The Essential Retirement Guide: A Contrarian's Perspective


Frederick Vettese - 2015
    Unfortunately, much of the advice that is dispensed is either unsubstantiated or betrays a strong vested interest. In The Essential Retirement Guide, Frederick Vettese analyses the most fundamental questions of retirement planning and offers some startling insights. The book finds, for example that:Saving 10 percent a year is not a bad rule of thumb if you could follow it, but there will be times when you cannot do so and it might not even be advisable to try. Most people never spend more than 50 percent of their gross income on themselves before retirement; hence their retirement income target is usually much less than 70 percent. Interest rates will almost certainly stay low for the next 20 years, which will affect how much you need to save. Even in this low-interest environment, you can withdraw 5 percent or more of your retirement savings each year in retirement without running out of money. Your spending in retirement will almost certainly decline at a certain age so you may not need to save quite as much as you think. As people reach the later stages of retirement, they become less capable of managing their finances, even though they grow more confident of their ability to do so! Plan for this before it is too late. Annuities have become very expensive, but they still make sense for a host of reasons. In addition, The Essential Retirement Guide shows how you can estimate your own lifespan and helps you to understand the financial implications of long-term care. Most importantly, it reveals how you can calculate your personal wealth target - the amount of money you will need by the time you retire to live comfortably. The author uses his actuarial expertise to substantiate his findings but does so in a jargon-free way.

Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World


James J. Cramer - 2005
    Shows how to compare stock prices in a way that you can understand, how to spot market tops and bottoms, how to know when to sell, how to rotate among cyclical stocks to catch the big moves, and much more.

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.

The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money, and Miracles


Marianne Williamson - 2012
    In The Law of Divine Compensation, she reveals the spiritual principles that help us overcome financial stress and unleash the divine power of abundance. A guru to anyone interested in spirituality, Williamson's words ring with power and truth as she assures us that, with faith in God's promise of prosperity for all, we need never fear the future.

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..."

Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future


Jeff Rose - 2013
    Author, army veteran, and Certified Financial Planner(TM) Jeff Rose modeled this financial survival guide on the Soldier’s Handbook that is issued to all new US Army recruits. Inside the 14 modules that Rose used to systematize his essential elements of financial success, you will learn how to:• Evaluate your position and commit to change • Target and methodically eliminate debt • Clean up your credit report • Create tactical budgets • Build emergency savings • Invest for the short and long term • Determine an affordable mortgage size• And moreComplete with tales from the trenches, useful quizzes, debriefings, and more, Soldier of Finance is the strategy manual and survival guide you need to win victory over your debt and bring order and prosperity to your life.

The 10 Commandments of Money: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy


Liz Pulliam Weston - 2010
     For previous generations, living within your means was a simple formula. Now, with the staggering rise in education, health care, and housing costs, millions of people find themselves skating from paycheck to paycheck with no idea how to move forward. As the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet, Liz Weston has heard the questions and has the answers. Her 10 Commandments of Money will help readers avoid critical mistakes, survive the bad times, and thrive in the good ones. Just a few of Weston's invaluable pointers include how to: • Balance Your Budget • Pay Down Toxic Debt • Get the Right Mortgage • Pay for College • Save for Retirement • Maximize Your Financial Flexibility Liz Weston's goal is to provide THE practical guide to the brave new world of money. What Sylvia Porter's Money Book was to the 1970s, The 10 Commandments of Money will be for the 2010s. Watch a Video

Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises


Timothy F. Geithner - 2014
    Geithner helped the United States navigate the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, from boom to bust to rescue to recovery. In a candid, riveting, and historically illuminating memoir, he takes readers behind the scenes of the crisis, explaining the hard choices and politically unpalatable decisions he made to repair a broken financial system and prevent the collapse of the Main Street economy. This is the inside story of how a small group of policy makers—in a thick fog of uncertainty, with unimaginably high stakes—helped avoid a second depression but lost the American people doing it. Stress Test is also a valuable guide to how governments can better manage financial crises, because this one won’t be the last.Stress Test reveals a side of Secretary Geithner the public has never seen, starting with his childhood as an American abroad. He recounts his early days as a young Treasury official helping to fight the international financial crises of the 1990s, then describes what he saw, what he did, and what he missed at the New York Fed before the Wall Street boom went bust. He takes readers inside the room as the crisis began, intensified, and burned out of control, discussing the most controversial episodes of his tenures at the New York Fed and the Treasury, including the rescue of Bear Stearns; the harrowing weekend when Lehman Brothers failed; the searing crucible of the AIG rescue as well as the furor over the firm’s lavish bonuses; the battles inside the Obama administration over his widely criticized but ultimately successful plan to end the crisis; and the bracing fight for the most sweeping financial reforms in more than seventy years. Secretary Geithner also describes the aftershocks of the crisis, including the administration’s efforts to address high unemployment, a series of brutal political battles over deficits and debt, and the drama over Europe’s repeated flirtations with the economic abyss. Secretary Geithner is not a politician, but he has things to say about politics—the silliness, the nastiness, the toll it took on his family. But in the end, Stress Test is a hopeful story about public service. In this revealing memoir, Tim Geithner explains how America withstood the ultimate stress test of its political and financial systems.

The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs


Jill Schlesinger - 2019
    So don't be dumb about money. Pinpoint your biggest money blind spots and take control of your finances with these tools from CBS News Business Analyst and host of the nationally syndicated radio show Jill on Money, Jill Schlesinger.Do you have a "friend" who is super smart, has a great career, holds a graduate degree, has even saved a chunk of money for retirement, but who keeps making the same dumb mistakes when it comes to money? Is this "friend" you?After decades working as a Wall Street trader, investment adviser, and money expert for CBS, Jill Schlesinger reveals thirteen costly mistakes you're probably making right now with your money without even knowing it. Drawing on heartfelt personal stories (yes, money experts screw up, too), Schlesinger argues that it's not lack of smarts that causes even the brightest, most accomplished people among us to behave like financial dumb-asses, but simple emotional blind spots. So if you've made well-intentioned mistakes like saving for college for your kids before you've saved for your own retirement, or taken on too much risk when you invest, you've come to the right place. And if you've avoided uncomfortable moments such as sitting down to draft a will or planning long-term care for an aging parent, this is the book for you.By breaking bad habits and following Schlesinger's pragmatic and accessible rules for managing your finances, you can save tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars, not to mention avoid countless sleepless nights.Practical, no-nonsense, and often counterintuitive, The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money tells you what you really need to hear about retirement, college financing, insurance, real estate, and more. It might just be the smartest investment you make all year.Advance praise for The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money "Common sense is not always common, especially when it comes to managing your money. Consider Jill Schlesinger's book your guide to all the things you should know about money but were never taught. After reading it, you'll be smarter, wiser, and maybe even wealthier."--Chris Guillebeau, author of Side Hustle and The $100 Startup"A must-read, whether you're digging yourself out of a financial hole or stacking up savings for the future, The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money is a personal finance gold mine loaded with smart financial nuggets delivered in Schlesinger's straight-talking, judgment-free style."--Beth Kobliner, author of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You're Not) and Get a Financial Life

The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age


James Dale Davidson - 1997
    The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization. Few observers of the late twentieth century have their fingers so presciently on the pulse of the global political and economic realignment ushering in the new millennium as do James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Their bold prediction of disaster on Wall Street in Blood in the Streets was borne out by Black Tuesday. In their ensuing bestseller, The Great Reckoning, published just weeks before the coup attempt against Gorbachev, they analyzed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union and foretold the civil war in Yugoslavia and other events that have proved to be among the most searing developments of the past few years. In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries—the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government. This outstanding book will replace false hopes and fictions with new understanding and clarified values.

How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started


Joshua Dorkin - 2018
    It's time to start doing… And this book will show you exactly where to start. Everyone knows real estate investing can be a powerful way to build wealth and achieve true financial freedom. But, because each person’s journey is different, knowing the first steps to take can be challenging.That’s why two of the biggest names in the real estate world teamed up to write the most comprehensive manual ever written on getting started in the lucrative business of real estate investing. Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner—longtime hosts of the world’s #1 real estate podcast, The BiggerPockets Podcast—give you an insider’s look at the many different niches and strategies that exist. Find which one works best for you, your resources, and your goals.Unlike most traditional real estate books, this one won’t tell you there is “one secret path” to real estate success. Instead, it dives into dozens of unique, life-changing quests and is packed with more than forty real-life stories of how real estate investors are finding success in today’s economy. What’s inside:· How to invest in real estate while working a full-time job· The truth about LLCs and corporations · How to earn more at work (or on the side) so you can invest more · Getting your spouse on board with real estate investing· Eight unique property types you can invest in today · Eleven powerful strategies for building wealth through real estate· Twenty-eight tested methods for finding great real estate deals· Partnerships, BRRRR investing, and other creative ways to fund your deals· And so much more!

The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution


Gregory Zuckerman - 2019
    No other investor--Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Ray Dalio, Steve Cohen, or George Soros--can touch his record. Since 1988, Renaissance's signature Medallion fund has generated average annual returns of 66 percent. The firm has earned profits of more than $100 billion; Simons is worth twenty-three billion dollars.Drawing on unprecedented access to Simons and dozens of current and former employees, Zuckerman, a veteran Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, tells the gripping story of how a world-class mathematician and former code breaker mastered the market. Simons pioneered a data-driven, algorithmic approach that's sweeping the world.As Renaissance became a market force, its executives began influencing the world beyond finance. Simons became a major figure in scientific research, education, and liberal politics. Senior executive Robert Mercer is more responsible than anyone else for the Trump presidency, placing Steve Bannon in the campaign and funding Trump's victorious 2016 effort. Mercer also impacted the campaign behind Brexit.The Man Who Solved the Market is a portrait of a modern-day Midas who remade markets in his own image, but failed to anticipate how his success would impact his firm and his country. It's also a story of what Simons's revolution means for the rest of us.

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.

A Beginner's Guide to Investing: How to Grow Your Money the Smart and Easy Way


Alex H. Frey - 2012
    

Real Estate Loopholes: Secrets of Successful Real Estate Investing


Diane Kennedy - 2003
    By examining the three keys to successful real estate investing - selection, taxation and protection - this book shows what it takes.