Business Money Books

This book covers many interesting Christian value based financial topics, with an emphasis on an older audience. Topics include predictable things like sensible investment strategies, insurance needs, considerations in setting up a will or a trust, tax considerations, etc. One topic that did surprise me somewhat was the discussion about the meaning of retirement. That chapter might make some readers pause and consider what their goals are in life. Overall - a very good book as I expected from the late Mr Burkett.

The authors Larry Burkett and Ron Blue offer sound financial advice for Christians in their 40's or 50's preparing for the second half of life (but useful to people of any age). What your mother and father didn't know and couldn't teach you.

Did you know that our cost of living DOUBLES every twenty-four years? (using an inflation rate of just 3%) Will you outlive your savings and investments? Will Social Security be enough? How do you live debt-free in a material world? Are your investments in balance with the current economy? When should you invest in stocks? 401k's? Conventional IRA or Roth IRA? Bonds? Real estate? Certificates of Deposit? When is the right time to "cash out"? Is your head spinning yet?

Based on core Christian principles, the authors discuss nearly every area of personal finance, including the importance of giving and the myths surrounding retirement. Very straight-forward and easy to understand. Includes common questions and answers at the end of each chapter, interesting stories and personal experiences of the authors, scripture references, interactive worksheets and tables. A "must read" for every Christian.

I was very happy with the quality of the product and the fast service. The only thing I was disappointed in was the description did not specify the edition # of the book and what I received was one edition back from what I needed. More information in the description would be very helpful.

The book has a lot of detailed historical information about the financial systems. Unfortunatly the author pay too much attention to history and not enough on practical fundementals. There are several errors and steps deleted in the book. Plus not enough examples are provided in comparrison to the problems assigned. Even my professor stated that the 7th edition had plenty of problems that won't be resolved until the 12-13th edition.

Well written and enjoyable - not a easy thing for such a potentially droll subject. Made a living shutting down oil companies for a while - now I know why.

As one who lived through this, and is trained in economics and finance, and knew several of the individuals of the era, I enjoyed this book, but found it not as thorough nor displaying a comprehensive grasp of the context of the times as it could have. I felt like the author was striving more to be entertaining and engaging, than to provide a comprehensive historical record or in-depth economic analysis. I would recommend Philip Zweig's "Belly Up, the Story of Penn Square Bank" in its place for those seeking a more in-depth history. Zweig's book is better researched and also does an excellent job of communicating the flavor and energy of those years. I might give Singer's book a 3.6, but I think a 4.0 is too high.

Mark Singer has written one of my favorite books ever. It is simple to read and simply hilarious to think that a bank in a shopping maul almost brought down the entire banking industry of the United States and hence the world. Mark Singer's understanding of how this happened and the characters involved in the fiascal leaves the reader with a more profound and terrifying idea of what makes the world go round.

As someone who has grown up in Oklahoma City and graduated from high school the year that the collapse had happened, I knew of some of the persons involved through other people.

The red piggy bank logo belonged to Sooner Federal Savings and Loan, and sat on top of 50 Penn Place.

Penn Square Bank had built what is now known as The Tower a couple of blocks down the street. They never moved into it, they were shut down while they were still inside the north end of Penn Square Mall, and the building was finished out after the closure.

Singer has relatives here in Oklahoma in the oil business, so he had some insight into the things that had happened.

If you want more detail, Belly Up goes into much more greater detail and is harsher in it's treatment of the characters involved.

Growing up in Oklahoma my only real memory of the Penn Square Bank failure was when they pulled down the red-piggy-bank logo from the top of the building. It was something that was talked about on the national news every evening, but it wasn't well understood just how such a small local bank could cause such a ruckus.

Mr. Singer's book explains what was at the bottom of all of the trouble, how Penn Square fell from grace, and in the process of doing so provides interesting commentary on Oklahoma culture, as well as some history and other facts pertaining to the oil business. The book is very well written and quick paced, providing just enough detail to be considered in depth, while not languishing on unnecessary detail.

It is interesting to remark that the same conditions that caused everyone to say oil at $100 per barrel was a no-brainer are those that caused people to put forth the indestructible nature of internet-retailing. The Okiesmo of wildcats in pursuit of oil bears striking resemblance to the aggressive idiocy of venture capitalists fighting to put money into business plans that ignored common sense.

This book is satisfying on a lot of levels, the depth of information on the figures behind the bankruptcy, the environment that spawned and incented those figures and also the culture, both nationally and locally, which created this collapse. This is a very interesting book, and I highly recommend it.

I must confess that I have no prior knowledge of economics before taking a masters course in macroeconomics. I found it very difficult to learn the subject from the book. The book served me a good reference book. Its not a ideal text book.

As Econ texts go, this one is pretty straight forward and compact. It gets the point across in a small amount of space. The real world articles and analysis is very helpful. My professor was pretty bad for this course, so the book was a lifesaver.

A great book for the understading of Macro, and corelate the discussion with the real world. However, the book is not aimed towards the one who is looking for in depth mathematical derivations behind the macro policies. Very interesting to read.

I am an employee at Merrill Lynch (I have my series 7,63,65,24,4), and currently studying for the CFA Level 1 Exam, however, my background is in Biochemistry and Biology so it is pretty obvious that I was behind my peers relative to our formal academic background. So, I felt that I needed a book that that could clearly communicate the macroeconomic policies that govern this country. However, because the CFA level 1 is a difficult exam, I could not afford to have the author dilute the information, or overly simplify the information. Fortunately, the literature provided in this book not only conveyed the information better, and clearer than, the actual CFA preparatory classes that I had been taken, but it was such a fun book to read. The beauty of this book is that it provides actual contemporay, and historic global examples to supplement the literature. Prior to reading this book, I had read other books on macroeconomic policy that were so dry that I could not even finish the chapters (and I had read some pretty dry books during my days as an undergrade pursuing my double major in Biotechnology and Biology), but this book was the type of book that I did not want to put down from the moment I started reading it. Furthermore, this book also assisted me in getting a better understanding of the markets (equities and real estate) for future investments as well. After reading this book, I am such a sharper investor, I can now dissect the nonsense from the valid information that is being promoted on TV and in magazines. I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in getting a deeper understanding of how our government works, and how our economy works relative to the rest of the world.

I am an employee at Merrill Lynch (I have my series 7,63,65,24,4) and currently studying for the CFA Level 1 Exam, however, my background is in Biochemistry and Biology so it is pretty obvious that I was behind relative to my peers with regards to our formal academic background. So I felt that I needed a book that that could clearly communicate the macroeconomic policies that govern this country. However, because the CFA level 1 is a difficult exam, I could not afford to have the author dilute the information or overly simplify the information. Fortunately, the literature provided in this book not only conveyed the information better, and clearer than the actual CFA preparatory classes that I had been taken, but it was such a fun book to read. The beauty of this book is that it provides actual contemporay and historic global examples to supplement the literature. Prior to reading this book I had read other books on macroeconomic policy that were so dry that I could not even finish the chapters (and I had read some pretty dry books during my days as an undergrade pursuing my double major in Biotechnology and Biology)but this book was the type of book that I did not want to put down from the moment I started reading it. Furthermore, this book also assisted me in getting a better understanding of the markets (equities and real estate) for future investments as well. After reading this book, I am such a sharper investor, I can now dissect the nonsense from the valid information that is being promoted on TV and in magazines. I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in getting a deeper understanding of how our government works, and how our economy works relative to the rest of the world.

This book is very well organized and comprehensive. It presents financial theory using rigorous mathematical analysis in a systematic fashion. I think this book can be a great complementary book to Cochrane's Asset Pricing book.

Excellent book. The only drawback is that there is no coverage of binary options.

This book provides students of graduate and doctral programmes in financial mathematics thorough understanding of the mathematics underlying financial markets. This book complements other books on continuous time finance, Hull book on derivatives, etc.

Interesting, informative, and thought provoking book which parents and or relatives should read, discuss, and think about before leaving money and property to their children in terms of long terms positive and negative effects of doing so.

Leaving money to kids is stupid. It will make them lazy and profligate. Instead, leave your money to charities. Like the ones run by the people who write glowing endorsements of this book. Whatever you do, don't leave money to any wicked organizations that promote abortion or free thought.

There. I've just saved you a couple of hours' reading time and a lot of aggravation. You're welcome. LOL

This book can be read in a night but contains wisdom for a lifetime. Expecting another book about estate planning, I was pleased to find only the essential data needed to introduce the subject and the bulk of the content about thoughtfully (and prayerfully) making the six decisions about wealth transfer. This is the first book I have read by Ron Blue but I suspect it is one of his best. Intertwined between the chapters teaching us about the six decisions of wealth transfer are sole searching questions, historical examples of heros in philanthropy, and humorous cartoons introducing each chapter. But the real treasures in this book are the biblical references with reminders of the definition of stewardship in nearly every chapter - "God owns it all"

This book was OK. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't dislike it either. It certainly could have been a little more straightforword in the early chapters with regard to what it was actually about. What this book is about is how a religious Christian can evaluate her options when considering to whom or what to leave her wealth upon her death. This book is about choosing beneficiaries to your estate - not about how to minimize estate taxes that will be due if you leave your wealth to something other than a church or other tax-exempt entity.

The author apparently likes to write about things that are on his mind. He describes in the book how at different periods in his life he wrote certain books that seemed to coincide with what he was doing professionally at the time. In 2004 when this book was published the author was in his 60s and he was in the process of changing his will. Clearly he had a lot on his mind because the instant book resulted at 200+ pages.

I think the instant book could have been really good if the author had kept his Christian values out of the mix. It can be a very challenging process to figure who to name as beneficiaries of your estate and how much to leave each beneficiary. And good coverage of such a topic could easily go far beyond 200+ pages and be well worth the read. However, this book comes across as preachy and relies on Scripture too much for support of the author's point of view.

The author seemed to be pushing the concept of leaving one's wealth to the church instead of to one's kids. He makes a lot of arguments why you shouldn't be leaving your wealth to your kids. Unfortunately, all the arguments fall flat because the reader can see (or should be able to see) the author's agenda: give to God.

People typically leave their wealth to those they love or causes they cherish, OR BOTH. Of course, any sane person does not want to waste their wealth unncessarily. And if the kids don't need it, then the church can greatly benefit from those funds. And if the kids will squander their inheritance, then the church or some other worthy charity can greatly benefit from those funds. But to promote giving your estate to the church to the exclusion of your kids to me is ludicrous. 3 stars!

"Splitting Heirs" is an appropriate title for this book and the problems it deals with. So often people fail to plan for their eventual death and everything they have spent years accumulating ends up in the hands of the court system, lawyers, and others. Even when they do plan it often ends up in the hands of their children who may or may not be mature enough to handle the windfall. The parable of the prodigal son often comes to mind as children squander their inheritance.

What can you do to make sure that your interests and your desires are foremost when it comes to passing on your inheritance? That is the subject of this book. How do you provide for children and grandchildren while still teaching them the value of money and the responsibility that comes with it? How do you deal with the expectations of in-laws, stepchildren, and grandchildren, provide for church and ministries, avoid family conflict and avoid sibling jealousy?

Author Ron Blue delineates a clear process for dealing with these issues. The process is basically to first determine why you should want to transfer your wealth, then to whom you want to transfer it, how much you want to transfer, when you want to do it, what you want to transfer, how you can do it, and communicating all the above to the appropriate people. The advice is sound and he makes several good points that any financial planner would also advise you to do. The only real problem with the book is that parts of it appear to be inconsistent with each other. For example, on page 45 and again on page 154 under the heading of Tools and Techniques he notes the "Trust Principle" which he states is "Never use a trust because of a lack of trust". However, he never really defines what he means by that comment. If it is "never use a trust because you really can't trust the trustee to do what you want" then that is not consistent with his suggestions on pages 167 through 174 where he suggests the use of a marital trust, an insurance trust, and possibly charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, etc. On the other hand if he means that you should not use a trust as a vehicle to control a child's access to money because you don't trust the child then that is different but still not necessarily consistent with the basics of the rest of the book. If the child is not mature enough to handle money then having it in a trust with someone who can is responsible stewardship. Items like this make parts of the book questionable simply because the reader can't really tell what Mr. Blue is trying to say much less determine if it is sound advice.

Another problem with the book is some of the people he holds out as examples. On page 50 he mentions Andrew Carnegie as an example of a person determined to give. While this is factual and he did give away most of his fortune and supported many charities, he amassed his fortune through ruthless business practices that can hardly be considered as respectful of others. To be fair to Mr. Carnegie most of his practices were not inconsistent with others of his day and it is unfair to compare his work ethics with those of a more worker sensitive environment of today. I'm sure that Mr. Blue would not want people to draw the conclusion that it is okay to abuse others if the resulting income is given away to charities. There are just better examples, some of which he does include (such as S. Truett Cathy).

Along a similar vein, it would have been better if the quotes used on the inside and dust cover were not from people who stood to benefit from increased contributions to charities and churches (a position highly promoted throughout the book). Of the 13 people quoted only three of them are not directly connected with an organization that would benefit directly if more people contributed to charitable organizations or churches in their wills. This does not make the advice any less sound; it just establishes a credibility gap. The people quoted are all from Christian organizations and so one would hope that they can rely on an honest assessment of the book, but it still raises questions of independence. The book is good enough that there should be ample positive reviews from people who are not officers or founders of charities or churches.

Although I obviously have some problems with this book, taken as a whole it is one of the best basic guides to Christian oriented planning and wealth transfer. The advice includes all the basic guidance you would receive from most competent financial planners - give it to your heirs while you are alive, use marital trusts if appropriate, use life insurance trusts, plan to use your wealth in ways that are consistent with your beliefs and goals in life. He also does a good job of pointing out that the tools and techniques should be near the end of the process instead of at the beginning of the planning process. It just makes more sense to first determine your goals and then to use the tools and techniques that get you there. While I believe it could be better with better writing and more carefully chosen examples, the basic tenets of the book are financially solid and Biblically sound. "Splitting Heirs" is one of the best books available to understand the problems of wealth transfer from a Christian perspective.

Short, precise and practical book for goal achieving book I ever read and makes me faster and stronger in going where I want to be.

Thank you Mr Brian Tracy.

This is short book by Brian Tracy is filled with INCREDIBLE tips on how to not only make more money, but also live a better life and accomplish your dreams and goals. I've read this book over and over again, and have highlighted it to death. Life is far too busy to sit down and read a 200-300 page book. Also, I really detest lots of fluff and appreciate that this 77 page book is filled with information and exercises that work!

Adopting new habits is tough, but if you want to increase your finances and make BIG life changes, follow the tips in this book and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to attract beneficial opportunities and people. You'll want to keep the book nearby because it's easy to start a new path, and just as easy to let it go.

The exercise I started just last night is on page 7. He writes, "What one thing would I dare to dream if I knew I could not fail?" That's the main reason we don't accomplish dreams in life. We're AFRAID. Whether we're afraid of failing, or of not getting support, or simply afraid of change, if you truly want to have a better life it's going to take time and effort on your part. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll keep getting what you've got. If you know it's time to make life changes this short and informative book will greatly help!

Kelly

www.SHE-web.com
www.InstituteforQuantumLiving.com

Ok, there's 21 secrets revealed in this tiny book. What are you going to do with them?

I know in my case, I can use 2-4 secrets to improve on my current situation in life and say business. It's not going to make me a millionaire...at least not yet.

I have to give Mr. Tracy credit for what he is trying to achieve or lets say, share to his readers. The book is a "good read", I like it.

Let's say you were given an opportunity to play a game of golf with Tiger Woods for just 60 minutes. What's going to happen, what are you going to do?

For the short span of time you're with the champion you'll definitely pick-up great tips on the game of golf...or the experience. Is it going to be a positive or a negative one? Who knows but you.

You can disagree with me here but information, knowledge, experience, etc. are nothing until you start applying them to your advantage. And, the secrets in this book is no diferrent.

Heard SUCCESS SECRETS OF SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRES,
written and read by Brian Tracy.

He's a renowned author, lecturer and trainer who cranks out
a lot of programs . . . this CD program wasn't brilliantly original,
but that said, I did find a lot of information in it that could
be applied to most any individual.

And though Tracy does little more than speak in front of
a camera, I liked his passion for the topic and how he came
across . . . it was almost as if he was speaking directly to me.

There were many worthwhile tidbits of information I gained
from listening . . . among them:

* Treat your company like you own it.

* Spend at least as much time on yourself as you do on your job.

* If you ask successful people for help, they'll help you. If you ask
unsuccessful people, they'll try to hold you back.

* Take something that's been done and doe it better; e.g.,
the way McDonald's did.

* More people have become wealthily by running dry cleaning
establishments than any other field.

* Focus on continuous personal development.

* One hour of study per day for five years will make you one of
the greatest experts in the world.

* Your rewards in life will be equal to the value of your service.

* Develop the ability to do what's most important and then do it
quickly. Only 2% of the nation has any sense of urgency.

I am a Brian Tracy fan, however I was less than impressed with this book. I did not find any of the information to be differant from what he has put in previous books and CD's. It is more like he dummied down the information from other books into 21 small 2-3 page lessons/chapters

I am a big fan of Bob Proctor. This CD has some great information. It is easy to listen to and understand. I find myself singing the words even when I am not listening to it. The only problem I had was I thought it was a bit short. It could have been more in-depth. But worth the money!

I purchased this after I learned about The Secret. The CDs are inspirational and interesting. I enjoy popping them in the car player and listening and learning.

BOB PROCTOR IS A ONE OF THE BEST ON THE SUBJECT OF MONEY AND PROSPERITY. HE GIVES SOME GREAT IDEAS AND THE SONGS ARE FUN. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS CD AND PLAY IT ALMOST DAILY.

Be a Magnet to Money I have the audio version of this book and I just love it. Every morning on my way to meet my associates I play Disc 2 that contains music from Michell Blood that I sing to which put me in a happy and successful mood. Then I put Disc 1 and listen to Bob Proctor until I get to my destination. I have been doing this every day for past 3 weeks and I am attracting money earning opportunities everyday. No I am not a millionaire yet, but I truly believe my business in network marketing and tips and instruction I learned from this book will get me there in no time. It's not if, it's WHEN I do, I will make sure I will give credit to those who's responsible for my success. Don't be afraid! Invest little of your money on this book and I am sure you will get great benefits from it. You deserve the best so take care of self and always find a way to improve yourself.

When I first heard this music, I thought it was kinda cheesy. But, as I was going about my business the lyrics were stuck in my head. I kept repeating it over and over again and then the light bulb went on. Oh, I get it! It's simple and fun to listen to. You are picking up all the positive words and you repeat them to yourself over and over again to the point that it becomes true. I like that.

This book would be a great gift for a graduating senior from high school or college, but is of little use to some one who has been managing their personal finances for years. He discusses debt,insurance,education,car payments,credit cards, and retirement.If you understand that you should avoid credit card debt, stay away from car payments, not buy gimmick insurance, and max out your 401K contribution you do not need this book. I suggest "Financial Peace" or "Total Money Makeover" both from Dave Ramesay to really it more in depth and to get your money's worth.

Since I'm a middle Baby Boomer, it was interesting to see the perspective of a few Generation X couples interviewed by the author.

These Generation X couples expected the Baby Boomers to break the Social Security system, so there won't be an Social Security left for them......and therefore they should be more self-reliant than the Boomers. The X'ers also thought retirement should be replaced with having a flexible set of work skills that allow you to work until you are dead. The X's will have a hard time building any significant net worth considering the average college loans are now $20,000 and the X'ers sampled had between $3,000 and $8,000 in credit card debt.

As a Baby Boomer, I am glad to see Generation X people plan to be more self reliant for their financial future.......my generation needs people to buy our stocks when we sell them for retirement living expenses!

I really enjoyed financial planner Deena Katz's recommendation to focus on low cost index funds....since I am a huge fan of Index Funds. Her recommendation for three index funds with 50% invested in the S&P 500, 25% in the Russell 2000, and 25% in foreign stocks is a very reasonable recommendation.

I also enjoyed the portion of the book about salaries and expenses as a function of geography. Choosing where you work or retire to can have a dramatic impact on your living expenses.

The author's opinion is that between this book and his first book, Retire on Less Than You Think....you can easily figure out how to live within your means today.... and you can also learn to live on less than the 70-80% of pre-retirement income that is assumed by Wall Street and the mutual fund industry.

Over-all a great practical guide on how to live within your means through smart planning about college selections, autos, and credit cards.

I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including:
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It
All About Asset Allocation.

Of course, the best reading skill is the use of discernment. Keep the info that resonates/is useful and toss the rest. I was on the right track, but as a baby boomer, did not get on the track soon enough. I read this book one week ago and used some of the advice. I have already seen significant results in cold, hard cash. That says it all.

I am also going to share the reviews with my smoking cessation classes. They are all going to have significant extra money soon.

Thanks, Fred!

I feel like Fred didn't do a lot of research to write this book. He cites interviews with 'experts' but those interviewed sound too much like the author's own voice. Sort of like the phony 'man on the street' interviews you see in Cosmo magazine.

Who is this book for? If it is for the young, then why a chapter on retirement and funding your children's education? If it is for those ready to retire, then the reader probably already knows all this information, and tons more.

Self help books such as this one are only helpful if the author has done due diligence, and really dug deep to find facts.

As a younger person (in her late twenties) who is interested in securing her financial future and looking to increase her financial knowledge, I found this book to be lacking in several ways. While many financial books offer similar advice, they often offer new perspectives, Fred Brock seems to just repeat and mirror concepts from other books as well as his previous book. If you have read more than one other volume on financial advice, then you will find yourself a little bored. Much of his advice is common sense and not mindblowingly original. He stresses similar money-saving concepts as the "latte factor" and extends it to apply to soda, lunch, clothes, etc. He stresses the obvious - if you don't consume as much, you save more.

My biggest criticism of the book would be that Brock is too narrow with his advice. That is to say, his thesis that certain areas of the country offer more bang for your buck and will give you a more improved lifestyle for the money, all seem to be to be an attempt to justify his own move from an urban area to a rural one. He devotes many charts to displaying how families in San Francisco or New York are worse off than those in less urban areas. While I agree with this in theory, he doesn't take into account the cultural benefits from living in such areas. As someone who has always lived in an urban city, I know of course that my income would stretch farther elsewhere, but for me that does not outweigh an urban lifestyle.

Much of Brock's arguments can be condensed into a smaller volume, most probably an essay. He stretches many of his arguements so that they bleed into each chapter, albeit perhaps to pound in the point to the reader. All that being said, although not completely unhelpful, there are many other books on the market that would be of more help to most Americans than this one. I found this volume to be sadly disappointing and not as helpful as expected from the team of Brock and the NYTimes.