books

Fight For Your Money – Full of Great Money Saving Tips

by Pam on October 4, 2009

Fight For Your Money: How To Stop Getting Ripped Off And Save A Fortune by David Bach

learn ways to save money by reading David Bach's Fight For Your Money David Bach’s book Fight For Your Money is a must read for anyone looking for smarter ways to use their money for traveling, car rentals, banking, car repairs, health insurance, and many other aspects of daily life. It’s easy to read and is organized by subject so you can easily find the information that interests you.

The book covers information on buying a home, mortgages, and remodeling and would be a good section to read if you are looking to buy or build a home in the near future. Bach also discusses topics surrounding credit such as your credit score, credit cards, and he also touches on identity theft.

If you are into cable TV or satellite TV, you will find Bach’s information useful. He discusses ways to save money on your cell phone service as well.

I especially enjoyed reading about his tips on traveling. He listed several websites that he recommended for finding good deals on airfare such as www.priceline.com and www.hotwire.com. He also advised travelers to ask a lot of questions as the airfare now has so many added fees for everything that it’s important to know what you are paying for.

For parents saving up for their children’s post secondary education, there is a very informative section about RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans) that Canadians will find useful. Bach provides tips on not being too conservative, and recommends that you start saving as early as possible instead of waiting until your children are older.

I highly recommend that you check out this book as it is informative, practical, and easy to understand. Bach uses everyday language to explain each topic and all the topics he discusses are relevant and timely. There’s something in this book that will interest everyone whether they are young or old.

I will likely be writing more articles around things I’ve gleamed from this book in the near future. Please share your thoughts on this book when you get the chance to read it.

The Soul of Money – It’ll Change The Way You Think About Money

by Pam on September 14, 2009

The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship With Money And Life by Lynne Twist

Lynne Twist’s book The The Soul of Money will blow you away. I borrowed it from the library this past weekend and couldn’t put it down. Lynne really makes you think about your life and your perception toward money. She is a fundraiser who has traveled around the world rubbing shoulders with the very rich and the very poor. In her book, she challenges her readers to consider how they perceive money and to overcome feelings of scarcity and inadequacy and instead embrace a sense of sufficiency.

Lynne’s main theme is that when she saw people “aligning their money with their deepest, most soulful interests and commitments, their relationship with money became a place where profound and lasting transformation could occur.” In other words, people had a healthier perception of money and were the most fulfilled when they used their money to support the things they believed in.
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The Millionaire Next Door – A Glimpse Into the Lives of Millionaires

by Pam on July 17, 2009

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

In the book, The Millionaire Next Door, the authors talk about the seven common denominators among those who successfully build wealth:

1. They live well below their means.

2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.

3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.

4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.

5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.

6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

7. They chose the right occupation.

I found this book really interesting as it gave me a glimpse inside the lives of millionaires. They don’t live glamorous lives like one would expect. Instead, they invest their money carefully, are most often either self-employed or owners of one or more businesses, and they spend about 8 to 10 hours a month on studying their investments. They are unlikely to buy expensive watches, cars, etc. and they know how to live well below their means. In fact, in many cases, the children of millionaires are unaware of their parent’s wealth until they are adults.

The authors discovered that most millionaires are married couples that are getting close to retirement age or have just retired, and that both the husband and wife are frugal. Surprisingly, most of the millionaires they studied became wealthy in one generation; very few inherited any of their wealth. As well, most of the millionaires they studied were well aware of their monthly expenses and kept within a budget.

Throughout the book, comparisons are made between high wage earners and millionaires. It explains how those who don’t know how to live below their means will never be millionaires no matter how much money they earn, and how those with modest incomes can still become millionaires if they are diligent at saving and investing.

This book is full of interesting statistics, charts, and research findings about millionaires and their spending habits. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in acquiring wealth or is just plain curious about what millionaires do with all of their money.

Grow Your Money – A Book with Good Investment Tips

by Pam on June 29, 2009

Grow Your Money; 101 Easy Tips To Plan, Save, And Invest by Jonathan D. Pond

Grow Your Money is written by an expert financial planner and it contains advice on everything from budgeting to investing to estate planning. It is geared towards Americans because it has in depth sections on the various types of IRAs and other American financial products, however, this book covers many other topics that are not specific to any particular country such as accumulating wealth, home renovations, and getting out of debt, to name a few.

I like the layout of the book and how the author makes complicated topics easy to understand. He breaks the book down into sections each pertaining to a single idea so that you can easily find the topics that interest you. There are some interesting quizzes throughout the book to help you to determine what kind of investor you are, and whether you are a spender or a saver. I especially like the famous quotes he has on about every second page.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about saving and investing their money, especially for Americans as there is a lot of great information about Roth and Traditional IRAs, SEP-IRAs, and 401(k) plans.

Shameless Shortcuts – A Great Book of Ideas to Save You Money & Time

by Pam on June 13, 2009

Shameless Shortcuts: 1,027 Tips and Techniques That Help You Save Time, Save Money, and Save Work Every Day! Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley and the Editors of Yankee Magazine

Most of us don’t have a lot of extra time and money to waste, so when I heard about Shameless Shortcuts I decided to check it out. I am totally impressed with this book! It’s divided into 18 chapters each discussing a different theme.

Examples of some themes include:

“Shop Smart, Shop Fast” , ”Don’t Forget To Exercise”, ”Going Places Without Going Crazy”, ”Managing the Morning Madness”, ”Great Garden Shortcuts”, and ”Hassle-Free Holidays All Year Round”.

As you can see from some of the chapter titles above, the book discusses a wide range of topics compiled by experts from various fields. There are some great tips for getting exercise, for cooking quick and healthy meals, for yard work and landscaping, and much more. It’s a must-read for anyone looking for ways to save time and money.

Here are just a few tips in this book to get you started:

-When shopping at a garage sale, don’t act disinterested or you won’t get the best price, because the seller won’t know that you might be receptive to a better offer than the listed price. Just tell the vendor what you are looking for and if they don’t have it they may be able to steer you towards someone who does.

-If you are sick and tired of having to remove snow from your vehicle windshield, all you need to do is drape a heavy-duty garbage bag over your entire windshield and hold it in place by closing the front doors on the edges. If you do this before every forecasted snowstorm you will never have to brush off your windshield again.

-Spray your dog’s paws with cooking spray before taking your dog for a walk in the ice and snow. It will provide a protective coating and keep snow and ice from accumulating between the toes.

Save Money & Make Your Home Safe – Read Organic Housekeeping

by Pam on June 1, 2009

Read Organic Housekeeping Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-Toxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, While You Save Time, Money, and, Perhaps, Your Sanity by Ellen Sandbeck

Have you ever stopped to think about the cleaning products you use around the house? Or about the chemicals you use on your lawn to get rid of those nasty dandelions? Believe it or not, a lot of the products we use are highly toxic, and some have been known to cause cancer and other health problems. If you are interested in learning about alternatives to these toxic products, check out Organic Housekeeping.

Organic Housekeeping is full of great ideas for keeping your home clean and poison -free. There are tons of tips on food preparation, cleaning, landscaping, and a whole lot more. The author provides expert advice on how to prevent fungi, mold and mildew from growing in your home, as well as provides fire prevention and safety tips. The book is easy to read and somewhat humorous, too, which makes it interesting as well as informational. I would highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning about keeping your home clean and safe through the use of primarily organic products. A lot of the tips found in Organic Housekeeping will save you money and time, too, which is an added bonus.

To give you an idea of the type of information found in this book, here are some excerpts:

-”Fatty foods such as cheeses and meats will absorb some of the plasticizers from plastic wrap and plastic bags. If you want to minimize your exposure to these chemicals, when you bring your groceries home, remove the plastic packaging and wrap all your cheeses and meats in freezer paper or waxed paper before putting them in a plastic bag or container.”

-”Don’t buy precooked lunch meats, cooked shellfish, or smoked fish that are displayed in the same case as raw fish or meat. The cooked food may have become contaminated by the raw meat.”

-”Many common foods can double as cleaning products. Vinegar, salt, baking soda, lemons, cabbage leaves, potatoes, mayonnaise, olive oil, apple peels, ketchup, and vodka can all be used for cleaning. If it’s safe to eat, it’s certainly safe to clean with!”

Read Rich Dad Poor Dad – It’s A Great Book!

by Pam on May 18, 2009

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money -That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki

Want to read the Rich Dad series? I would recommend you start with Rich Dad Poor Dad. It is the true story of Robert Kiyosaki’s experiences with his 2 “fathers”. One is his real father who earned a high salary but didn’t know how to manage his money, and the other is his best friend’s father who didn’t have a “secure job” with a high salary, but had the financial know-how to use OPM (Other People’s Money) to make wise investments that made him into a millionaire. This book will certainly get your attention because it will make you question what you likely had drilled into your head as a child. Most parents encourage their children to find secure jobs and to buy a house and a car, but don’t tell them how to properly manage their money. Robert suggests that there really is no “secure job” and that a house and a car are not really assets. Rather than working for someone else and helping them realize their dreams, he recommends working for yourself and buying assets that produce positive cash flow. This is a great book to read if you want to learn more about making your money work for you

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