The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life


Alice Schroeder - 2008
    The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.”Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term “simple.”When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write.Never before has Buffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions, talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It was an act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.

Commercial Real Estate for Beginners: The Basics of Commercial Real Estate Investing


Peter Harris - 2014
    Why you should be a commercial investor, where the biggest pitfalls are, which types of properties are best for those just getting started, how to analyze any commercial deal quickly, how to speak the language of commercial real estate, the 4 guiding principles of commercial investment and much, much more. Let the author of Commercial Real Estate Investing for Dummies walk you through how to get started in Commercial Real Estate in this incredibly informative book.

The Armchair Guide to Property Investing: How to Retire on $2,000 a Week


Ben Kingsley - 2015
    It includes 18 proven investment strategies and insightful case studies of six very different investors who all build portfolios which will deliver $2,000 a week in retirement income! And you'll only need to spend 10 hours per property a year managing your portfolio when you have everything in place. Ben and Bryce are both property investors themselves and the hosts of Australia's No.1 Property Investment Podcast - The Property Couch. 'As regular contributors to Australia's most read and sold personal finance magazine these boys know property. Smart strategies designed to safely build wealth through real estate.' - Effie Zahos, Editor, Money magazine '...a sensible and achievable approach to successful property investing. It teaches investors how to buy the very best properties to achieve their financial goals without taking unnecessary risks. It's a must-read for anyone serious about enjoying the long-term benefits of property investment.' - Nicola McDougall, Editor, Australian Property Investor magazine '...full of practical tips and written in a way that even a total newbie would understand. If you want to get no-nonsense, independent advice on how to invest in property, then this book is essential reading.' - Nila Sweeney, Managing Editor, Your Investment Property magazine

How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street: Golden Rules Any Investor Can Learn


Allan S. Roth - 2009
    Page by page, you'll learnhow to create a portfolio with the widest diversification andlowest costs; one that can move up your financial freedom by adecade and dramatically increase your spending rate duringretirement. And all this can be accomplished by using some commonsense techniques.Along the way, Kevin and his dad discuss fresh, new approachesto investing, and detail some tried-and-true, but lesser knownapproaches. They also take the time to debunk the financial mythsand legends that many of us accept as true, and show you what itreally takes to build long-term wealth with less risk.Discusses how to design a portfolio composed of a few basicbuilding blocks that can be "tweaked" to fit your personalneedsAddresses how you can reengineer your portfolio in order tostop needlessly paying taxesReveals how you can increase returns, regardless of whichdirection the market goes, by picking the "low-hanging fruit" weall have in our portfoliosWith just a little time and a little work, you can become abetter investor. With this book as your guide, you'll discover howa simpler approach to today's markets can put you on the path tofinancial independence.

The White Coat Investor: A Doctor's Guide To Personal Finance And Investing


James M. Dahle - 2014
    Doctors are highly-educated and extensively trained at making difficult diagnoses and performing life saving procedures. However, they receive little to no training in business, personal finance, investing, insurance, taxes, estate planning, and asset protection.      This book fills in the gaps and will teach you to use your high income to escape from your student loans, provide for your family, build wealth, and stop getting ripped off by unscrupulous financial professionals. Straight talk and clear explanations allow the book to be easily digested by a novice to the subject matter yet the book also contains advanced concepts specific to physicians you won’t find in other financial books. This book will teach you how to: Graduate from medical school with as little debt as possible Escape from student loans within two to five years of residency graduation Purchase the right types and amounts of insurance Decide when to buy a house and how much to spend on it Learn to invest in a sensible, low-cost and effective manner with or without the assistance of an advisor Avoid investments which are designed to be sold, not bought Select advisors who give great service and advice at a fair price Become a millionaire within five to ten years of residency graduation Use a “Backdoor Roth IRA” and “Stealth IRA” to boost your retirement funds and decrease your taxes Protect your hard-won assets from professional and personal lawsuits Avoid estate taxes, avoid probate, and ensure your children and your money go where you want when you die Minimize your tax burden, keeping more of your hard-earned money Decide between an employee job and an independent contractor job Choose between sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company, S Corporation, and C Corporation Take a look at the first pages of the book by clicking on the Look Inside feature Praise For The White Coat Investor “Much of my financial planning practice is helping doctors to correct mistakes that reading this book would have avoided in the first place.” – Allan S. Roth, MBA, CPA, CFP®, Author of How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street “Jim Dahle has done a lot of thinking about the peculiar financial problems facing physicians, and you, lucky reader, are about to reap the bounty of both his experience and his research.” – William J. Bernstein, MD, Author of The Investor’s Manifesto and seven other investing books “This book should be in every career counselor’s office and delivered with every medical degree.

The Power of Zero: How to Get to the 0% Tax Bracket and Transform Your Retirement


David McKnight - 2014
    The United States Government has made trillions of dollars in promises for programs like Social Security and Medicare it simply can’t afford to keep. The only way to deliver on these promises is to raise taxes. It’s simple math. Some experts have even suggested that tax rates have to double just to keep our country solvent. Unfortunately, if you’re like most Americans, you’ve saved the majority of your retirement assets in tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s and IRAs. If tax rates go up, how much of your hard-earned money will you really get to keep? In David McKnight’s ground breaking book The Power of Zero, he provides you with a step by step roadmap on how to get to the 0% tax bracket, effectively eliminating tax rate risk from your retirement picture. Why is the 0% tax bracket so powerful? Because if tax rates double, two times zero is still zero! The day of reckoning is fast approaching. Are you ready to do what it takes to experience the power of zero?

Commercial Real Estate Investing for Dummies


Peter Conti - 2008
    From office buildings to shopping centers to apartment buildings, it helps you pick the right properties at the right time for the right price. Yes, there is a fun and easy way to break into commercial real estate, and this is it. This comprehensive handbook has it all. You'll learn how to find great properties, size up sellers, finance your investments, protect your assets, and increase your property's value. You'll discover the upsides and downsides of the various types of investments, learn the five biggest myths of commercial real estate investment, find out how to recession-proof your investment portfolio, and more. Discover how to:Get leads on commercial property investments Determine what a property is worth Find the right financing for you Handle inspections and fix problems Make big money in land development Manage your properties or hire a pro Exploit the tax advantages of commercial real estate Find out what offer a seller really-really wants Perform due diligence before you make a deal Raise capital by forming partnerships Investing in commercial property can make you rich in any economy. Get Commercial Real Estate For Dummies, and find out how.

The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success


Darren Hardy - 2010
    No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, presents The Compound Effect, a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.

Buy It, Rent It, Profit!: Make Money as a Landlord in ANY Real Estate Market


Bryan M. Chavis - 2009
    Drawing on his ten years of experience managing and owning hundreds of rental properties, Bryan M. Chavis shows how you can leverage as little as $10,000 into a lifelong stream of wealth using nothing more than good instincts, smart research, and a little elbow grease. Learn how to buy desirable properties, attract quality tenants, negotiate lease agreements, collect rent, finance a mortgage, and manage the property. From leases to property-evaluation documents, you’ll find a complete tool kit in this book, which contains every form and checklist you need to run a single-unit apartment or an entire rental building. With added guidance from building-maintenance experts, property attorneys, and tenants’ rights organizations, Buy It, Rent It, Profit! is the go-to guide for anyone interested in becoming a landlord and achieving profitable, consistent results.

Principles: Summary


Ray Dalio - 2011
    Part 1 is about the purpose and importance of having principles in general, having nothing to do with mine. Part 2 explains my most fundamental life principles that apply to everything I do. Part 3, explains my management principles as they are being lived out at Bridgewater. Since my management principles are simply my most fundamental life principles applied to management, reading Part 2 will help you to better understand Part 3, but it’s not required—you can go directly to Part 3 to see what my management principles are and how Bridgewater has been run. One day I’d like to write a Part 4 on my investment principles. If you are looking to get the most bang for your buck (i.e., understanding for the effort), I suggest that you read Parts 1 and 2, and the beginning of Part 3 (through the Summary and Table of Principles) which will give you nearly the whole picture. It’s only about 55 pages of a normal size book. Above all else, I want you to think for yourself—to decide 1) what you want, 2) what is true and 3) what to do about it. I want you to do that in a clear-headed thoughtful way, so that you get what you want. I wrote this book to help you do that. I am going to ask only two things of you—1) that you be open-minded and 2) that you honestly answer some questions about what you want, what is true and what you want to do about it. If you do these things, I believe that you will get a lot out of this book. If you can’t do these things, you should reflect on why that is, because you probably have discovered one of your greatest impediments to getting what you want out of life.

The Art of Money Getting: Golden Rules for Making Money


P.T. Barnum - 1880
    T. Barnum, who is widely known as an important historical entrepreneur as founder of the famous traveling circus, but in this publication Barnum shares his knowledge of business and teaches readers how to be successful in making money. This is an excellent book for individuals who are interested in learning from an important historical business leaders own personal success and also serves as an excellent motivational writing intended for those looking to be successful and make lots of money.

All About Asset Allocation


Richard A. Ferri - 2005
    If you're serious about investing for the long run, you have to take a no-nonsense, businesslike approach to your portfolio. In addition to covering all the basics, this new edition of "All About Asset Allocation" includes timely advice on: Learning which investments work well together and why Selecting the right mutual funds and ETFs Creating an asset allocation that's right for your needs Knowing how and when to change an allocation Understanding target-date mutual funds"All About Asset Allocation offers advice that is both prudent and practical--keep it simple, diversify, and, above all, keep your expenses low--from an author who both knows how vital asset allocation is to investment success and, most important, works with real people." -- John C. Bogle, founder and former CEO, The Vanguard Group"With All About Asset Allocation at your side, you'll be executing a sound investment plan, using the best materials and wearing the best safety rope that money can buy." -- William Bernstein, founder, EfficientFrontier.com, and author, The Intelligent Asset Allocator

The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing


Jason Kelly - 1998
    Since the dot.com crash and ensuing bear market, significant changes have come about in the investing world, and The Neatest Little Guide takes this into account. In this revised edition, readers will learn: € Strategies on how to double the Dow with one simple investment and the latest products required for this approach € Methods investors can use to avoid disasters such as Enron and WorldCom € Thoroughly updated reference lists, including new websites, new software, new brokers, and new publications With the right information for investors to keep pace, and rooted in the principles that made it invaluable from the start, The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing is a resource that no serious investor can be without.

Real Estate Riches: How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money


Dolf de Roos - 2001
    Self-made real estate mogul Dolf de Roos reveals why investing in property isso simple and lucrative as he gives insider secrets for getting ahead in thishigh-profit business.

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business


Josh Kaufman - 2010
    The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works.Josh Kaufman has made a business out of distilling the core principles of business and delivering them quickly and concisely to people at all stages of their careers. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. In The Personal MBA, he shares the essentials of sales, marketing, negotiation, strategy, and much more.True leaders aren't made by business schools-they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed. Read this book and in one week you will learn the principles it takes most people a lifetime to master.