Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living


Elizabeth Willard Thames - 2018
    But the couple had a dream to become modern-day homesteaders in rural Vermont. Determined to retire as early as possible in order to start living each day—as opposed to wishing time away working for the weekends—they enacted a plan to save an enormous amount of money: well over seventy percent of their joint take home pay. Dubbing themselves the Frugalwoods, Elizabeth began documenting their unconventional frugality and the resulting wholesale lifestyle transformation on their eponymous blog.In less than three years, Elizabeth and Nate reached their goal. Today, they are financially independent and living out their dream on a sixty-six-acre homestead in the woods of rural Vermont with their young daughter. While frugality makes their lifestyle possible, it’s also what brings them peace and genuine happiness. They don’t stress out about impressing people with their material possessions, buying the latest gadgets, or keeping up with any Joneses. In the process, Elizabeth discovered the self-confidence and liberation that stems from disavowing our culture’s promise that we can buy our way to "the good life." Elizabeth unlocked the freedom of a life no longer beholden to the clarion call to consume ever-more products at ever-higher sums.Meet the Frugalwoods is the intriguing story of how Elizabeth and Nate realized that the mainstream path wasn’t for them, crafted a lifestyle of sustainable frugality, and reached financial independence at age thirty-two. While not everyone wants to live in the woods, or quit their jobs, many of us want to have more control over our time and money and lead more meaningful, simplified lives. Following their advice, you too can live your best life.

The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness


Bari Tessler - 2016
    Bari Tessler’s integrative approach creates the real possibility of “money healing,” using our relationship with money as a gateway to self-awareness and a training ground for compassion, confidence, and self-worth. Tessler’s gentle techniques weave together emotional depth, big picture visioning, and refreshingly accessible, nitty-gritty money practices. Guiding readers through a step-by-step journey, The Art of Money helps anyone transform their relationship with money and, in so doing, transform their life. As Bari writes, “when we dare to speak the truth about money, amazing healing begins.”

Grace, Not Perfection: Embracing Simplicity, Celebrating Joy


Emily Ley - 2016
     As a busy wife, new mother, business owner, and designer, Emily Ley came to a point when she suddenly realized she couldn’t do it all. She needed to simplify her life, organize her days, and prioritize the priorities. She decided to hold herself to a standard of grace rather than perfection. This mantra led to the creation of her bestselling Simplified Planner®, a favorite among busy women everywhere—from mamas to executives and everywhere in between.Grace, Not Perfection takes this message from a daily planner to an inspirational book that encourages women to simplify and prioritize. Designed with Emily Ley’s signature aesthetic, this book gives women tangible ways to simplify their lives to give space to what matters most. With a focus on faith, Emily reminds readers that God abundantly pours out grace on us—and that surely we can extend grace to ourselves.Have you been told you can have it all, only to end up exhausted and occasionally out of sorts with the people you love? Are you ready for a new way of seeing your time? Learn to live a little more simply. Hold yourself and those you love to a more life-giving standard in Grace Not Perfection,and allow that grace to seep into your days, your family, and your heart.Ideas include:List Making 101—tips to create effective to-do lists and get through them one step at a timeSimplify your life by simplifying the three major areas: your space, your time, and your mindStrategies to center your day around an intentionally slower rhythm of life

The Way to Wealth


Benjamin Franklin - 1757
    It is a collection of adages and advice presented in Poor Richard's Almanac during its first 25 years of publication, organized into a speech given by "Father Abraham" to a group of people. Many of the phrases Father Abraham quotes continue to be familiar today. The essay's advice is based on the themes of work ethic and frugality. Some phrases from the almanac quoted in "The Way to Wealth" include: "There are no gains, without pains" "One today is worth two tomorrows" "A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things" "Get what you can, and what you get hold" "Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is always bright" "Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today" "The eye of a master will do more work than both his hands" "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" "For want of a nail..."

Secrets of Six-Figure Women


Barbara Stanny (now Huson) - 2002
    Motivational speaker and financial journalist Barbara Stanny decided to find out why by identifying the differences between those who draw the big bucks and those who don't. In Secrets of Six-Figure Women she reveals what makes the leading edge tick, as well as how others can use the information to boost their own paychecks and self-esteem. "For far too many women, financial limits have become a fact of life. The thought of making more is like climbing Mount Everest, a colossal, if not impossible task," writes Stanny. "That's exactly how I used to feel." By examining scores of top moneymakers, along with dozens of those earning below their potentials, Stanny discovered what works and what doesn't. After analyzing the subsequent lessons (i.e., you actually can boost your income without selling out, the requisite traits to do so can be developed by virtually anyone, money really can't buy happiness), she proposes specific strategies for maximizing their impact (intend from the start to succeed, stretch yourself, manage any payoff with care). Stanny professes throughout that she desires to offer "insight, hope and guidance to any of you who aspire to earn more." With this surprisingly practical and ultimately inspirational guidebook, she delivers. --Howard Rothman

The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money


Ron Lieber - 2015
    Children are hyper-aware of money, and they have scores of questions about its nuances. But when parents shy away from the topic, they lose a tremendous opportunity—not just to model the basic financial behaviors that are increasingly important for young adults but also to imprint lessons about what the family truly values.Written in a warm, accessible voice, grounded in real-world experience and stories from families with a range of incomes, The Opposite of Spoiled is both a practical guidebook and a values-based philosophy. The foundation of the book is a detailed blueprint for the best ways to handle the basics: the tooth fairy, allowance, chores, charity, saving, birthdays, holidays, cell phones, checking accounts, clothing, cars, part-time jobs, and college tuition. It identifies a set of traits and virtues that embody the opposite of spoiled, and shares how to embrace the topic of money to help parents raise kids who are more generous and less materialistic.But The Opposite of Spoiled is also a promise to our kids that we will make them better with money than we are. It is for all of the parents who know that honest conversations about money with their curious children can help them become more patient and prudent, but who don’t know how and when to start.

Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in Only 15 Minutes a Week!


Phil Town - 2006
    As a guy who barely made a living as a river guide, I considered the whole process pretty impenetrable, and I was convinced that to do it right you had to make it a full-time job. Me, I was more interested in having full-time fun.So I was tempted to do what you’re probably doing right now: letting some mutual fund manager worry about growing your nest egg. Let me tell you why that decision could one day make you absolutely miserable. The fact is, because of natural market cycles, the mutual fund industry is likely to soon be facing twenty years of flat returns. That means that if you’ve got your nest egg tucked away in funds—especially the type found in most 401ks—your egg won’t get much bigger than it is now. Translation: Get ready for a retirement filled with lots of cold cuts, plenty of quality TV-watching time, and a place to live that’s too small to accommodate your visiting kids.In this book I’ll show you how I turned $1,000 into $1 million in only five years, and then proceeded to make many millions more. I came to investing as a person who wasn’t great at math, possessed zero extra cash, and wanted a life—not an extra three hours of work to do every day.Fortunately, I was introduced to The Rule.Rule #1, as famed investor Warren Buffett will tell you, is don’t lose money. Through an intriguing process that I’ll clarify in this book, not losing money results in making more money than you ever imagined. What it comes down to is buying shares of companies only when the numbers—and the intangibles—are on your side. If that sounds too good to be true, it’s because the mind-set I’ll be introducing you to leads not to bets but to certainties. Believe me, if there were anything genius-level about this, I’d still be a river guide collecting unemployment much of the year.Part of the secret is thinking of yourself as a business owner rather than a stock investor. Part is taking advantage of today’s new Internet tools, which drastically reduce the “homework factor.” (We’re talking a few minutes, tops.) Part is knowing the only five numbers that really count in valuing a potential investment. And part—maybe the most important part—is using the risk-free Rule #1 approach to consistently pay a mere 50 cents to buy a dollar’s worth of a business.What I won’t waste your time with is fluff: a lot of vague parables reminding you of what you already know and leaving you exactly where you started. This is the real deal, folks: a start-to-finish, one-baby-step-at-a-time approach that will allow you to retire ten years sooner than you planned, with more creature comforts than you ever imagined.Also available as a Random House AudioBook and eBook.

Debt-Free Degree: The Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Kid Through College Without Student Loans


Anthony Oneal - 2019
    That’s why the majority of graduates walk away with $35,000 in student loan debt and no clue what that debt will really cost them.Student loan debt doesn’t open doors for young adults—it closes them. They postpone getting married and starting a family. That debt even takes away their freedom to pursue their dreams. But there is a different way. Going to college without student loans is possible!In Debt-Free Degree, Anthony ONeal teaches parents how to get their child through school without debt, even if they haven’t saved for it. He also shows parents:-How to prepare their child for college-Which classes to take in high school-How and when to take the ACT and SAT-The right way to do college visits-How to choose a majorA college education is supposed to prepare a graduate for their future, not rob them of their paycheck and freedom for decades. Debt-Free Degree shows parents how to pay cash for college and set their child up to succeed for life.

The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth With Intelligent Buy and Hold Real Estate Investing


Brandon Turner - 2020
    With nearly 400 pages of in-depth advice, The Book on Rental Property Investing imparts practical and exciting strategies that investors across the world are using to build significant cash flow with rental properties.Brandon Turner―active real estate investor, bestselling author, and co-host of the BiggerPockets Podcast―has one goal in mind: to help you find success and avoid the junk that pulls down so many wannabes. New and experienced investors alike will learn how to build an achievable plan, find incredible deals, analyze properties, build a team, finance rentals, and much more―everything you need to become a millionaire rental property investor.Inside, you’ll discover:- Why many real estate investors fail, and how you can ensure you don’t!- Four unique, easy-to-follow strategies you can begin implementing today- Creative tips for finding incredible deals―even in competitive markets- How to achieve success without touching a toilet, paintbrush, or broom- Actionable ideas for financing rentals, no matter how much cash you have- Advice on keeping your wealth by deferring (and eliminating) taxes- And so much more!

Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals: Find Out How the Rich Get So Rich (the Secrets to Financial Success Revealed)


Thomas C. Corley - 2010
    These ten simple principles miraculously transform every individual who comes into contact with them. By applying these principles, you are literally walking in the footsteps of the wealthy. In Rich Habits, Tom Corley provides a step by step financial success program that is concise, easy to understand and even easier to apply, regardless of your age, education or income level. In these tough economic times, individuals are struggling financially and desperately looking for help in achieving financial success. Every person seeks prosperity for themselves and their families, and with Rich Habits the secret to financial success, possessed by only the wealthiest individuals, will be revealed. Join the Rich Habits financial success revolution.

More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity


Jeff Shinabarger - 2013
    As Shinabarger reminds them, defining “enough” is more than a responsibility—it is an opportunity to give hope.

The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant: Principles for Successful Living


Terry Felber - 2004
    Readers will meet and join young Julio, who is taken on a quest into adulthood - as his grandfather reveals mysterious family secrets. Woven through the story are 12 principles of success including: Work Hard and God will Prosper You Be Meek Before God, but Bold Before Men Live Debt-Free and Below Your Means Set Aside the First 10% to Honor God The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant will change the way you think about your career, wealth, and success.

What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers


Richard Nelson Bolles - 1970
    A favourite of job hunters and career changers for more than three decades, it continues to be a mainstay on best-seller lists, from Amazon.com to BusinessWeek to the New York Times, where it has spent five and a half years.

Invested: How Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, My Emotions, and My Money (with a Little Help from My Dad)


Danielle Town - 2018
    The daughter of a successful investor and bestselling financial author of Rule #1, Phil Town, she spent most of her adult life avoiding investing—until she realized that her time-consuming career as lawyer was making her feel anything but in control of her life or her money. Determined to regain her freedom, vote for her values with her money, and deal with her fear of the unpredictable stock market, she turned to her father, Phil, to help her take charge of her life and her future through Warren Buffett-style value investing. Over the course of a year, Danielle went from avoiding everything to do with the financial industrial complex to knowing exactly how and when to invest in wonderful companies.In Invested, Danielle shows you how to do the same: how to take command of your own life and finances by choosing companies with missions that match your values, using the same gold standard strategies that have catapulted Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to the top of the Forbes 400. Avoiding complex math and obsolete financial models, she turns her father’s investing knowledge into twelve easy-to understand lessons.In each chapter, Danielle examines the investment strategies she mastered as her increasing know-how deepens the trust between her and her father. Throughout, she streamlines the process of making wise financial decisions and shows you just how easy—and profitable—investing can be.Capturing a warm, charming, and down-to-earth give and take between a headstrong daughter and her mostly patient dad, Invested makes the complex world of investing simple, straightforward, and approachable, and will help you formulate your own investment plan—and foster the confidence to put it into action.

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery


Ian Morgan Cron - 2016
    Do you want help figuring out who you are and why you're stuck in the same ruts? The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively. In The Road Back to You Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile forge a unique approach―a practical, comprehensive way of accessing Enneagram wisdom and exploring its connections with Christian spirituality for a deeper knowledge of ourselves, compassion for others, and love for God. Witty and filled with stories, this book allows you to peek inside each of the nine Enneagram types, keeping you turning the pages long after you have read the chapter about your own number. Not only will you learn more about yourself, but you will also start to see the world through other people's eyes, understanding how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do. Beginning with changes you can start making today, the wisdom of the Enneagram can help take you further along into who you really are―leading you into places of spiritual discovery you would never have found on your own, and paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become.