fainancial

I am currently reading Pay Yourself First, it is wonderful. Everything I have wanted to know about personal finance is in the book, and so simple and easy. This book is an answer to my prayer. May God bless the author.

You'll work much better with your lawyer if you read this book first.

I read a library copy, but then bought my own.

This book works well with Condon's "Beyond the Grave", which is much weaker on the nuts and bolts of estate tax planning but much better at getting you to think through the human (family conflict) side.

WHAT IT COVERS: This book is primarily a primer, explaining the foundations of estate planning including: an overview and whether you actually need to spend time reading the book and drafting estate docs, drafting a will, how to think about what assets will go to which family members and other beneficiaries, financial instruments such as brokerage accounts/bank accounts/life insurance and how they fit into wealth transfer, as well as powers of attorney and health care directives. What I like best about the book is that you know you are getting candid advice from someone not trying to bill you by the hour or sell you variable annuity life insurance. In my own area of expertise - finance - the fact that the author's opinion regarding life insurance is dead on (tax planning should be kept separate from investing strategies and as such variable annuities are complete bunk) gives me great comfort that I'm getting straight shooting advice in the rest of the book.

WHAT IT CAN BE USED FOR: The book can serve readers on two different levels. If you are going to get a lawyer anyway but are the type of person that wants to be educated when you talk to lawyers/accountants/brokers, this book will have you speaking the same language and is an easy read over the course of a weekend. If you want to prepare an estate plan yourself, this book serves as an ample resource to help create the necessary docs. The fill-in forms in the back are certainly capable of serving as the basis for your basic estate docs, but at the same time it may be more comforting to most people to have a seamless document that they are not penciling in blanks, which leads to my next point...

THINK ABOUT GETTING THE COMPANION SOFTWARE: This book is published by Nolo Press, a well-respected publisher of legal self-help books. They also publish a software title in conjunction with Quicken (makers of the financial planning software) called Quicken Lawyer which not only has an offline/online legal manual with much of the info included in this book, but its main function is to create a battery of estate documents for you through very simple step-by-step interviews - you answer the questions, it drafts the legalese, you print and execute it. I would almost recommend just getting the software instead b/c there is a decent offline/online manual included, but for those that really want to know the why behind what they're doing, get this book and the software. See my review on Quicken Lawyer Personal Deluxe for more info.

LIMITATIONS: The book readily admits there are situations that require an attorney and points out throughout the book which situations require it. In general, get an attorney if you expect to owe federal estate tax (threshold is currently estates over $1.5 mm, but rising rapidly through 2010), have an ex-wife or two, have kids that don't speak to each other, or other complex family dynamic.

Wattles gives simultaneously down-to-earth and heavenly instruction in how to get rich. He gives specific, step by step and easy to follow methods which when studied and applied consistently WILL help you become successful in any endeavor.

I am committing, once again, to study a chapter of this book daily. Things always improve when I do exactly that.

One of my friends said recently, "Everything I ever needed to know about life is contained in 'The Science of Getting Rich'"

Its a great little book......

Inspirational!

THE ONE AND ONLY BOOK you need to get rich. So claims the author (and I wholeheartedly agree). Love it's exclusivity mindedness because it's deservant of that to no end.

Five stars is being stingy, ALL THE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE is what I really give it. R-E-A-D I-T

One section that I especially liked and shared with my teenager repeatedly was about self love. I have not read many books on this subject but found it was written very well and that you have to love yourself in order to love and help others that you will be helping in the future.

TY BOYD TY BOYD ENTERPRISES, INC.

The use of real-life examples shows that the author knows that economic theory is one thing, and how people really live their lives is a different thing. The book doesn't make me feel like a moron because I don't have an MBA and this approach really does help me understand her explanation of savings, economics, etc. better than the other "experts."

With more than 5,000 illustrations, charts and diagrams, 600 maps and 25,000 facts and statistics this has to be the world's best book about the world.

You will learn about:

The Physical World
The Political World

The Continents
The World Economy, Population and International Organizations.
Time Zones
Chronology of World Historoy
The Formation of the Modern World
The Solar System

To say this is comprehensive would be an understatement.

The colors and pictures are stunning. The pages are easy to read and this has a high visual appeal.

The first part of the book has wonderful maps of the world and what was known at the time and what was going on in the world at the time.

In the section about "The Nations of the World" you will find specific information about climate, people, transportation, tourism, politics, defense, economics, resources, environment, media, crime, education, health, spending and world ranking. This huge section takes up most of the book. The Index is well organized and extensive.

A must have for any teacher or library.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

These steps help you keep control of your life when health problems could otherwise overwhelm you. As Landay says, "preparing for the worst allows you to expect the best." I followed his recommendations in coping with multiple sclerosis and applied some of them in my book The Art of Getting Well.

It's not always the easiest read; it's long and packed with info and resources. But I consider it a vital reference; I don't know of an equal one on the topic.

David Spero RN www.davidsperoRN.com

I have applied many of the concepts from this wonderful work. One of the good things about the book is that it addresses not only the technical aspect of valuing business but also the art form as well. The book has assisted me in valuing companies in several industries and I consider it to be a one of the resources that is a staple of my practice.

Much thanks to the authors

The Business of Business Valuation is a primer for those just getting started in valuations. It covers the reasons for doing a valuation, the process and components, the valuation expert's role, as well as marketing and pricing. Even experienced valuators can benefit from the discussion of valuation consulting -- helping a business owner increase value, through smart management and policy, to achieve, overall personal, family and employee goals.

The anatomy of a business valuation is particularly helpful, as are the three sample valuation reports. You'll also find discussions of trends, ethics and coursework for porspective valuators."

Gary Jones is a marketing genius, and this book contains far more marketing tips than you will find anywhere else.

I have a bookcase full of books about valuations. I've read this book twice: cover-to-cover. And it's packed so full of practical know-how that I keep discovering new, profitable ideas each time I dip back into it.

You may already know how to do business valuations. But if you want to build a successful practice...buy and read this book.

It could stand some updating, though.

This book succeeds where many others fail: It does an excellent job of breaking into layman's terms the most complex investing and financial concepts, while at the same time making the whole thing completely relatable for someone who knows *nothing* about investing. That is a talent many wish they had. This is no mean feat when you consider all the jargon you have to learn. Now, imagine having fun while doing it! Wow! Eric Tyson, eat your heart out!

Sure, it?s been a while since this book first came out, so you know it needs a little updating...get over it! I still give the book five well-deserved stars. I appreciate the authors for writing such an awesome little book, as reading a book is a big investment of time, and reading this book was definitely worth it.

Share it with a teen or twenty-something you love, and give them the gift of setting them on the path to becoming investors.