Business Money Books

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I just devoured "The Frugal Duchess" on a weekend getaway trip and loved it. Not only did I amass a number of helpful tips-- AAA discounts movie tickets & vinegar works as an inexpensive alternative to pricey dishwasher rinses-- but the author is so engaging that I enjoyed every moment of the journey. This book improbably combines everything from a glimpse into the South Beach high life to tales of growing up African-American in the Philadelphia suburbs to creative tips for throwing a memorable slumber party for tween girls.

Harvey Rosenberg has a terrific sense of humor, and the stories of her family made the book truly priceless. With any luck, she'll soon have her own TV spot so she can continue to offer offbeat shopping ideas and important life lessons.

Evidently this woman has a widely read Blog about her adventures in frugality. You can tell by the breezy, bloggy way she writes. For instance, she refers to her Mom and Dad as "M&D" quite often.

A lot of the book is interesting because it supplies a lot of websites to refer to in order to get bargains on just about everything. However, most of the frugality tips are well known if you've been reading "frugal" literature like "America's Cheapest Family" or "The Tightwad Gazette".

I give it three stars because it really doesn't add anything new and most of her points of reference are South Beach (Miami), FL - Philadelphia, PA and, of course, NYC.

I am all about saving money on the little stuff so that I can better afford the big stuff. With this in mind, The Frugal Duchess was purchased with the intent of increasing my money-saving knowledge, powers, and abilities, and that it did! The Frugal Duchess, while weak on ideas compared to other "thrift" books I've read, still contained some ideas worth devoting a few summer afternoons in the porch swing to. This author also rekindled my interest in perusing the isles of Dollar Stores, which I have been opposed to for years. The voice was lively and the text was "easy on the eyes."

A terrific book!

This is not simply a dry list of financial tips. It is a narrative of an interesting life (and a family history) lived sometimes frugally, sometimes not, and all the lessons learned from both sides of that coin.

While being full of great suggestions for anyone of any age or life stage, told through the prism of a well-lived life, this book would be an especially great gift for all the recent college grads you know. The lessons learned here will help them move out into this Keep-up-with-the-Manolos-Charge-it culture without losing their way, and help them make more thoughtful decisions.

It is an enjoyable read as well as being very informative. I highly recommend it!

I loved this book. Delightfully written and many useful tips on saving money. I definitely recommend this book.

Business Basics Bestseller 1: The Easy, Interesting, Open-book Look at the Game of Business Numbers! 2nd Edition

If you never had this F&A stuff explained to you before, you will like "Business Basics Bestseller 1" as a starting point.

It will introduce you to the basics of business including the jargon behind the numbers and where all the formulas come from before you plow into a true "finance and accounting text." Search for "Business Basics Bestseller 1" and add it to your consideration. This is not a suggestion that you substitute it for this text, just that you check it out as well. It will be one of your best investments.

One of the best F&A books written for general managers I have read. Detailed enough to give the reader an excellent grasp of the subject, but doesn't require calculus to understand. If you're a manager who cringes during discussions of cash flow, cost of capital, and discount rates, this book is for you. Can't wait for other titles in the series!

I read this book with my wife each taking assignments and reporting back after a day or two. What an incredible read and experience. There is a wealth of challanging material in this book to help anyone wishing to expand themselves into a more thoughtful person.

A pure blessing that has potential and material to make a substancial upswing in one's life.
Rocco

I have been a fan of the Merills, since their synergistic work with Stephen Covey with "First Things First".

I am not married yet, nor do I have a job, but I find this book so practical and I am convinced as I grow up into the various future stages of my life, the wisdom within it, will become more and more obvious.

I really like the idea that balance is not in "balancing the scale" but in "balancing".

The sections that deals with Time Matters and Money Matters, is worth more than the price of the book. When I was browsing through the book, and got to read the Money Matrix diagram, I almost jumped out of my skin. I always felt the Time Matrix is always applicable to one's personal finance. I was so delighted to know the Merrills felt the same and has wrote and developed it further in this book. The book also feature a quote from my favorite personal finance guru, Robert Kiyosaki.

If you have a friend who is getting married, this would be an excellent gift to a newly wed couple. I recently gifted one to my best friend. Since the book is quite expensive for us living in India, I along with a group of friends, decided to give it together.

It's a book worth to be made a family heirloom. I am sure anyone would find it helpful. Its a rare diamond in the overly cluttered world of self-help books. Most self-help books offer advice, but ended up with platitudes and rehash of ideas. We need books like this one.

Another beautiful aspect to this book is the author's recognition that more than offering answers to people, it is more important to help people develop their ability to find the answer within. This is what they called navigational intelligence. It is the effort to develop personal conscience, and listening to it.

Its a book that will never leave my reading desk and will be refered to again and again and again, till I end this life and buried six feet under.

Thanks Roger and Rebecca for an enduring legacy for generations to come. I pray more and more people will embrace your message. If we all do the world will be a better place to live in.

This book is one of many that build off Stephen Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," and is a more in-depth discussion of prioritizing (Living in Quadrant II for those who speak Covey). This book is divided into four sections that reflect the four biggest concerns Americans face--the workplace, the family, time, and money. The basic message of the book is that one must think in terms of "investing," whether it be money, time, or effort. It is important to examine what one invests in so that maximum returns can be paid on that investment. As an example, investing money in a car yeilds a much lower return (a negative return) than investing in a mutual fund. Investing time in televison watching yields a much lower return than helping your child with his homework. Investing in effort in a long-term project that is still months away yields a much higher return than filling out some pretty-unnecessary paperwork. Other commentators are correct when they say that the examples of theory-in-action can be fairly unrealistic (even though they really happened!), but they illustrate the authors' points well. I would first recommend the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If you find that helpful (and I imagine you will), this book is an excellent follow-up to it.

Prioritizing the building blocks of life - family, work, money and time - is paramount to happiness. Some people do it unconsciously by living within their intellectual and monetary expectations. Others need a framework for balance, such as the one that authors A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill provide. To achieve personal balance, the authors suggest becoming a better team player, working more effectively, learning about finances and setting home and work priorities. They establish the goal of building a strong family, centered around parental "family leadership." Do they successfully address the knotty issues they raise? Yes, in a folksy way. This is a useful self-help manual with checklists, self-assessments and personal anecdotes, which are sometimes touching, but sometimes impractical or saccharine. Though the management advice dons motivational language, the sections on family and work are particularly worthwhile. The authors deliver a solid antidote to misplaced modern values, albeit wrapped in some fluffy trappings. We recommend this book to corporate officers and human resource personnel, as well as to individuals seeking balance.

New books telling you how to improve your life come off the presses every week, maybe every day. Some are bad, and you realize you have wasted your time. Some are average, and you might learn a few new things, but they aren't all that memorable. Some are great, and you go back to them again and again. "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" is one of the great books. Years later people remember it, talk about it, and reread it.

"Life Matters" is a great book. It covers a lot of good ideas, the thoughts and observations are well presented, and the book reads quickly.

The first chapter starts off talking about what is important in life. The authors focus on four areas: work, family, time, and money. They have a quiz to help in your self-assessment of how you are doing in each of these four areas. A big message of this book is there doesn't have to be conflict between the four areas.

The next chapter covers three things you have to do in any area of your life. The three "gotta do's" are:

1) Validate your expectations. You have to confront reality, for if you have an unrealistic expectation you will be frustrated. The authors make the point that the direction you are heading is more important than how fast you are going.

2) Optimize Effort. Look for ways to get the maximum benefit for your effort, and make sure your decisions are aligned with your goals.

3) Develop your "Navigational" intelligence. This is the ability to be aware of your changing environment, so that what looked like an important task at the start of the day may have to take a back seat when your boss gives you a new assignment, or a child needs attention.

The next four chapters are on: work, family, time, and money, with a chapter on each area. The authors weave each of the above three "gotta do's" into each area. For each area they explore different ways people see the area, for example how do you see your family, or your money. And then they discuss what is the reality. They have a list of "optimizers" which are techniques for getting the maximum benefit for your effort. And they talk about how to be flexible when situations change.

"Seven Habits" mentions a Time Matrix, which is a two dimensional matrix based on how important something is, and how urgent it is. Many people waste time on things that aren't important, or get caught up doing things that are important and urgent. Stephen Covey explores why doing things that aren't urgent, but important, can make a great difference in your life. For me one of the gems of "Life Matters" was exploring this same matrix in relation to money. The Merrill's point is that it is best to invest your money with the same Quadrant II focus, things that aren't urgent, but are important. For me, that idea alone was worth reading the book. There were a number of similar gems scattered through the book.

The last chapter was titled "Wisdom Matters" and here the authors explore why wisdom is important, and how to improve your wisdom. One of the points they strongly make is to develop an ongoing daily self-important program. The idea is to spend a few minutes each day improving your understanding of life, and how to make better decisions.

This is a great book. If you are interested in improving your life, buy this book, read this book, and then reread it. It will help you get better control of your life. For as the Merrills say, life does matter.

With so many verses covering finances and finance-related topics, this resource is essential for gathering them all together and organizing them by topic and reference. It sits on my shelf right next to my concordance and I pull it down whenever finances come up.

It is a must read book on the issuse of finances. It's give clear and easy to follow instruction with a firm scripture reference.

If you are doing Christian Financial counseling, or just interested in biblical financial principles, this book is a must. Larry Burkett has laid this book out to be an excellent reference with biblical references for each topic.

I am very pleased with my order. The book was in excellent condition and was swiftly delivered.

Thanks!

Hello Everyone!

1. Well, I have not written a book review for this forum for many years after I wrote a few originally, but this book "Megatrend 2010" called my attention, and in this way I am also thanking the author (I sent her an email and no answer yet, ja, ja). This great book serves as an inspirational book, but the importance here are the facts about the megatrends Ms. Aburdene lay out, specially the first one: the undercurrent of emerging spirituality, which actually serves as a pillar for the other 6 megatrends. I was also encouraged by several other wonderful reviews in this forum, mainly the one by D. Patrick Miller and Warren L. Whitlock. Thank you guys!
2. If I were to summarize the relevance of this work, I would say it is the acceptance of the power of consciousness, for spirit is consciousness. This is the power behind the mind, which supports it and nourish it. This understanding takes the author to link this power to business, and to recognize this linkage as a Megatrend. Great! That profits and benefits to a company or business and their employees can come from this approach, well, what a great thing to entertain, know, and then practice!
3. No coincidence then that meditation is a tool heavily mentioned in "Megatrends 1020". It is through the stillness of meditation that knowledge comes from. I humbly know this, as I have practiced Yoga and meditation for years. Thus, I recommend meditation highly.
4. Trends, mega or not, float in the air, in the consciousness of the earth. Soon, experts, writers, hold them; classify them in articles and books while they go around influencing life. Specifically, the trend towards higher spirituality has been heralded for over a century by sages like Sri Aurobindo.
5. I was ready for "Megatrend 2010". Last January while staying in Ramanasrama, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, I bought a book in the ashram bookstore titled "Can God Improve my Balance Sheet?". It was written in 2007 by retired Indian industrialist, writer, and billionaire Dwaraknath Reddy. I showed it to a friend who lives there who asked me to my surprise: do you want to meet the author? An hour later Shri Reddy, who lives across the street from the ashram, gracefully dedicated his book to me. It is exactly an explanation of the megatrend # 1 from Ms. Aburdene's book.
6. Have a great day!

Megatrends 2010 is one of the best books on the market today - especially if you are interested in new ways of approaching old problems. The case studies and best practices that Patricia reveals prove that values, integrity, spirituality in the workplace - all help build profits. It's an easy read - informative and full of facts!
Thank you Patricia Aburdene for pulling together such a great body of work!
Ann Ranson

Both MEGATRENDS and MEGATRENDS 2000 were top bestsellers predicting shifts key to economic and business worlds alike: now MEGATRENDS 2010 documents the rise of 'conscious capitalism' and what corporate responsibility means to business trends and activities. Any business library or businessman interested in corporate change will appreciate the data and insights documenting corporate scandals and ethics transition points being fostered by grassroots efforts and managers. A top pick any business and public lending library must have.

I'm going to start making my point saying that i bought this book because Megatrends 2000 just helped me so much understand the economics back then, and when this one came out i rushed in and bought it, and big disappointed. First there is one lady that helped write the first one as the only author, the cover is reddish pink, and for a "mega" is not a large book. She talks about spiritualism, moral, and ecology, which i agree and accepted them as future megatrends, but she could have written that in two or three chapters, but that's the whole book, and that's where the disappointment is.
I asked myself if i was reading a economics trend book, or a spiritual book. She never talked about the euro boom, or the global warming as a social mechanism to push the entire humanity to a future of new technology advances and possible breakthroughs, there are too many topics to talk about as megatrends, but she focused in spiritualism a little too much(just the hole book.)
She made the mistake of not seeing the big picture, and i bet she didn't spend a month writing this book. And that's what bothers me, because the first book was very useful, full of information in different sciences and very accurate.
I guess is the editorial's fault for being so brain less and putting a solo person doing a team work job. She didn't even try to do some research...
If there's a time machine invented i go back on time, i would read the book, write this opinion and i would remember to save the purchase ticket to return it(lol).
Shame on you Patricia Aburdene.

I would encourage anyone thinking about building a business to read this book. I had never been involved in a MLN company before and when I joined Agel I read this book cover to cover and can tell you it literally jump started my business. He is AMAZING!

Randy is one of the strongest advocates of a system's approach to building an MLM organization and an excellent MLM Trainer. I've attended his seminars and training both in Singapore and in USA during the last 3 years and I find that his teachings timeless!

And on top of his heavy training schedule, Randy was kind enough to find time to review my work on MLM Persuasion. This man is simply amazing and a blessing to this wonderful industry of ours!

I've read his book more than 7 times during the last 2 years, and I must say that this is one of the Top 10 MLM books ever written! All the essential nuts and bolts are condensed in it. By following Randy's teachings, you will certainly realize your dreams in this business.

This book contains almost nothing you wouldn't get from any decent Multi-level Marketing company. He does however spend a great deal of time hyping his other books and tapes. If you are interested in starting a MLM company yourself his advise mainly consists of "get a lawyer". Rated 1 star because you can't rate it 0.

This collection of tips from Mary's readers wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a collection of Mary's own tips. Some tips were in conflict, and I often wondered whether Mary or her organization tested any of them or verified their worth.

Reading through it cover to cover, I found several duplications, many examples of poor grammar, and a number of tips that weren't titled in bold; they were lumped in with the previous tip. If the book had been edited properly it would have been much improved. As an editor, I'm very tempted to write Mary and offer my services for the next edition. This one reads as if it were thrown together too quickly and printed without even a copy edit.

Despite my misgivings, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the tips, and I will try many of them. A tip of my own: have a highlighter in hand when you read this book so you can mark the tips you want to try.

Tons of great tips that I will actually use for cleaning, beauty, babies, automobiles, finances & more. I bought one for myself & my daughter-in-law who is a new mother. We were both drooling over our books this past week saying, "Wow, listen to this idea!" Detailed index is great for finding specific tips.

Tips are okay. Poor editing. Mary Hunt's other books are much better. I'll be donating this one to the library.

The book is full of information on how to save money by recycling and using cheap products. It is well organized by topics. It is a good resource book for situation's that come up in the home.

A great addition to my "frugality" library shelf. A few repetitions, but otherwise solid.

This well written book gives you the whole story: What's in for entrepreneurs raising funds, for VC investors, and how the industry creates value as a whole. It will give you insights that may be valuable if you haven't been a player or gone through financing rounds before. A must read!

I can't say enough good things about this book! Gompers and Lerner provide a crystal clear explaination of the role venture capital plays in the economy and offers an insightful view of how venture capital will change in the future.

Anyone who is launching a new venture should bypass the "How To Write A Business Plan" books and pick up a copy.

Gompers and Lerner have written the best book on venture capital thus far. The authors have done a great service to entrepreneurs, VCs, and the entire business community with this work.

It is written, organized, and executed at perfect pitch and should be read by anyone considering taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, pursuing a career as a VC, or simply wanting to know more about the complexities and true nature of venture capital.

As venture capital gradually becomes more plentiful in the next 24 months, reviewing this work should be required of serious-minded professionals.

This book is fair reading, but there are far better books, not to mention that its a bit outdated in material. My recommedation is buy a different book, but if you must have it will do.

Save your money. Stuffed with appendices of legislation pertaining to credit industry. Poorly written and worse editing with mispellings and repetition.

Updating would be a good thing with recent changes in the FCRA. I read the reviews by others before I read the material myself. Seeing that other reviewers had looked into Bill Bauer who claimed to be an expert on the topic and gave a very negative review and I saw the book was sound raised my curiousity level and I Googled him as well. I think a new book about him would make fascinating reading. Please do not take the negative reviews seriously. They have an agenda.

This book was disappointing. Buying a book without being able to browse it beforehand makes it difficult to know if its what you want. If I would have been able to skim through this book prior to buying, I would not have bought it. It's not that it's bad, it's just that its not what I needed or the title implied. It is not a comprehensive book at all. The title "guerrilla" makes you think it will offer unique, aggressive, insightful, strategic, or uncommonly known tactics to attack your credit repair. It absolutely fell short of that. But what it does deliver is very detailed, easy to follow understanding of BASIC information (what credit is, how to contact the bureaus, what type of letters to send, etc.) It gives you a decent strategy on how to dispute items on your CR. A huge shortcoming for this book is that 100 pages of the 200 page book was given to printing the FCRA (fair credit reporting act). Helpful but a waste. Instead of giving us some "guerrilla tactics" for 100 pages, they print the act instead. If you are really trying to repair your credit and you need real life information and real "guerrilla" tactics then you MUST prepare yourself mentally (it can get legal, psychological and emotional) and use the vast amounts of FREE information and FREE resources available online. Try joining FREE online communities/forums. Avoid people capitalizing on your despair with over-priced credit repair books, credit repair kits, pay-for services (i.e. now bankrupt AmeriDebt) or other books where gazillionaires bloviate about how rich and debt-free THEY are. Good for you. People with poor financial situations and poor credit do need inspiration but people also need practical aggressive ways to get their backs from against the wall. In conclusion, you'd be better off researching online for a few weeks, seeking FREE professional opinions, or checking out books like this one from the library.

The main idea of this book is that credit reporting is an unfair process to consumers and more legislation is needed to regulate the industry. The authors paint a grim picture of credit agencies and leads you to believe you should be afraid of them. First of all the book is severely outdated. The book falls short due to the amount of mis-information. For example, it convinces readers that anyone that requests their credit report can obtain one; it advises that credit reports are reviewed when a person applies to college and convinces readers that credit reports are so personal that they contain information about a person's grooming habits. LOL - come one, get serious! The book is outdated and at least half of it focuses on trying to teach readers how to manipulate the credit-reporting system to have correct data removed from a credit report. In addition, the book is full of contradictions. It claims that credit reporting is done to punish, even torment consumers and that it's unfair, but a few pages later, the authors state that the intricate system ultimately benefits consumers. Which is it?! It also suggest readers partake in illegal activity in order to obtain a credit report like the ones creditors receive. It tells them to pose as a landlord or employer. This is illegal! Unless you're a deadbeat with low morals, this book is not for you. I'd recommend The Insider's Guide to Credit Repair by K.E. Varner for more useful, practical advice.