Business Money Books

Mr. Grant writes a book now 15 years old that could be redone with a new chapter of the subprime follies. Hardly necessary as he goes over the last 100+ years of similar booms and busts of which subprime is the latest flavor. Knowing that America has recovered from all those busts actually provides some optimism versus the press's gloominess. When it seems darkest means its time to buy. Looking forward to a revised edition in a few years. Mr. Grant is an old time American not an anti-American, he's on record as Cleveland being his favorite President, hardly an anti-American.
This book is well worth the time providing some perspective on today's headlines.

This is THE outstanding history of credit in the US since the Civil War. Grant is a great writer who knows both how to turn a phrase and to dig out and provide the interesting, and sometimes odd-ball fact that is perfect for illustrating his larger point. Grant makes clear that the 20th Century was the century of the democratization of credit and the socialization of risk.

there was a very clever quote mentioned in the book by banker Stillman:

"Every American should reduce his talking by at least two-thirds. There is rarely any reason to talk."

Translated into 2007 prices, I would say the fraction should be upped to at least four fifths.

Verdict: not a bad little book if you can look past the author's anti-Americanism

James Grant is the best writer of his generation on Wall Street today. Those looking for a romp or Wall Street Noir might be disappointed. But for a truly literate look at the world of debt, this book not only informs but entertains.
James Grant. Accept no substitutes.

Though James Grant is an excellent writer, his florid style lends itself better to the short articles he publishes in his newsletter than to this mammoth history of American credit booms and busts. Having said that, if you slug through the details and the (always entertaining) anecdotes, the book can teach you an immense amount of financial history that has been largely forgotten along the way. Its thesis, in short, is that money has increasingly become a government sponsored fiction that serves to defeat the natural risk mechanisms of a healthy credit market (recall that it was written at the time of the S&L bailout). This historical perspective seems essential if you want to understand the liquid world of serial bubbles we have been swimming in for the past ten years, but it is also dangerous, insofar as it may make you want to buy a pile of gold to put in your concrete bunker.

For those of you interested in starting your own business, race out and pick up a copy! Loads of great ideas, tips and tricks and funny stories.

A must-read for anyone thinking of starting a craft business. Fitzgerald knocks it out of the ball park with this one!

I found this book to be very helpful as a mom running her own business and I was very happy to be asked to contribute to it. Reading the things the other contributors had to say about being able to do what you love for a living were very motivational. I hope this book encourages more women to start their own businesses. [...]

This is a cut-to-the chase approach that profiles a cross-section of successful businesswomen crafters. Before you start setting up any kind of business, you'd better make sure your idea is unique and marketable. Sit down with Fitzgerald's book for a few hours, and you'll see what these women did to stand out and succeed in a very competitive business environment. I particularly liked that each profile is in that woman's own words. If I'm going to make my dream of starting a business a reality, I sure need to hear from those who stepped off the crafting cliff before me! I really liked this book.

First of all, this book was hard to get a hold of. Did they not print enough or what? Borders couldn't even order it for me, Barnes & Noble had no stores nearby with it and took a couple weeks to get it in.

I've been working on my own crafting business for almost two years now, and I love Country Living Magazine, so I was excited for this book. I would just recommend it to those who are looking for more inspiration than real direction and hardcore answers.

The true stories of successful crafters are very inspiring and helpful in the advice the women give. It was fun to see the other women's crafts (many of whom are well known in this business) and hear how they came to be successful and what their dreams for the future are.

I would not recommend this book if you are looking for some serious answers about the structure, laws, options and rules when it comes to setting up your own crafting business. I would strongly recommend The Crafter's Business Answer Book by Barbara Brabec, that book will answer every question you have and help you get set up. This book, however, the Crafting a Business book, just skimmed over all these topics very briefly at the end of the book. It wasn't as thorough and didn't answer all the important questions.

I'm pretty happy with my purchase nonetheless, and have really enjoyed reading through the various success stories in this book. It is encouraging and enjoyable.

The word Mr. Studwell adopts for his title, "godfathers," has of course acquired its relevant connotations from a classic novel by Mario Puzo and the subsequent motion-picture trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Messrs. Puzo and Coppola were self consciously creating a myth, romanticizing the ugly reality of mob violence. Mr. Studwell thinks of himself as the debunker of a myth, and he employs the Puzo-Coppola language to reverse its effect.

The myth about Southeast Asia is a matter of Sinocentric cultural determinism. Chinese ethnic groups have scattered about the region and wherever they have gone--so runs a common contention--they have brought with them a Confucian ethos, a dedication to hard work and entrepreneurialism, which has sparked growth and turned the beneficiary nations into "tigers" of productivity.

Those whom Mr. Studwell calls Asia's "godfathers"--the Chearavanont family in Thailand and the Hartonos family of Indonesia are two examples--have taken advantage of this myth to legitimize their own wealth and privilege. He associates them with the Corleones of Sicily and New York, then, in an effort at deflation.

The class at issue isn't, furthermore, as thoroughly Chinese as it portrays itself or as its outside admirers imagine. A few, such as the two families just mentioned, surely are. Many others are partially ethnic Chinese, and in such cases "the non-Chinese bloodline is sometimes seen as a source of embarrassment and played down, particularly in a Chinese setting." Still others aren't Chinese at all. Ananda Krishnan, of Malaysia, surely belongs in any list of the region's godfathers, though he's a Sri Lankan Tamil.

In general, Mr. Studwell contends that the godfather class throughout the region has been a retardant to growth, not the accelerant that its quite successfully promulgated self-image would have one believe. Southeast Asia hasn't shared the successes of Northeast Asia--Japan, South Korea and Taiwan--for three reasons. The northeastern countries have a successful history of land reform behind them. They have seen the development and political encouragement of branded businesses (not merely outsourcing operations for western brands) that compete globally. They've learned the tricky politics of stable multi-party competition. That is the direction forward for their southern brethren.

I learned a good deal from this book. Still, I think that Studwell rather overdoes it, and allows deromanticization to spill over into distortion. I suspect that Confucian values do have something to do with developments in the region, just as Calvinism has had a good deal to do with economic developments in the north of Europe for the last few centuries.

The Western world views the economies of Southeast Asia as "Asian tigers," and sees Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines as hubs of free trade and innovation. Not so fast, warns Asia expert Joe Studwell. What appear to be sleek, streamlined economies are more like rickety old jalopies that creak with cronyism and secretive monopolies. In this enlightening, searing attack, Studwell pegs Asia's ruling tycoons or "godfathers" as charming billionaire throwbacks who ruthlessly control business empires with the permission of corrupt, ever-shifting governments, prospering as the populace struggles. Studwell does a masterful job of synthesizing a sprawling topic. getAbstract recommends his book to anyone who's considering investing in or doing business in Southeast Asia.

As a student with an MA in Southeast Asian Studies, I can attest that this book does a great job summarizing the economic and political landscape of Southeast Asia. The book focuses on the role of the region's elite businessmen and how they take advantage of corruption, weak anti-monopoly laws, and political connections to build their empires. These elites dominate the domestic sectors of the economy, so they generally do not compete with multinational firms in the export sector.

Unlike other books I have read on Southeast Asia, this one not only provides examples but identifies larger trends and patterns that are useful in understanding the problems Southeast Asia currently faces. There is a lot of information, and it can be a pretty dense read for readers not already attuned to the region, but it's definitely worth it, even if just to get an idea of how politics and business really don't mix well in the region.

The book was well written and obviously well researched, but I guess I was looking for more of an action packed, backstabbing account 'Mafia Style.'
Very informative nonetheless.

This book makes a very interesting read and offers a different approach to understanding the economy of a region: the author looks at these economies mainly through the business sector and avoids overloading the book with graphs, charts, tables, etc. It is an interesting story (although heavily studded with Chinese names). This may result in an incomplete picture, and the book is not quite academic, but this does not avoid it providing a relatively objective look on an important sector of this region's economy.
Studwell is very critical of the corporate sector of the SE Asian countries, including those of Hong Kong and Singapore. He traces the origins of the mostly ethnic Chinese businessmen and their companies from the colonial days to the present. He dismisses any notion of "Asian values" as the foundation for the success of these businesses and their owners, but rather attributes their rise to license-peddling, concessions, monopolistic practises, lots of graft, etc. One is reminded of Balzac's words: "every great fortune, of onknown origin, is usually the result of a crime". His comments on the banking sector are particulary scathing. The author explains that these businessmen are not the cause of this situation, but have merely adapted to a region-wide system of patronage and corruption held in place by the local politicos for hundreds of years to the present (much of it inherited from their colonial masters). The business leaders have saving graces: personally charming, they lead flamboyant lives and they obviously do contribute to their local economies (through employment and investment).
In spite of this, and the crisis of 1997-98 the SE Asian economies have sustained high levels of growth over the past two decades, which Studwell attributes mostly to multinationals, and the export prowess of small local firms, plus the hard-work of the average Asian.
The author's critique goes beyond mere anecdotes and history , as he affirms that the SE Asian corporate sector does not have the efficiency and productivity of the typical world-class company. The origins of these businesses leads to a focus on trading and short-term wheeling-dealing, without a clear strategy, technological strength and branded products. The companies are very much tied to the personality and/or the family of the main owners. Worst of all, they are lacking in transparency, corporate governance and their stock market practises are less than ethical.
Studwell's observations seem vindicated by the markets: since the 1994-97 peak the stock markets of these countries have not fully recovered, and the Hong Kong and Singapore indices are barely above their levels of 10 years ago.
As SE Asia acquires more economic stability it is logical to assume that per-capita income will rise and lead to stronger domestic economies, with less dependence on export-led growth. In this context Studwell is correct in insisting the the corporate sector of these countries clean up their act and become serious and sustainable contributors to their economies.

He has some good ideas, but I would say skip Bach and read Dave Ramsey. His plan is much better at helping you actually build wealth.

This is a great book for ADD individuals especially if you struggle with money management. It is so simple and easy to complete the steps. This is the first book in a long time that I actually finished!

If you are looking for a magic bullet do not purchase this book. But if real, down-to-earth suggestions for getting out from under the monster of debt is what you are looking for buy this book and apply the concepts. They are easy and effective.

I really enjoy reading any of the books that David Bach has written. This is another great book that can really help you stay on track with your finances.

David Bach has changed my life.
Before this workbook and the Automatic Millionaire book my wife and I where like everyone else and not saving a lot towards our retirement. Now we are both maxing out our retirement funds by making easy adjustments to our spending habits and now we are on track to retire multi-millionaires. So be sure that you get the Automatic Millionaire book first and then if you want to see and work the examples on paper get the workbook.
Thanks David Bach!!!

This book came in on time but, the book itslef is out of the ordinary.
The begining of the book start on the back cover upside down....never seen anything like this before.

The book is in excellent condition, but try to find out the reason for the delay by the post office, and try to avoid it. It does not make sense to receive the book a month after I make the order, especially I have upgraded the posting service.

I teach undergrad business and economics, and have found this text to be very effective with my students, particularly as a follow-up to macro 101. One of the best things about the text is that it is well integrated; other texts seem somewhat choppy or fragmented.

I've read the books of Mishkin and Hubbard, also well written pieces.

However, Cecchetti seems to be able to explain concepts with more clarity and in a way that makes one remember the various theories long after reading the book.

He should try to develop further the chapter on futures and give more emphasis on hedging, since this is the trend financial markets are moving towards these days, without having to impinge on books devoted solely to the topic.

He may also want to expound more on the chapter covering foreign exchange and international markets, to make the book more relevant to international readers.

on the chapter on monetary policy, since he touched on foreign central banks he may also wish to write about how other countries implement monetary policy, esp how the Bank of England uses the repo market to conduct money easing/contraction.

Am looking forward to a much-improved version in the future.

This is an excellent undergraduate text on financial institutions and monetary economics. The exposition is rigorous yet avoids abstruse math. The best part is the section on monetary economics, where the author dispenses with IS/LM analysis and instead directly analyzes aggregate supply and demand. He writes from the perspective of a central banker (which he was), showing how central banks use interest rates to influence inflation and output. The writing is quite clear, and the numerous sidebars on historical and contemporary issues are excellent. Although some subjects (such as exchange rates) could have been developed in greater depth, this is a great textbook overall.

Ideological footnote: Many undergraduate econ books assume (more or less explicitly) that disturbances in the macroeconomy are eventually self-correcting. This book has a somewhat different starting place: it takes it for granted that regulators will oversee the banking system and that central bankers will act to close output gaps and keep inflation under control (in fact, the latter assumption is built into the author's construction of the aggregate demand curve). According to the author, modern central banks have developed a fairly good understanding of business cycles and know how to moderate them through the use of monetary instruments. Let's hope he's right.

Mulford and Comiskey have delivered a tour de force for the financial and accounting community in this book. Whether you are a financial analyst, corporate accountant, auditor or an executive with a small or large firm, you absolutely will benefit from this book. It is one of the most important books of the last 20 years, and in my opinion, it is the finest book ever written on the concepts and methods of deciphering Operating Cash Flow, it's relationship to earnings, calibrating and measuring free cash flow, as well as the mechanics and drivers (and sometimes deliberate manipulation by unscrupulous management) within the business system that can lead to distortions in the Cash Flow statement.

What about earnings supported by artificial means? What are the core drivers of cash flows? What should our view be, vis a vis the Operating Cash flows, regarding non recurring charges and depreciation? Are capital expenditures really as cut and dry as we like to think they are, under GAAP? How does it impact our cash flows, in the real world? How is it sometimes manipulated, to distort the underlying cash flow realities?

If you are a financial or accounting professional, read this book. Read it twice. Read it three times. An absolutely extraordinary book. Well written, insightfull, never boring, always intriguing with unique content. The authors have such an extraordinary grasp of accounting and financial flows, and bring such groundbreaking concepts and ideas to the field, that you won't put this book down, and there are not many accounting or finance books we can say that about !! "Creative Cash Flow" by Mulford and Comiskey is absolutely a virtuoso performance. Amongst, and compared to, the entire literature that exists in the field of accounting and financial analysis, this book is an extraordinary achievement.

While most accounting books tell you the basic mechanics of cash flow (not to mention being extremely dry), and most finance/investing books basically stop at `earnings can be manipulated wildly, cash is king, and thus free cash flow is paramount', this is the best book I have read that is focused on how cash flow can be manipulated/misclassified and how to think about sustainable cash flow from operations. For example, learn how an acquisition of a company can boost operating cash flow (CFO) by more than the CFO of the acquired company. Or how messing around with vendor financing can increase reported CFO. Representative chapter titles include: "Is It Operating or Investing Cash Flow", "Is It Operating or Financing Cash Flow?", "Nonrecurring Sources and Uses of Operating Cash Flow", "Measuring Sustainable Operating Cash Flow".

In summary, this is a well-written book with great examples of how cash flow can and has been manipulated by companies. I highly recommend this book for advanced and professional investors who focus on fundamental analysis, and anyone else who is interested in improving their ability to analyze cash flow.

I was a student of Dr. Mulford during my MBA, and I can say that the book is as great as his class. He definitvely was one of the best professors I ever had.
We are used to see in many valuation books to take Free Cash Flow as a given; therefore not understanding the real implication of FCF manipulation in enterprise value.
This book explains how the FCF can be calculated and what are the usual "tricks" that companies do in order to show better (or worse?) results. And that is what is all about: building financial criteria for managers in order to make the best decisions.

This is not your typical accounting/finance book (i.e., unclear, unfocused and boring). Creative Cash Flow Reporting is the best and most important accounting/finance book I've read in many years. The authors are certainly focused on the right area (determining sustainable cash flow from operations). The interesting nuances of cash flow reporting are laid out in simple terms (e.g., debt funding and repayments are reported with Financing cash flows, but the related interest expense is reported with Operating cash flows). The authors also go beyond the numbers to provide good background re: a number of strategic alternatives (e.g., why one might enter into a sale/leaseback transaction). There are many other reasons to recommend the book.

In summary, this book is a "must have" for accountants and financial analysts, and I would strongly recommend for CEOs, COOs, corporate and securities attorneys, and corporate middle managers.

this book serves more as a dictionary of cash flow related items rather than offering any prescription for active monitoring of cash flow related mischief.

save your time and money.

I received my book on time and in good shape. Don't know what else I could ask for...
Great work and keep it up!

This book is full packed with information. It is a great 1st book for anyone serious about the restaurant/ bar industry. It has lots of useful tips, and is broken up into logical chapters for easy reference.

Just don't look at the cover (the cheeziest cover I think I've ever seen on a book; I literally had to tear mine off to avoid laughing or having any of its "uncoolness" rub off on me).

Anyway, I own a pretty sucessful bar in Santa Barbara California (Indochine on State Street) and bought this book when I was reading up in anticipation of starting a new restaurant (w/ a bar in it).

While the book assumes the reader knows little or nothing about the business, it has a wealth of information for readers of all levels of experience. I was apprised/reminded of numerous aspects of the biz that caused me to tweak my own bar (to largely sucessful result). Quite simply, this book made/saved me significant money.

I highly recommend.

Christian Hunter

This was one of the better books on bar management. I recommend it! Covers money, how to do the financial spreadsheets to get a business loan in addition to the fun stuff.

This book was first published in 1986, with the 2nd edition coming out in 1993. I bought and read this book in 2005. I found it very informative with great ideas for running a bar. More importantly, it goes into detail on how to write a business plan, partnerships, investors and etc. Basically all the 'business' stuff that goes behind opening and running a bar. Despite the book being old, the basics are all in there and will work today. However I also feel that in today's world, there are other things that the book does not implement. Things like the internet and wider use of PCs, which I think has greatly altered the way busineses work.

This is really an excellent book for those coaches who are serious about building their business. If you are a coach or new to coaching you soon find out that being a great coach is irrelevant if you don't have people to coach and you won't have people to coach if you don't know how to marketing your business and retain clients. This book is really a step by step guide to setting up a coaching business and it is presented logically. If you are looking for coaching theory or new ways to really help clients this book isn't for you. If you think coaching is an effortless way to make a living, this book is a reality check. If you are committed to taking the required actions to make you a financially successful coach, this is a must read.

There are plenty of casual guides on the market on how to coach various sports; but few take the more detailed approach of showing how to build a thriving coaching business, even though some 30,000 coaches have entered the profession in the past five years. There's lots of competition in coaching and so few find themselves able to earn a living wage: that's where The Business And Practice Of Coaching: Finding Your Niche, Making Money, And Attracting Ideal Clients comes in. Chapters are written by two veteran business coaches which provide exercises, tips, and plans to help coaches succeed, from drawing links between community needs and coaching to refining skills to attract public attention and targeting a profitable niche market. Any who desire to coach professionally must have The Business And Practice Of Coaching at hand.

There are plenty of casual guides on the market on how to coach various sports; but few take the more detailed approach of showing how to build a thriving coaching business, even though some 30,000 coaches have entered the profession in the past five years. There's lots of competition in coaching and so few find themselves able to earn a living wage: that's where The Business And Practice Of Coaching: Finding Your Niche, Making Money, And Attracting Ideal Clients comes in. Chapters are written by two veteran business coaches which provide exercises, tips, and plans to help coaches succeed, from drawing links between community needs and coaching to refining skills to attract public attention and targeting a profitable niche market. Any who desire to coach professionally must have The Business And Practice Of Coaching at hand.

I liked this book. I'm glad I purchased it. There really are not that many books available at present on "the business" of coaching. The other one I have, that I'm about to review, is Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice (ISBN: 0595296602) which was written in 2003.

I'd say the instant book does a good job of describing the coaching field outside of the sports realm. It talks about whether many of its participants make a reasonable living (they don't), and it talks about the various fields or backgrounds coaches come from (therapy practitioners and consultants). It tries to be helpful in explaining how to be a successful coach from both a coaching perspective and from a business perspective. There are 17 chapters included:

1. Coaching: Trend or Fad?
2. The Differences Among Coaching, Therapy, and Consulting
3. Becoming a Great Coach
4. Four Questions to Your Perfect Fit
5. From Specialty to Niche
6. Attracting Ideal Clients
7. The Coach as Entrepreneur
8. Business and Your Emotional Intelligence
9. Why Good Coaches Go Broke
10. Staying Safe and Legal
11. Executive and Leadership Coaching
12. Business Coaching
13. Skills Coaching
14. Career Coaching
15. Life Coaching
16. Wellness Coaching
17. Creativity, Relationship, and Spiritual Coaching

My favorite chapters were 2, 5, 12, and 13. I am in the process of putting together a business plan for an online coaching business that will compete directly with many law firms, accounting firms, and fiduciary departments in banks. As a result, Chapter 2 was of particular interest to me because it compared coaching to counseling (legal counseling). Coaching that crosses the line into legal counseling can be construed as the unauthorized practice of law which is regulated on a state by state basis. I can't say that I thought the book did a particularly good job of explaining the difference, but it was better than most articles on the subject I have read.

The book explains that only about 10% of professional coaches gross six figures in a given year. That is not a very good statistic. But I suspect the success rate is so low because most coaches are not very knowledgeable about starting and running a business so it is profitable. The authors in this book attempt to explain how the 90% could make more money by including chapters 5, 6, 7, and 9. And I thought these four chapters had some good content. But I think the reader would have benefited more if the book had instead covered in detail the importance of having a sound written business plan, and how to go about writing a sound business plan. The book did not do this. At least I didn't see it.

If you are looking for a book to tell you how to be successful as a professional coach, then I don't think this book is for you. However, if you are looking for a book that will cover many of the issues you need to consider if you want to have your own coaching business, then you'll get a lot from this book. 4 stars!

There are plenty of casual guides on the market on how to coach various sports; but few take the more detailed approach of showing how to build a thriving coaching business, even though some 30,000 coaches have entered the profession in the past five years. There's lots of competition in coaching and so few find themselves able to earn a living wage: that's where The Business And Practice Of Coaching: Finding Your Niche, Making Money, And Attracting Ideal Clients comes in. Chapters are written by two veteran business coaches which provide exercises, tips, and plans to help coaches succeed, from drawing links between community needs and coaching to refining skills to attract public attention and targeting a profitable niche market. Any who desire to coach professionally must have The Business And Practice Of Coaching at hand.

Over the years i have read this book about a dozen times. I find this book incredibly inpsirational, and a very interesting and educational read. For myself, it has changed the way my family has earned, saved and spend. However, I don't aspire to be like the millionaires in this book. Many of them don't actually enjoy the pleasures their money can earn. This begs the question, whats the point of all this money. Is money there just to be hoarded? Or is money there just to be spend (which is what the authors argue against.) Or could it be possible that the key to true financial happiness and wealth lies somwhere in the middle. Not spending needlessly and being disciplined while at the same time enjoying the rich rewards your money can give you? For ourselves, we (i believe) have been able to find the golden middle. At the end of life its not about how much stuff you acumulate, or how much money you acumulate. Its about how you spend your life, and how much you enjoy it. So read this book, and find the balance for youself.

I think people are missing the point if they think that this book intends that you should have a "miserable life and save and have no fun". I think the point is that our economy has conditioned a consumer hungry, non saving society and it is a lot a question of values and balance. If you are on either extreme of the scale, then you should rethink your ideas. You cant take it with you but you also should leave a little for rainy day and waste not-want not, lol.

This is another interesting book that could have been a 5 to 10-page brilliant article. Repetitive to the extreme, the authors go on and on and on and on...
But I am glad I read this book.
There is only one issue I wish was addressed. Being frugal and living below your means is good. After all, there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars in a watch or in shoes. However, there MUST be a balance in life. What is the point of having money if it is not to spend? Who needs lead a miserable life only to die with 5 million in net worth?
I wish the authors would address this issue, or at least mention that there is a balance and this choice is beyond the scope of their book. Instead, it looks like the "pursuit of wealth" is a constitutional obligation of every citizen.

A book like THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR has a value that goes well beyond its subject matter: It shows how often we have misconceptions about what is really going on around us. Such misconceptions can stall our progress by having us act in the wrong ways.

Unless you had done similar research, you will probably be surprised by at least some of the findings of this book. The millionaires described here remind me of the ones I knew as a child, so the overall picture is familiar. What impresses me is that that model has continued to be true for the 50 years since I was a child.

I hope that this kind of research will be continued so it can be tracked to see how the lessons are changing.

I read the reviews of this book below, and think I understand why some people were disappointed. I think that many people would like to live an expensive lifestyle and be independently wealthy. That model is not examined here. Perhaps in a future book, that subject should be explored. Also, some people want to know what to do today, and would benefit from looking at those who got to be millionaires the fastest and most recently. That information, too, is missing.

The orientation of this study is heavily on how to sell things to rich people, and that is valuable. For example, the richest people I work with will normally ask me what kind of car I drive. They want to hear that I drive an inexpensive car before they feel comfortable with me. I do drive an inexpensive car, a 7 year old Saturn, and that has helped me get consulting clients on many occasions.

I think the possibilities of this research are endless if it is turned into best practice research, something that readers are clearly hungry for. But it is a good beginning to simply do the measurements, and learn the value of measurements.

To make enormous progress, our reserach has shown that people need to go through the following process: (1) Learn the value of measurements (which this book helps with). (2) Measure every aspect of important activities (something this book starts to do). (3) Measure the existing best practice, and estimate where that will be in five years (this work remains to be done). (4) Implement pieces of other peoples' best practices in new ways for a more effective combination than any one else has done before. (5) Identify the ideal best practice (in this case, get rich quick with little risk -- an example today would be to found an Internet-based business and sell it quickly) (6) Begin to approach the ideal best practice (that might be to establish Web sites and experiment with creating Internet businesses inexpensively). (7) Create the right rewards to motivate yourself and others to get the job done (daily feedback is a good way for many people). (8) Repeat the process. Here's where the main benefit comes in.

I hope this model will help you expand on the lessons of this book to become much wealthier yourself, if that is what you desire, or to create something else that you care about.

I personally like to help others get rich more than doing the same for myself. I believe that if everyone is more successful, I will have plenty for myself. My personal goal is for everyone to get 10,000 times or more benefit from what clients spend in time, money, and effort on our services and books.

Please do read, think aobut, and build on the lessons of this book to meet your life's goals.

If you do not yet have written goals, including financial ones, that's an important first step.

This is not a how-to book, nor does it claim to be.

What it does is examine the habits, attitudes, and demographics of "prodigious accumulators of wealth" (i.e. The Millionaires Next Door), compared to those that consume and consume, living from paycheck to paycheck. It dispels some myths about millionaires, showing that just because you flaunt it, doesn't mean you have it.

For example, the authors explain that most consumers of luxury goods are living dangerously. People who live in homes that are too expensive (i.e. with a mortgage more than twice that of their yearly taxable income) are living dangerously. Their lives are precariously balanced between earn and spend, and any number of major life events could leave them in serious trouble.

The book doesn't tell you how to live, but it does explain the common-sense principles required to accumulate wealth. It's not perfect, and reads too much like a spreadsheet at times. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book for two main reasons.

1) Common sense is uncommon. Sure, it sounds easy. Make wise choices in life, and you will live securely. But how many of us do it? The book explains why being a millionaire doesn't take being well-bred or brilliant, using illustrative stories of real people, and how they earn and spend. Admittedly, one person's "frugal" is another person's "tightwad". We wouldn't always want to be these people, but they do have good ideas.

2) Life expectancies are on the rise. You may argue that you work hard for your money, so why not just spend it now? Thanks to modern medicine, there is a significant likelihood that you will live (in reasonable health) to age 80. Will you be able to work until you're 80? What will you do when you retire at 65 or even 70, with nothing left in your bank account to last you the next 10 to 15 years? Wait for handouts from your children and grandchildren, or the government? The millionaires next door can afford to retire earlier, and maintain their standard of living.

In short, being a millionaire isn't about hoarding money or living extravagantly. It's about common-sense security and independence.