Real estate agents, mortgage brokers, family, friends, and even the government promote ownership as a safe, attractive, and sure-fire path to personal wealth. This one-size-fits-all advice ignores the reality of Canada’s housing market.Canadians deserve better advice.Faced with expensive house prices in a near-zero interest rate world, it’s time Canadians heard the virtues of renting and seriously considered renting as an alternative to home ownership. Real estate analyst Alex Avery insists renting offers a simple, more affordable way to live, plus in Canada’s frenzied housing market, going month-to-month is dramatically lower risk. He claims the reputation of home ownership as a wealth building strategy is unfounded and shows renters how to replace bricks-and-mortar with better investment opportunities.

    Each time, the experts have chimed, "this time is different"--claiming that the old rules of valuation no longer apply and that the new situation bears little similarity to past disasters. With this breakthrough study, leading economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff definitively prove them wrong. Covering sixty-six countries across five continents, This Time Is Different presents a comprehensive look at the varieties of financial crises, and guides us through eight astonishing centuries of government defaults, banking panics, and inflationary spikes--from medieval currency debasements to today's subprime catastrophe. Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, leading economists whose work has been influential in the policy debate concerning the current financial crisis, provocatively argue that financial combustions are universal rites of passage for emerging and established market nations. The authors draw important lessons from history to show us how much--or how little--we have learned. Using clear, sharp analysis and comprehensive data, Reinhart and Rogoff document that financial fallouts occur in clusters and strike with surprisingly consistent frequency, duration, and ferocity. They examine the patterns of currency crashes, high and hyperinflation, and government defaults on international and domestic debts--as well as the cycles in housing and equity prices, capital flows, unemployment, and government revenues around these crises. While countries do weather their financial storms, Reinhart and Rogoff prove that short memories make it all too easy for crises to recur. An important book that will affect policy discussions for a long time to come, This Time Is Different exposes centuries of financial missteps.

    The reality: The biggest thing you won't learn in college is how to succeed professionally.Some of the smartest, most successful people in the country didn't finish college. None of them learned their most critical skills at an institution of higher education. And like them, most of what you'll need to learn to be successful you'll have to learn on your own, outside of school.Michael Ellsberg set out to fill in the gaps by interviewing a wide range of millionaires and billionaires who don't have college degrees, including fashion magnate Russell Simmons, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and founding president Sean Parker, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg, and Pink Floyd songwriter and lead guitarist David Gilmour. Among the fascinating things he learned: How fashion designer Marc Ecko started earning $1000 a week in high school with his own clothing business, and later grew it into an empire. How billionaire Phillip Ruffin went from lowly department store employee with no college degree, to owner of Treasure Island on the Vegas Strip. How John Paul DeJoria went from homelessness to billionaire as founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems Hair Care Products.This book is your guide to developing practical success skills in the real world. Even if you've already gone through college, the most important skills weren't in the curriculum-how to find great mentors, build a world-class network, learn real-world marketing and sales, make your work meaningful (and your meaning work), build the brand of you, master the art of bootstrapping, and more.Learning the skills in this book well is a "necessary" addition to any education. This book shows you the way, whether you're a high school dropout or a graduate of Harvard Law School.

    The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women's favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.

    It compares the thoughts, habits and philosophies of the middle class to the world class when it comes to wealth. The differences are as extreme as they are numerous. The strategy is simple: learn how rich people think, copy them, take action and get rich. This book hits hard and never lets up. It's based on a quarter century of interviews with millionaires. It's written in unfiltered, politically incorrect language that makes the point crystal clear and easy to follow. The hundreds of millionaires interviewed for this book had nothing to gain by sharing their secrets, nor any interest in sugar-coating their advice. These people gave me unprecedented access to their lifestyle and playgrounds; from Palm Beach to Aspen. I was searching for the raw, uncensored truth about how rich people think, and they agreed to share it with me on the promise that their names never be published and their remarks never made public. I've mixed their wisdom with my words, and the result is a book so brutally honest it will shock some and inspire others. If you've ever dreamed of living a life most people only see in movies, study this book like a scientist. Freedom from financial worries and a millionaire's lifestyle is closer than you think.

    The conventional approach used by experts to determine how much money you need to retire is fundamentally flawed. The worst part is you won’t even know it until it’s too late.This book takes you behind the scientific facade of modern retirement planning to reveal:• Why most estimates for how much you need to retire are a case of garbage-in garbage-out causing you to either overspend and run out of money or underspend so that you never get to enjoy your savings.• The 5 critical assumptions that can destroy your financial security. Which one are you making?• 3 models for estimating how much money you need to retire (your financial planner only knows 1 and it’s not the best).• How to reduce the amount you need to retire by $300,000–$600,000 or more.• How to plan for inflation, changes in Social Security, and much more so you don’t run out of money before you run out of life.• 7 creative ways to spend less while also improving lifestyle.• 3 strategies to maximize spending today while protecting for the future in case you live longer than expected.• How Monte Carlo calculators cause a dangerous deception that can leave you broke.• Explains step-by-step how to accurately calculate the amount of money you need to retire—the very first time you try, simply, and without being a math genius.• No computer, software, or online calculators necessary—it’s that simple.In one evening you can know more about how much money you need to retire than your financial adviser. This book is a practical, no-nonsense guide complete with a step-by-step plan that tells you how much money you need to retire with confidence.No retirement is secure without it.

    Many women in America have experienced it. What’s expected of women and what it’s really like to be a woman in today’s world are two very different things—and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. How can you “love your body” when every magazine cover has ten diet tips for becoming “your best self”? How do you “lean in” at work when you’re already operating at 110 percent and aren’t recognized for it? How can you live happily and healthily in a sexist world that is constantly telling you you’re too fat, too needy, too noisy, and too selfish?Sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, are here to help end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between women and well-being, they explain with compassion and optimism what we’re up against—and show us how to fight back. In these pages you’ll learn• what you can do to complete the biological stress cycle—and return your body to a state of relaxation• how to manage the “monitor” in your brain that regulates the emotion of frustration• how the Bikini Industrial Complex makes it difficult for women to love their bodies—and how to defend yourself against it• why rest, human connection, and befriending your inner critic are keys to recovering and preventing burnoutWith the help of eye-opening science, prescriptive advice, and helpful worksheets and exercises, all women will find something transformative in these pages—and will be empowered to create positive change. Emily and Amelia aren’t here to preach the broad platitudes of expensive self-care or insist that we strive for the impossible goal of “having it all.” Instead, they tell us that we are enough, just as we are—and that wellness, true wellness, is within our reach.

    In Die Broke, you'll learn that life is a game where the loser gives his money to Uncle Sam at the end. There are four steps to the process:Quit TodayNo, don't tell your boss to shove it...at least not out loud. But in your head accept that from this day on you're a free agent whose number one workplace priority is your personal bottom line.Pay CashYou should be as conscious of spending as you are of saving. Credit should be a rarely used tool for those few times (buying homes and cars) when paying cash is impossible.Don't RetireYour work life should be a journey up and down hills, rather than a climb up a sheer cliff that ends with a jump into the abyss.Die BrokeIt sounds terrifying, the one intolerable outcome to your financial life. And yet, in truth, dying broke might be your best option for a life without fear: fear of failure and privation now, fear of impoverishment in the long run.

    John Maxwell, America's #1 leadership authority, has mastered the art of asking questions, using them to learn and grow, connect with people, challenge himself, improve his team, and develop better ideas. Questions have literally changed Maxwell's life. In GOOD LEADERS ASK GREAT QUESTIONS, he shows how they can change yours, teaching why questions are so important, what questions you should ask yourself as a leader, and what questions you should be asking your team. Maxwell also opened the floodgates and invited people from around the world to ask him any leadership question. He answers seventy of them--the best of the best--including . . . What are the top skills required to lead people through difficult times?How do I get started in leadership?How do I motivate an unmotivated person?How can I succeed working under poor leadership?When is the right time for a successful leader to move on to a new position?How do you move people into your inner circle?No matter whether you are a seasoned leader at the top of your game or a newcomer wanting to take the first steps into leadership, this book will change the way you look at questions and improve your leadership life.

     This clever and pithy book challenges introverts to take ownership of their personalities...with quiet strength. Sophia Dembling asserts that the introvert’s lifestyle is not “wrong” or lacking, as society or extroverts would have us believe. Through a combination of personal insights and psychology, The Introvert’s Way helps and encourages introverts to embrace their nature, to respect traits they may have been ashamed of and reframe them as assets. You’re not shy; rather, you appreciate the joys of quiet. You’re not antisocial; instead, you enjoy recharging through time alone. You’re not unfriendly, but you do find more meaning in one-on-one connections than large gatherings. By honoring what makes them unique, this astute and inspiring book challenges introverts to “own” their introversion, igniting a quiet revolution that will change how they see themselves and how they engage with the world.

    dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon.Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008.Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict.As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself.Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas.While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Rickards untangles the web of failed paradigms, wishful thinking, and arrogance driving current public policy and points the way toward a more informed and effective course of action.

    “I work hard, I deserve this.” “I bought it on sale.” But at twenty-two, the recent college graduate was $18,000 in debt and sinking fast. It was time to take control. Patrice educated herself about finance, adopted a new attitude toward money, and most importantly, adjusted her spending habits. By twenty-five she was debt free—and used the wisdom she gained to start her own successful real estate and mortgage brokerage—and by twenty-nine started her own financial counseling business.Patrice’s former bad spending habits aren’t unique, and women find themselves in financial hot water for a host of reasons. Women earn less than men and have to stretch those hard-earned dollars further. They contribute more to caregiving and aging parents, live longer, and many—including most African American women—are choosing to stay single.Real Money Answers for Every Woman teaches you how to take responsibility for your financial future, whether you’re just starting out or need a fresh start. In a handy Q & A format, it offers relatable and easy to understand and implement advice on everything from managing credit cards, home ownership, and student loans to affordable childcare and even negotiating for a higher salary. Following Patrice’s practical advice, you’ll learn to form “wealthy” habits, establish an “opportunity fund,” stop collecting STUFF that causes debt, and discover the freedom that comes from feeling financially secure.

    Sugar - the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild - is the person thousands turn to for advice. Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond.  Rich with humor, insight, compassion - and absolute honesty - this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.

    Told in her hilarious, bold voice that’s inspired over nine million fans, and using stories from her own life to illustrate her message, Lilly proves that there are no shortcuts to success. WARNING: This book does not include hopeful thoughts, lucky charms, and cute quotes. That’s because success, happiness, and everything else you want in life needs to be fought for—not wished for. In Lilly’s world, there are no escalators, only stairs. Get ready to climb.

    Nevertheless, most consumers are not willing to forsake their favorite products, entertainment, and travel choices. Effortless Savings gives them the solution: a simple and practical game plan to make substantial savings without compromising their lifestyle. Effortless Savings is perfect for readers at any income level or household size. Its strategies cover everything from grocery shopping to banking and credit card techniques. There are easy, painless methods to reduce telecom, insurance and home energy bills as well as tactics for cutting the costs of dining out, entertainment, vacations and auto maintenance. And whether shopping for clothing and household goods, or health and beauty products, Effortless Savings has a wealth of effective tips that can save the reader thousands of dollars. Currently being used by The University of New Brunswick (Canada's oldest English speaking university) for their Personal Financial Planning Course: BA 3421