5 comments about Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom.

1. Want to know why the rich get richer and everyone else seems to struggle? Is this an end all on the subject- NO it is not, as Robert himself would tell you the study of money if a lifetime pursuit.
   
   However this book does an excellent job of describing the basics of why the rich get richer- and how they do it.
   
   This book is also the first that enabled me to understand some basic accounting principles- mostly by not using numbers and formulas just some simple diagrams. Does it make you a CPA- No. But it does get a working class guy with little to no accounting knowledge the basic understanding of a personal financial statement.
   
   Robert Kiyosaki (and his advisors) write books that make what seems to be complex money subjects seem understandable. Kind of the way AOL made the internet seem easy. Most of us have outgrown AOL a LONG, LONG time ago. And you can improve your financial literacy easily with Robert and his team.



2. This book is really the "core" of beliefs that are expressed in many of the author's books.
   
   Where this book excels is getting people out "employee" or "self employed" mentality and thinking in a "business owner" or "investor" mentality. After I read this book I really started looking at my co-workers in a strange way and decided I needed a change.
   
   Kiyosaki recommends investing in assets that create a positive cash flow immediately. Easier said than done, but the author admits it's not easy -to get rich!
   
   Since I've read this book, I've left the "employee" and "self-employed" mentality behind and have really focused on business owner mentality. Although my personal "cash flow" initially dropped in the process, my long term situation has definitely improved and put me on target to achieve higher levels of success.



3. I really liked this book. It was just as good if not better than Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I recomend it.



4. The Poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.
   -Robert Kiyosaki
   
   Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the best-seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad, explains the four different types of people in terms of their quadrants (Employee, Self-Employed, Business-Owner, and Investor). The employee works for someone else and values security. The self-employed works for himself and values being his own boss and doing his own thing. The business-owner creates systems and delegates work to other people, and he values freedom. The investor makes money with money, and he values freedom as well.
   
   The difference between a true business-owner/investor and employee/self-employed is that the business-owner/investor can go on vacation forever because he owns the systems, not the job. The business-owner/investor can leave his work and find that the business has grown even more prosperous, while the employee/self-employed can never leave his work since he own the jobs.
   
   Everyone can master all four quadrants, but it is only those who have mastered the business system and investor system that can truly achieve financial freedom and wealth. Anyone doing any work can still become a businessmen/investor if he would only dedicate the time, energy, and work to become one.



5. Thanks to the higher yen rate to the $, I could get this with more reasonable price from Japan. This CD is worth purchasing for all desire to change your life.

5 comments about A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition.

1. The book is otherwise fabulous, but you should steer clear of the Kindle version. The Kindle handles charts poorly, and this book has a lot of them. Some are manageable, but many others contain small text that is so blurry that it might as well be written in Arabic. Quite honestly, it is not entirely clear to me how Amazon gets away with selling this item. The Kindle is great, but Amazon absolutely should not sell books that cannot actually be read on it.



2. This book helps to understand how the shares market works and its history.
   
   I think it may interest all people who wants to improve his knowleadge in
   
   investing.



3. Would have give it 5 stars,except for the fact that they did not return my e-mail, when I had a question



4. As a novice to finance, I found this book both educational and entertaining. Highly recommended!



5. Very good book, the author takes you behind the scene of Wall Street and history of the market. He goes over the basics of our economy and the different avenues of investing. This is a must read for anyone who want to start investing but is confused on where to start. I would have given this book 5 stars if he had written down a step by step process to investing. I recommend this book 1st and then read Jim Cramer's Mad Money, he gives the step by step procedures I was looking for in his book.

5 comments about The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke.

1. This book gives you the ins and outs of personal finance. Things you think are common knowledge but you actually always overlook.
   
   If you are going to college or a recent college graduate this book is perfect for you. It gives you the information needed to stay out of financial trouble and how to fix trouble that you have made; and if you're not in trouble it will help you better your situation.
   
   To me the most valuable parts are knowing your credit score, how to save money, how to pay down your debt, and everything you need to know about student loans.
   
   Lastly this isn't a drab or dry book. The book is written as if Suze is talking to you. Her humor takes the edge off of these sometimes dry topics.
   
   I highly recommend this book. I'll be referencing mine for many years.



2. Despite its goofy title, this book is very helpful to people facing money decisions for the first time.....the IRA at work, the Roth IRA, life insurance, buying a house, etc. Orman uses clear examples and helps folks understand how to wade through that financial stuff we all have to face. Also, she shows how time is on your side, and demonstrates the wonderful effect of compounding.



3. I'm not sure it's fair for me to say this, given the title of the book, but it really is geared toward people who are actually seriously broke. I am young, financially illiterate, and hoping to avoid becoming broke, and I felt like there wasn't as much in the book for me.
   
   Still, she gives a very easy-to-understand summary of some important financial terms, systems, etc. If I were broke, I would definitely love it.



4. Suze doesn't beat around any bush, she is straight forward. This was a good read and definitely geared to the audience as stated in its own title. You can get through this book very very quickly. Useful information for recent college graduates who are seeking to manage their finances, build a stable financial future, and NOT run themselves into major debt. In short, do not spend what you don't have!



5. I haven't had time to finish the book, but so far it is fabulous! Thanks for getting it to me in such orderly fashion!

5 comments about The Total Money Makeover Workbook.

1. This book to me does not require much explanation other than READ IT and FOLLOW IT. What it teaches is simple and laid out in the book as such, but it's like that bonk on the head you need to take a look at your personal finances. READ IT!



2. * Dave Ramsey explain in details on how to change our financial income from bad to good.
   * There are lots of diagrams, charts and graphs for us to evaluate the current financial income that we are facing currently.
   * You can be sure to sleep well at night once you have apply the strategy inside this book.
   * Nobody likes to have debt but if you do, you can repair it and make it good. Dave describe this very clearly inside the book.



3. We ordered 4 of the workbooks for ourselves and another couple to read together. We found that the material lends itself to a group setting and hits on key issues related to finance.
   
   Basically you have the foundation of the material once you get through Chapter 6. Then each couple can begin on the "baby step" that is relevant to their own situation.
   
   Chapter 6 is the pivotal point of the book where you begin using a budget and practicing the principles you have learned. We found that putting the forms into Excel was really helpful for those who were struggling with organizing the budget. We would be glad to share those electronic forms (no strings attached) with anyone who is in need of them. Just email thecloins@gmail.com.
   
   Really appreciative of this resource and will continue to utilize it in small group settings to help people get past the rat race and into a confident position in their financial life. We will cover the first 6 chapters over 5 sessions and continue to check in with the other couples on progress.
   
   Dave Ramsey- great job on helping people improve their lives.



4. This was an excellent "workbook" however not necessary at all if you are buying the book. They both contain the same information, but the workbook is a condensed version of the actual book and has more forms. The book is much more in depth, and also contains the forms in the back.



5. This is probably the best book I've read in a long time. Ramsey has each topic set up so that his plan is easily followed, step by step...Above all, it's not really repetitive, though he does recap every now and then. This is a good thing, because I'd be constantly having to review previous tracks if he didn't touch base on what he tried to get across before.
   
   He is right--debt is not a tool. Any unforseen event can leave you on the verge of bankruptcy. I'm following his guidelines and they work. You might not be able to get into the investing part right away, but his plan for getting rid of the debt via the "debt snowball" is the ace in the hole. If you follow it, it works.
   
   This book is a must have, if you want a no frills-easy to follow plan with a reality check thrown in...He doesn't sugar coat and that is a great thing about him. Ramsey is honest, straight forward and his plan (again) is easy to follow.

5 comments about The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It.

1. For Prof. R.J. Shiller, the root of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US is a myth, the belief that real estate prices must strongly trend upward for demographic reasons.
   He proves that the price of real estate, to the contrary, is trending lower. What went up are the quality and the dimension of the average individual houses. But what about `land'? Didn't Mark Twain recommend strongly: `Go for land. They've stopped producing it.'? R.J. Shiller remarks cleverly that only 2,6 % of US land is used for urbanization.
   Another factor of the bubble was psychological: the human herd instinct. There was a social contagion of boom thinking.
   A third, more specific, factor was the deliberate governmental policy to promote home-ownership as much as possible. This should be good for the Party.
   
   When the real estate bubble burst, it disrupted immediately the credit markets. Aggressive mortgage lenders never worried about repayment risks. They repackaged the mortgages, got top ratings from the rating agencies and sold their packages to third parties all over the world.
   But even more importantly, the crisis damaged the `social fabric', the way of life of millions of families and also human relationships (through aggressive creditors). It created an atmosphere of distrust, of hoarding, with runs on banks; in one word, it gave rise to a psychological environment that could lead to a severe and long depression, which would hurt all citizens. Therefore, the subprime crisis must be solved.
   
   Prof. R.J. Shiller makes a distinction between the short term and the long term solution.
   In the short term, there should be a massive bail-out in order to prevent an escalation of the crisis and of the economic downturn.
   In the long term, the US government should create a basic social contract and protect every citizen against major misfortune. It should impose financial democracy through standardized full disclosure documents so that everybody should get better information about all the risks involved. Without affecting individual privacy, indicators should be created about the real value of real estate. Those should lead to a more efficient pricing of houses and to a stabilization of the market. Prof. R.J. Shiller did not only recommend these policies, but created an indicator himself.
   
   With an open and clear-sighted mind, Prof. Shiller wrote a small, but essential, book about a dramatic worldwide crisis, without losing the `human touch'. It is an essential read for all those interested in the future of mankind.



2. Trusting any Santa Claus of high finance in the midst of such massive failures of a bubble-prone financial system seems suicidal.
   
   Shiller ends on a characteristic utopian-ideologue note: "Imagine our society equipped with a well-established information infrastructure that reached out to all its members, derivative markets for both owner-occupied and commercial real estate, well developed retail products, like continuous-workout mortgages, home equity insurance, and livelihood insurance, that facilitate management for individuals; and default options that naturally lead people to use risk-management devices intelligently.
   
   "Our society could look forward to nothing less than more stable markets and, in turn, a more rational economy. We would eventually find ourselves forgetting that the kind of massive financial instability infecting our everyday lives is even a potential problem. Modern finance, applied democratically, can relegate these problems to history just as modern medicine, applied widely, has left us forgetting that epidemics of yellow fever and diphtheria ever raged among us."
   
   I say, just stick with reading the ever-more shocking revelations of a good newspaper. Common sense answers applied with determination is the crying need. But such an approach doesn't follow the play book of new economy thinking and ideology that has got us into so much trouble for over a decade. Shiller still swims with that current, follows that herd. In the face of the real facts unraveling day over day, Shiller comes across as snake oil, no matter how good-hearted and liberal-minded.
   
   Shiller's ideas appear innovative and gutsy, but he seems to have drank the cool-aide of high finance down to its dregs. His answers for our problems go deeper into that jungle with greater and greater trust demanded. Dr. Shiller, clean out the messy stables of your herd first--as Hercules had to do to prove himself--then your ideas may have relevance. As it is, you clearly are not facing up to the major challenges of your field--real-world failings that need to be addressed, hence your book functions more as a distracting red herring.



3. This book is light on new data(a couple of graphs) and heavy on theoretical solutions,many only peripherally related to the present crisis. There is no discussion of resource depletion. The idea of insuring home equity and life income underestimate the cost of administration and fraud. It is a quick easy read,a few interesting ideas such as teaching kids to think in inflation units.



4. Shiller blames the subprime crisis on the irrational exuberance that drove the 1990s stock bubble and the 2000-2007 housing bubble. Restoring confidence will require bailouts targeted at low-income victims of subprime deals. Longer-term solutions will require inhibiting the formation of bubbles and limit risk - better financial information, simplified legal contracts and regulations, home-equity insurance, income-linked home loans, and new measures to protect consumers against hidden inflationary effects.
   
   Mortgage originators, planning to sell off the mortgages to securitizers, stopped worrying about repayment risk, and sometimes enticed the naive, with poor credit histories, to borrow in the subprime market. High home prices generated a glut on the market and prices declined at an accelerating rate. Meanwhile, mortgage rates began to reset after initial "teaser" periods ended, and defaults surged.
   
   The lowest price homes have shown the greatest price increases (and subsequent falls), probably due to their linkage to subprime loans. Ratings agencies were not about to cut ratings on securitized mortgage products based on theories that the increases could not continue, that prices might fall.
   
   There's some good material in the "The Subprime Solution" - however, most of the pages are taken up in an obvious "explanation" of why everyone jumped on the bubble bandwagon.



5. This book has a depressing view of our current economic crisis. A good read for anyone that is too cheerful.
   
   The parallel he makes between the trust lost by promising everyone could own a home to the repartiation payments after WW I is a bit of a stretch.
   
   Good book though.

5 comments about SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times (PAPERBACK) (Millionaire Real Estate).

1. SHIFT: "I have been professionally energized since I was introduced to the book called SHIFT by Gary Keller. In fact, I consider myself very fortunate to be one of the first among my peers to learn, practice, and implement the Twelve Tactics for Tough Times. In my 30+ years of residential real estate, I'm proud that I have weathered every cycle in the past, but today's circumstances are different... and this is the tool that I need now." Brad Osborne, CENTURY 21 Realty Group I



2. This is a very well done book. It outlines shifting your thinking and shifting your business model to take advantage of changes in the marketplace. There is a section on short sales and foreclosures. Overall, a very good book.



3. The market is changing, and Realtors need to stay focused, on task, and must adapt to the shift! The book is well divided into sections focusing on the attitudes an agent must have and the changes they must make.



4. I am glad I bought this book. I bought and enjoyed the Millionaire RE Agent and RE Investor.
   
   That being said, I don't think it is a great book and that's why I gave it 3 stars. I think the author is a little too dependent on scripts and formulas to work your way out of a slump. If he would update it a tad to account for the fact that most consumers are extremely averse to script heavy agents, it would have been better.
   
   But I do like the fact that he is inspiring, and stresses the can-do attitude that hey, no one's coming to help, you have got to do it yourself. I appreciate that inspiration. I wish he would have written more on that.
   
   On the other hand, if you are a less tech heavy agent, you will like his very detailed and practical methods. It is not my cup of tea (yet, maybe the shift will change my mind!).



5. This book just might be the best book ever written about Real Estate. It is current and up to date about what REALLY works in the market today. It might save your career!

5 comments about Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth.

1. Addressing any rational ADULTS who may be reading these reviews; I would like to point out a few obvious facts so that you don't lapse into making a poor purchase.
   Each human being is an individual and leads a unique life comprised of a flowing series of unique opportunities. Each human being makes decisions about these opportunities based upon many, many factors revolving around "self" and also around external elements/circumstances. THEREFORE, it is utterly impossible ( and completely insanely ridiculous ) to try and achieve "success" by studying others. Your life is YOUR LIFE. The circumstances and ongoing flow of opportunities which make it up are not the same as the circumstances or opportunities or people or places making up the life of a Donald Trump. Obviously you cannot pattern your advance toward "success" or wealth by looking at Trump's decisions or behavior.
   This book is absurd in the extreme. Who can get inside ANYONE'S MIND at any time for any reason? Are human beings robots manufactured on a factory assembly line....with the same software installed for functioning? Of course not!!! The only person who REALLY knows what Donald Trump ( or any other person - wealthy or not ) thinks, it is Trump himself....not his parents, not his kids, not any of his trophy wives, and certainly NOT THIS AUTHOR...only Trump REALLY knows Trump's thinking and reasoning!
   And remember, the unique opportunities in each individual's life hang on their time in history, their location on the planet, the other people they've associated with, and so on. And in every case, all of this is totally different from one individual to the next. So, THERE IS NO "MILLIONAIRE MIND"....THERE IS NOTHING STANDARD IN HOW MILLIONAIRES THINK. In other words, don't fall for this sort of sucker bait.
   If you want to get wealthy, spend a lot less money than you make and put what you save to work making more money for you. That's all that anyone can really do that is "standard procedure" to gain wealth. Everything else is a matter of what sort of opportunities come your way and what times in your life and how you do or don't uniquely deal with them.



2. Who spilled the beans??? Well the one and only author of "The Secret of the Millionaire Mind" spilled the beans, that's who! Once you read this book you'll discover once and for all what The Secret of a Millionaire Mind really is!!! Most significant information for transforming your life, and taking the next step to move forward into manifesting your prosperity!
   
   Judging by the high numbers of people that are purchasing this book I would have to say that "The Secret of the Millionaire Mind" is not a secret anymore.
   
   I'm most certainly thankful that I heard about this book!!!
   
   Another great book is:
   
   Nexus: A Neo Novel, an enlightening novel by Morrison & Singh
   
   Nexus: A Neo Novel



3. This book is a common sense and user-friendly approach to identifying and changing self-sabotaging behaviors at their core. I suggest it whole heartedly and I will be having all employees read it as mandatory reading.



4. 
   
   After reading a couple pages of this book I realized I made a mistake and this guy wasn't the real deal...
   More and more I read through it I realized he is just trying to milk the self motivation business and come out with a book to generate some cash, and advertise his seminars like every few pages! Talk about over kill!
   To sum up his book can be done in a couple sentences!
   1: surround yourself my millionaires and hopefully some of their energy will brush off on you...
   2: only you can make your dreams come true!
   3: change your frame of mind to think rich...
   
   Wow! Took 200 pages to tell us that...
   
   I think this book just shows how he has been milking this business.
   He goes around the country and gives speeches to people who are weak and desperate for change! He has found a niche market which pays him money!
   He comes out with books, and tries to relate with stories of hardship etc... But frankly he really doesn't have a clue! the prices he charges just goes to show you he is ONLY OUT TO MAKE MONEY! the way he makes it is off peoples hopes! I'd rather give my money to Deepak Chopra than this guy!
   He is marketing himself throughout the book so that's very ugly at times also...
   The book goes on and on and on about nothing, he repeats himself over and over again! The book is nothing more than a business venture for the author to make some more money!
   Smart move on to generate more wealth, but unfortunately the book is full of hopes and dreams, but doesn't give anyone any advice on how to generate wealth!
   I felt the author wanted to jump into this market so he needed a book!
   He came up with a premise of mindsets! Frankly speaking false hope.
   Pass on this book if you have already read a self-help book, because this book just regurgitates the same as every other book...
   "You have to make it happen, you can do it! The power is within you blar blar blar"
   
   If you are looking at a book to help generate wealth and help with investing money, look elsewhere...



5. Thanks Thanks T Harv Eker and Thanks God i found it... his book and seminar changed my life..
   yes the book is awesome... Seminar is excellent... it changed my life and helped alot to become wealthy... if you want to become wealthy read his book and attend his seminar and act on it... if i would price this book and seminar its worth is more than $10,000 .... the people who gave negative reviews are blind i think they didn't read the book properly or didn't attend the seminar with proper attention...
   Thanks
   Sunny

No comments about The Great Depression Ahead: How to Prosper in the Crash Following the Greatest Boom in History.

4 comments about The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need: The Good, the Flawed, the Bad, and the Ugly.

1. This book is so well written and educational that I read it from cover to cover in only a few days. I found the arguments for the "good" investments well supported, and the explanation for the "flawed," "bad" and "ugly" convincing and supported by facts and research. I only wish that this book was available before I bought some of the bad and ugly investments in the past. As with Swedroe's other publications, he has again provided the average investor with valuable knowledge without any hype or noise.



2. As an investment advisor and co-host of a financial radio program I have read a voluminous amount of investment material from a host of authors over the years. Larry is clearly one of the best financial writers I have come across. This book illuminates the reader on a myriad of investment strategies that are rarely understood by most investors and financial professionals. His writing style is entertaining, informative and supported by solid empirical evidence. Summarizing a quote from Larry Swedroe, "there is a difference between information and knowledge, information is a fact or piece of data, knowledge is information that can be put into practical use to make better decisions". This book provides the reader with practical knowledge on less understood, alternative investments. I recommend this book to all investors and I would also recommend checking out Larry's other books.
   
   Kenneth R. Smith. CFP®, MS
   CEO Empirical Wealth Management LLC



3. With the stock market in turmoil, investors are looking for alternatives. Larry Swedroe's latest book with Jared Kizer suggests some alternatives that probably belong in our portfolios regardless of what the market decides to do.
   
   Larry Swedroe and Jared Kizer examine twenty different alternative investments, and arrive at six that may be keepers for your portfolio. They also point out those that should be avoided like the flu, regardless of how exciting the sales pitch is. Professionally and personally, I've always found that advice on what to avoid can often be more valuable than advice on what to buy.
   
   Swedroe and Kizer note the roles that real estate, TIPS, commodities, international stocks, fixed annuities, and stable-value funds can successfully play in our portfolios. If we buy them, they should be for the right reasons as performance-chasing occurs across all asset classes.
   
   Current market conditions make this book very timely as it does a great job of explaining how you can implement alternative investments into your portfolio now and in the future.



4. Absolutely terrific review of the various alternative asset classes. A great complement to books like the 4 Pillars by William Bernstein.

5 comments about Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World.

1. Having read several investment books, this book is a much needed shot in the arm in that it opens the doors to the type of independent thinking that the mutual fund industry doesn't want individual investors to engage in. Cramer's book encourages readers to move beyond what may be an effective but somewhat restrictive investment philosophy, and utilize several strategic approaches to building wealth in stocks. I never could have guessed that Cramer could do so much to help me see investing in a different light and ultimately help me understand investing much better.



2. This guy is nothing short of a genius in my opinion, I've purchased all of his books I'm pretty sure and have NEVER been dis-appointed with them. He's a 5 STAR AUTHOR all the way.



3. This book contains valuable information for managing your money and the do's and don'ts for investing.



4. This book is bold, informative, and well written. It feels like I've gone to college and found a fantastic professor that knows how to teach the subject well. He does not assume you already know everything. You will understand why stocks are priced the way they are, how to buy stocks without getting ripped off, how a company goes public and begins to sell stock, how to know enough about where a stock is going to make your own informed decisions. I've always wanted to get my feet wet in the stock market, but never felt confident enough. Now I'm swimming with the big fish! Buy this book.



5. Unlike his negative review onair, his book explains in simple terms how and what to do for trading and investing. Good book for the beginner trader like myself. :P MUST BUY. Serious product.