over $1500 by doing it myself rather than paying for a website analysis from a SEO company. Thanks Jon Rognerud! With the tips and tools provided in this book, getting my site recognized is fun!

The Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization provided solid tips and actionable information for both new and experienced marketers and entrepreneurs. Having a keen understanding of the techniques of SEM is valuable for the do-it-yourselfer or the corporation that hires a firm. I find myself turning to the pages over and over again as a reference guide. It sits next to my frequently used dictionary and thesaurus in my office and has become a key resource. I was especially pleased at the inclusive nature of the book. Jon Rognerud is one of the few search marketers who opened the door to the secret club for me. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an online presence.

Jon Rognerud has compiled a comprehensive resource in Entrepenuer Magazine's entry into the SEO how-to. It is also open-ended, in that readers can sign up on his website for more information and updates. This is a Web 2.0 book, in the truest sense. I would usually get a book like this from the library, but I purchased it so I could refer back to it over the coming years.

I think this is a very good resource for people who want to go beyond superficial actions and really understand how to optimize web sites and get good results. It has my recommendation

This is my second review of this book. Somehow my first review was not posted. As an adwords professional, this SEO book was a great insight into dominating the search engines using proven tips, tricks and strategies in todays online marketing. I am pasted on the screen waiting to see what Jon Rognerud has coming next.

All people, team members as well as their leaders, simply want to feel appreciated and recognized. Everyone wants to feel important. We want to know that what we do makes a difference that goes beyond the numbers on the financial reports. This book can show you how to do that. Because the fundamental truth is, it's not the money you spend on rewards, but your ability to connect with your employees in a meaningful way that really makes the difference. This book can help you do that. You may also want to see Motivation at Work: Transform Your Business in 6 Extraordinary Steps

365 Ways to Motivate and Reward goes the extra mile in providing an understanding of the difference between the Band-Aid approaches to employee motivation and the understanding of true motivation from the employees' perspective. Podmoroff provides statistics from studies that looks at the employees reasoning behind needed recognition, acceptance and that good ole pat on the back. Inspired and motivated employees from management to the janitor foster a highly motivational workplace and this resource provides example after example of tips and techniques that help to create the motivated employee.
Helping the employee to claim ownership in his/her, organization is paramount to creating the positive workplace environment necessary for healthy, growing organizations and Podmoroff has provided 365 ways to do this.

Excellent book! Dianna Podmoroff's book "365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day: With Little or No Money" is a must have more every organization. I would recommend this book to everyone in management. As someone who has to watch the bottom line very closely in my company I found that Dianna's book has several excellent ideas to tap into peoples feeling of being acknowledged and rewarded. I have already passed this book on to my Executive Team for us to get started on some of Dianna's great ideas.

'365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day--With Little or No Money' is a terrific book for all managers and business owners. This book teaches you how to think like an employee, rather than thinking like a big wig. Then it gives you all the suggestions you need to motivate your employees and keep them motivated for an infinite amount of time. And that last part is really the key to this book. You don't want to motivate your employees for a day or a week. You want to keep them motivated for as long as they work for you.

I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that explained the importance of motivation, but I was even more impressed by all of the great techniques. This book is written in a fun, easy manner that made me excited to get to the `good stuff.' The gift ideas are all very clever (like supplying morning coffee for a year) and so are the suggestions on how to make the office fun (like adding a "Whine Cellar"). I especially liked all of the ideas on how to give employees time off of work, because it honestly never even crossed my mind to reward productivity with down time.

Overall, I think this is a terrific book and I can't wait to implement these ideas in my workplace. If you are a business owner or manager, I strongly recommend that you read this book. Even if you only follow a few of the suggestions, I think your company is bound to improve.

This is one of those books where you expected one thing and are pleasantly surprised to receive something else. Well, not entirely something else, there certainly is a list of 322 (not 365!) ways to motivate your employees, but that's the last half of the book. The first half is a great business book on motivation and the necessity to create a motivational work environment.

In fact, I found the fist half of the book more interesting than the second half and I say that without knocking the second half whatsoever. 365 covers motivational theory, internal and external motivational factors, management methods and also provides a series of motivational questions to ask employees and new hires to ensure you are able to provide the best motivational environment for their needs.

The second half of 365 covers a number of easy-to-do motivational rewards. While most businesses won't be able to do all of them there are a number of cheap and easy ideas that every business should implement. Not stopping with their own list, the book concludes with a monthly calendar of special days that will allow you to make your own motivational rewards.

Regardless of your work environment, every company can use a few motivational tips. 365 provides 322 of them and a framework to create hundreds more of your own. This is a book that won't be put on my bookshelf, but will remain close by as a reference for things I can do to reward my employees.

Too many children think their parents have an endless supply of money for them to tap into. When denied a purchase, they think the parent is being mean. Setting up a structure and helping your child understand and respect money is a chore, but it will pay off in the long run.
I like that the author advises against credit cards for teens and that she gives advice for dealing with adult children returning home.
Here's what is covered in the book:
Quiz: Test Your Money Smarts
Chapter 1: The Perils of Being an Expert [or The Perils of Giving Advice, or something else]
Chapter 2: A Kid's-Eye View of Money
Chapter 3: The Adman Cometh
Chapter 4: The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree
Chapter 5: Small Change: The Preschool Years
Chapter 6: Surviving with 'Tweens
Chapter 7: Why Is Money Green?
Chapter 8: Allowances: A Hands-On Experience
Chapter 9: Penny Wise: Kids & Saving
Chapter 10: Your Kid, the Investment Guru
Chapter 11: Of Lawnmowing & Milkshake Stands
Chapter 12: Teens: The Early Years
Chapter 13: To Work or Not to Work?
Chapter 14: Off to College & On Their Own (Sort of)
Chapter 15: Giving & Getting with Grace & Gratitude
Chapter 16: Lost Wallets & Other Sticky Situations
Chapter 17: Money-Smart Grandparents
Chapter 18: Mission Nearly Accomplished
Chpater 19: They're Back. Now What?

With each generation the children seem to have more money available to them than their parents. With this should come responsibility and learning how to spend or save wisely. The problem is that most just learn to spend as soon as they get it, get it by begging parents or an allowance with no responsibilities involved or similar. Enter Janet Bodnar, deputy-editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, mother of three, and writer of the Money Smart Kids column in Kiplinger Magazine. This is not a collection of hard and fast rules to force good finance habits onto kids but a framework within which parents can use good common sense to handle any situation. The book starts with a quiz to test your money smarts. This quiz is excellent and presents most of the potential situations you are likely to encounter with children and money. The author even includes examples of questions kids ask and how to answer them. One of the insightful sections is one on how kids think about money and how to deal with these concepts from preschool to teenager. Ms. Bodnar even includes a fascinating chapter on questions and answers about money's history, composition, and dozens of other miscellaneous facts. Prepare your children to know how to deal with money when they are grown. Raising Money Smart Kids is highly recommended.

This book is an easy educational read, providing parents with different options to handle financial decisions when raising their children. Keep your highlighter handy because you will want to use this book as a reference book. Use your highlighter to mark ideas along with websites so you can refer to them easily. (Probably all this book is missing is a quick resource listing all the websites in one place.)

One of my favorite chapters was "A Kid's Eye View of Money" which gives a glimpse of how children think. Devoting an entire chapter to this subject might surprise parent's, get our attention, and make us think twice. (I consider my children above average when it comes to their financial education but one day, one surprised me when she said, "Mom, the banks don't USE our money...") In this chapter, Janet Bodnar highlights many other examples where children's view of personal finance may need just a little more clarification from adults.

Some chapters are distinguished by age, but I recommend parents be sure to read all chapters. Many ideas are applicable to children of all ages. So, don't skip chapters thinking, "My child is older so I don't need to read that." You do and will be glad you did.

There is hardly a dull moment because topics are presented with both humorous examples and letters the author received from both parents and children. Readers will likely relate to more than one of these tales with a, "Been there, my child's done that..." and, "Oh yeah, we still have to address that..." attitude. This book provides issues for parents to think about along with many choices for solutions. It should be part of every family's home library.

Heavily researched and well written personal finance book. Very good for those who dont have a clue about the subliminal ads and other money traps. I supose many people are tricked into all that stuff due to the broken financial aspects of many lives. Recommended for those who dont have a clue about the subject. Well written.

Going Broke is a excellent book on why Americans cannot hold on to their money and stay out of debt. Author Stuart Vyse does a good job of explaining why 1) Americans are bankrupt due to over extending themselves.2)Instant gratification has replaced delaying the need of things.3)How modern inventions such as computers and credit cards have made the availability of buying things quicker and more convenient.4)How advertising influences us on a daily bases from tv to movies, to cell phones to junk mail.5)How society's view of needs are really more of wants and luxuries. The final chapter offers some help for those trapped in debt and addiction of spending. At the end of each chapter are real life examples of people caught in this deadlly trap.[[ASIN:0684859386 Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes And How To Correct Them: Lessons From The New Science Of Behavioral Economics] is another good book on this subject. Well done.

There are many things this book does well. (In fact, everything this book does, it does well.) First, and most remarkably, it tells stories. Not only is the author brave enough to reveal his own financial foibles, he includes interviews with individuals who have suffered financial ruin and lived to tell the tale. The stories are striking in their variety and poignancy, and they are made all the more salient by Vyse's beautifully written prose. The author paints a clear picture of his subjects' various crises, so that each story--no matter how different it may be from our own--has a sense of familiarity. We understand that these are fellow Americans who for the most part have worked hard and played by the rules, and we can't help recognizing their humanity and vulnerability as our own.

Moving beyond the stories that open each chapter, Vyse looks not only at the internal, "psychological" processes associated with financial difficulty--such as the seemingly inexplicable tendency to overpay for items on eBay--but he also uses a broad lens to examine the social and political forces that conspire against our best efforts to stay ahead in the financial game. Rather than simply attributing the bankruptcy epidemic to "shopaholism" or endemic self-indulgence (as many others blithely do), Vyse weaves together hard science, cultural criticism, and macroeconomic analysis to create a disturbing image of our personal--and national--economic landscape.

Finally, the majority of Vyse's suggestions for not going broke are practical, common-sense solutions that almost every American can employ. But even in presenting his suggestions, Vyse acknowledges that there are larger forces which need to be addressed before a majority of Americans can enjoy financial security. Far from being a panacea, Vyse presents his suggestions as something of a self-defense strategy in a world where our senses and sensibilities are constantly bombarded, and our financial futures are bought and sold by corporations without hesitation or regulation.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in human behavior, American culture, economics, politics, or public policy--and to anyone who just wants a good, thought-provoking read.

I completely agree with the reviewer above. I found Vyse's sociological take on Americans and spending fascinating. He poses the same questions to his readers that he has posed to his university students and I found that my kids (teenagers) were interested in these questions and that they encouraged conversation. It was playful and energizing to take a look at the irrational ways that we relate to money and spending, and to choose ways to "trick" ourselves into spending less, rather than simply berating ourselves. An example of irrationality is the concept of "sunk" money. If we've already spent money on something, and we consider that money "sunk" or gone, we don't have as much motivation to recoup that money than we would have to "make" that much money. This helped me force myself go through the irritating process of trying to recover money from a travel insurance company when my son was too ill to go on a class trip to Costa Rica. I had already paid for the trip, so my motivation was lacking. When I posed the question to myself "would you spend an entire day dealing with an insurance company for $2500?" I decided that it WAS worth the aggravation of dealing with the paperwork.
I also appreciated Vyse's compassion toward modern Americans and the trouble he took to detail the kinds of necessary expenses that our parents did not have. For just one example, he points out that there are thousands of medications that did not exist in 1970. Even with good insurance, these medications can cost hundreds of dollars a month.
If you enjoy reading about money, this book is very different from all of the other cookie-cutter money books out there.

This book is definitely worth a read for two reasons:
(1) the subject matter is an area where there just aren't a lot of books, and
(2) this book says some of the non-politically correct things that most books / shows / people in society like to side step, but that its really validating to hear.

Like his other books, his focus is almost entirely on self-made women, rather than those who come from financial means. I was a bit startled to read that one woman's mother told her to pick a job working with men - not competing with women - because the work and pay would be better. Hadn't heard that from anyone but my own grandmother - and it's proven to be some of the best career advice I ever received.

On the other hand, this book did feel much less organized and less thoroughly researched than Stanley's earlier books. Like some reviewers have noted, there is a chapter on a dyslexic gentleman who does well for himself. It's a good story, but leaves the reader wondering why it's in THIS book, exactly.

The tone can be rather patronizing - it acknowledges that women's relationships can be a huge factor in how they save money (working at home v. careers, dodging the egos of husbands and male coworkers, etc.), but it also very clearly and supportively acknowledges a woman's need to be capable of financial independence. You walk away from the book feeling like a woman's best option is to achieve as much as a man does, but keep her mouth shut about it. Which may be true - if it is, kudos for having the guts to say it. But either way, I'd have preferred a little more examination of the socio-economic factors that come into play in this regard, since based on the author's coverage, it's a bigger factor for women than the millionaire men he's covered previously.

I'd also have loved a more in-depth look at HOW women make the money, rather than how it affected them to have the success that they did. Other than an admittedly great story about ONE car saleswoman, we don't get much of a look at the in-depth beliefs and daily work habits of these women. Instead, we get an in-depth look at their upbringings, their marriage habits ... which is all well and good, but it'd be better with both the past and the present (financial and non-) being examined.

The reader gets jumped from investigations of millionaire women's relationships and upbringings, to their professional choices, spending habits, bits of wisdom, etc. and it all is never really tied together as a cohesive whole. It seems that he just grabbed a cool story here, a reader's letter there, and made a passing grab at a spreadsheet or two, and threw it all together for the reader to sort out.

The book is a definite potluck - a little bit of everything. But the individual components are very interesting, very rare, and its information that I - and a lot of other women - are definitely interested in hearing. I've recommended it quite a bit. It's well worth wading through the hotchpot of goodies to pick and choose the items that motivate and instruct you.

When I read The Millionaire Next Door, I was intrigued. However, I was left yearning for similar information regarding women. Well, I found it in this book. It was very interesting to read statistical information about successful women.

Question: What's the one thing a woman can do for herself if she wants to be a successful businesswoman or a millionaiare?
Answer: Find a role-model, and emulate the things she does.

Thanks to Thomas Stanley, women don't have to network to find the mentor they need. They'll be able to find her right in the pages of this book.
With abundant statistics and case profiles, Stanley presents us with successful women from varied backgrounds, and shows us exactly how they did it.

The book is rich with details, and focuses on the "5-W's" (of good journalism):

WHO these women are.
WHAT they do and how they decided to do it.
WHEN they made the decisions that propelled them to success.
WHERE they live and work, and come from.
WHY they are so successful.

Recommended reference to keep in your "how to succeed" library.

I just finished reading this book after picking it up at a bookstore about five days ago. I read from it every chance I got, and though on the one hand, I have to agree with those readers who pointed out that the book was tough going at times, on the other hand, I also have to agree with other readers who had very good things to say about the book, as the favorable reviews are well deserved. First I will cite the bad about the book, and then I will cite the good.

First the bad. The book appears to rely heavily upon convenience sampling and voluntary response. The author seems to have shared mostly only those stories sent to him, or more plainly, that just fell into his lap. Second, like his two other millionaire books, the author uses the book as a platform to share with us the things he values, and appears only to look for that information or evidence which supports his values, never once addressing information that contradicts his position. Third, in keeping with the standard paradigm of women = victim and male = (opportunistic) victimizer, (which always plays well to the target demographic of the book), the author's attempt to make out this group of women as selfless, do-gooding heroines was a bit overdone. The millionaire women are seen as generous and charitable as a group, and the millionaire men are portrayed as heartless misers who penny-pinch at every turn. I felt especially incensed when Stanley went out of his way to make excuses for some millionaire womens' poor choices in mates- the so-called 'Marginal Bobs' (the book titled, Smart Women, Stupid Choices, comes readily to mind for some peculiar reason). By association, if some of the men made poor choices in terms of mates, would they too be given sympathy and generous excuses, or are we to believe that they deserve what they get?

And now the good. Aside from the obvious attempts to play to the book's target audience (middle class, educated wage-earning women) and attempts bordering on the egregious to trumpet the merits of personal financial planners of various stripes, the book did have quite a few good points about it. We learn that if we divide the millionaire women into two groups, those that give the most to charitable causes tend to have lower annual earned incomes and higher net worth. These women tend to give just for the joy of giving, and seek to make the world they live in a better place. Many people took issue with the inclusion of a chapter about a dyslexic man who did good; however, I think the point of the chapter was to show that even those with identifiable disabilities can become millionaires, be they male or female, so long as they play to their strengths, live below their means, save and invest, avoid a lifestyle centered around consumption, and most of all, have a source of thoughtful, intelligent mentoring available to them. Readers that read the book carefully will glean some powerful information from this book, such as the following: 1) you can not change the past, but you have considerable control over your future, 2) those who are professional, service-oriented and customer-focused will always beat the competition, 3) it pays to play to your native strengths, 4) great investors are not born, they are made through trial and error, so go ahead and make a few mistakes, and 5) most important, limit borrowing only to those things that generate a realizable (net) income- a lesson all of those would-be real estate moguls and Robert Kiyosaki mimics would do very, very well to keep in mind.

In passing, I did not think that it was appropriate for Stanley to profile two college professors in his chapter on wealthy educators, simply because in order to become a college professor, one has to spend, at last count, a minimum of at least seven years beyond the Bachelor's degree to receive a doctorate. These days, most places won't allow you to teach on the faculty without a PhD, and more than a few people on faculties do not get tenure. In my mind, it would have been better for him to profile a wealthy elementary or high school teacher, as this is a goal that is more attainable for most readers. Still, I got a good kick out of his story of the matronly professor who touched the lives of so many deserving students.

In sum, I found the book to be a very worthwhile read. Though many would dismiss the book's more important contents as common sense, it is hard to believe that many people still don't get it. Readers should keep in mind that it all comes down to the choices we make, and take special care not to equate one's net worth with one's self worth, a trap too many Stanley devotees tend to fall into. I still contend that ongoing investments in one's health and continuing education will lead to satisfying increases in one's wealth.

Or, "How I learned to LOVE pinching pennies & clipping coupons!"

Now there's a title to stir the very hottest of boiler-fires in this coldest of Bounders, oh yes: "Millionaire Women Next Door"! Yummy! The title conjures up visions of 90-something tottering dowagers, having crumb-cake brought to them on silver platters by decrepit butlers, toddling about the mahogany-panelled passages of O Altitudo, shepherded by manservants and maids from Library to Sunroom to Palatial Dining Hall to the Rolls-Royce (gassed-up & ready to rumble by the handy valet) for the Sunday drive in the country.

Think of it: a ninety-something bat with the ferocious desire to rut like a crazed Gambian Howler Monkey, a creature with a very weak ticker, a short life-span, millions of dividend-paying bluechips and tax-free muni bonds piled up in her hoard, and me---first in line in her will!

Or even a chummier prospect: the Millionaire Woman Next Door who primped, nipped, tucked, & aerobicycled her way to bodily perfection, all of 35, hooked up with some venerable drooling Texas Oil Tycoon-Geezer, waited for him to drop, and now is positively rolling in the Shekkels and ready to party!

Alas, those fragrant, lustrous visions are for another writer and another book: this is a Thomas Stanley tome, Stanley being the scholarly fellow who pulled back the frayed shower-curtain on America's eremite wealthy only to reveal that mysterious class wasn't comprised of Robber Barons pulling their 500-foot nuclear powered megayachts into Mediterranean Ports, oh nosirree: they were plain folk, Good Reader, just like you and me!

Only they saved, live frugal lives, clipped coupons, ate catfood from a tin, scrounged, skimped, pinched the pennies until the Little Coppery Abrahams screamed in pain, maybe even splurged every 3 months on a 1-course meal at Mickey D's for the entire clan!

And, of course, according to Stanley and his prodigious stack of statistical data that suggest---no, confirm---that the meet may not inherit the Earth, no sirree, but the skinflints sure as Hell will---they'll die loaded.

I'm not going to parse or quibble with Stanley's research: coming myself from degenerate, somewhat deranged Southern stock, I've seen, firsthand, accounts of miserliness, weal, and grasping avarice that would chill the blood.

I have an Aunt who would hook up with her (loaded) buddy, and the two biddies would have Thanksgiving Dinner at the local homeless shelter. Hey, it was a cheap meal, no doubt.

But is that any way to live? Is it worth it to you, to spend your fleeting hours scrimping and scrounging, fretting over every penny, so you can die loaded? And so, once you give up this mortal coil and your wizened soul speeds Valhalla-ward, your spoiled, nasty little nephew, the only creature left alive mentioned in your will, inherits all your booty, and proceeds to blow the entire stack on a civilian super-submarine---I mean, what's the point?

I was hoping with "Millionaire Women" Stanley would let his hair down, get all "Shaft" with us, maybe talk a little bit about Divorce, the single greatest gender-to-gender (ie, poor hapless dudes to merciless chicks) wealth transfer ever invented in the history of the world. The Big D, an easy con to pull off, and pulled off every day: Woman sinks her claws & pinions, parasite-like, into a Hapless Man, catapults out a few nasty brats so he's bound to her for Eternity, then Lawyers up and pirates his loot. Works like a charm.

But no such luck: we're spoiled even that much of a Dickensian romp.

So if you insist on looking here, know this: Stanley's 'blockbuster' first book, "The Millionaire Next Door", was all about America's truly wealthy: Stingy Dudes.

To cut to the chase, "Millionaire Women" is the same disc, spinning backwards, without even a few Satanic Verses---to wit: Stingy Chicks.

Unless you're looking for a real blue-light special, avoid.

JSG

I purchased this course to learn a bit about Great Plains accounting system. I have worked in accounting for many years and am anticipating changing jobs in the near future. Overall, this book walked me through the basics of Great Plains, giving real examples and hands on experience. The set includes a basic instruction book, a quick reference book, a laminated page with guides on where to look in the reference book for help, and two disks. Each was very useful for its intended purpose.

Although I have worked in accounting for many years, I am still not great at performing system maintenance functions. My only problem I experienced with the course was initially loading the sample companies onto my computer. The instructions in general are very detailed, but they eliminated the step of unzipping the files after downloading them from the disk. This cause me to ask a friend for help and resulted in subsequent ribbing. Not the worst problem, but a bit embarrassing.

Overall, this course can be followed easily and does give a good overview of the subject matter.

The two volume reference guide is a good guide for self learning. It has the 120 day trial version of the MS Great Plains 8.0. After you do the installation, you can follow the books for step by step instructions, I have used this for a course in Accounting. Students enjoy the experience.

I have gotten a lot from the stories I have read so far. The ones I choose to read were perfect for me and told my own story. I don't feel so alone and am working on my money issues with more confidence and less shame right now. I have looked into meetings in my area and will try them out to see what works for me. I am thankful I was able to get this book online.

This book is probably the best book for a person who is suffering from the addiction of debting. The stories are wonderful and really help when it comes to the issue of debting.

I have found by going to Debtors Anonymous meetings and reading this book I can now live a life free of debt.

Thanks DA!

What good does it do to know all the best financial advice, if you are powerless over putting it to use? This book reveals how people powerless over compulsive spending and debting have been able to apply good financial principles to their lives by living the twelve steps and asking a power greater than themselves to take the lead in their life.

This book helped me to put my spending in a different perspective - it is excellent reading and I will be using it as a reference whenever the "urge to spend" comes up again.

This book gives both practical information on a very popular and much needed self help program, Debtors Anonymous. The contributors tell their stories of hope and inspiration of what led them to get into debt and how they got out of debt. It also gives many suggesions for folks who are 'underearners.' People who underachieve and don't earn enough to live on or don't earn up to their potential. HIghly recommended.