Time for Textbooks

We’ve got a lot of family members getting ready to head back to school.

I remember the long checkout lines at the college books stores. Waiting in line so I could fork over $300-400 for text books wasn’t all that much fun.

Towards the end of my college run, it was becoming increasingly easier to purchase books online.

I would get text books from different sites on the Internet, but the clear leader that emerged was Amazon.com.

We now have a yearly membership with Amazon to receive free, 2-day shipping on items we buy from them.

I recently noticed that Amazon is offer a deal for students to receive free, 2-day shipping. That’s pretty good! I remember having to wait a couple of weeks in some cases to receive my books from sellers.

Now you can them like lightening!

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Who knows, who knows one?

Angie and I had the pleasure of attending a Passover dinner put on by the University a few weeks ago.  It was a great experience to learn about traditions that have been passed down for nearly 3,000 years.

The Seder Service aka Passover meal was very detailed and we took lots of good notes.  Definitely, one of the most striking and unforgettable elements of the evening was the eating of the bitter herbs.  The herbs are to remind how bad slavery was, and I’ll tell you, after the eating the herbs, it was bad.

The professor that prepares the Seder Services each year may do 20 in a year, and his wife attends them all.  She said that the herbs we tasted on a scale of one to 10 (10 being the highest bitterness) were a 9.5.  The herbs are to evoke tears, and they did a pretty good job.  We had a Jew at our table and she said that the herbs were very very strong.

The evening was extremely enlightening especially the part of relating to the Afikomen which is the last food to be eaten (a Matzah-unleavened bread that is broken and shared among the participants) followed by the fruit of the vine.

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Financial Panel Aug 2009

One of my all-time favorite quotes by Jim Rohn (from cassette tapes I literally wore out from listening to them so much) is as follows:

In order for things to get better for you, you’ve got to get better.

Angie and I have the opportunity to participate in a panel on family finances in our ward.  Mr. Rohn’s words above can apply to all areas of our lives, but especially to our personal finances.

The chance to participate in the panel has been fantastic because it’s helped us write down our philosophy about money, investing, budgeting, etc.  The scope of the panel cannot address even more than just a scratch of the surface of the topic, but we’ve put together a list of books that we’ve found very helpful as we’ve gone through our library.

There are many more books than the ones we’ve listed below, and our library card has come in very handy in reading a good portion of these books for free.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki

A must read.  Who do we get our financial education from?  Robert Kiyosaki had two dads, a Rich Dad and a Poor Dad.  The poor dad was his biological father, highly educated, highly paid with a professional job, but broke.  His poor “dad” (his friend’s father) was un-schooled yet worked his way to wealth.  Mr. Kiyosaki challenges ideas that we hold about assets and liabilities but does so in a great format as his poor and rich dads give him advice on life and money.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker

Another absolute must read. From page 179:

…the three most dangerous words in the English language [are] ‘I know that.’

How true. We may say to ourselves, “I’ve heard all this stuff before,” but if you don’t DO, you don’t KNOW. From a self-made millionaire, the differences between how wealthy people see the world versus how poor and middle class see the world, Mr. Eker  outlines steps and principles to follow to help improve our thinking, beliefs, actions, and habits.  He also includes a suggested budget that helped him through financial distress.  Great book.

Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner by David Bach

Another great read. I love the philosophy that our interests and dreams should drive where we put our money. Why spend money every day on coffee (or eating out for lunch) when your dream is to be healthy, give to your university, etc. The book can help you identify what is important to you now and in the future and help you create a plan to work towards those goals.

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Investment Strategies for Lifetime Wealth from a #1 Wall Street Stock Picker by Natalie Pace

I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and loved it. I’ve heard numerous investment strategies, and I prefer the ones that make sense, are simple, and come from people who actually do it rather than from brokers.  She takes investing from a shopping perspective (e.g., don’t pay retail for stocks), and does a great job highlighting how she came out of a divorce with a condo under water and has now made a fortune investing in what she loves.

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Change Happens, my friends. Keep your tennis shoes ready and don’t get too comfortable!

The Richest Man in Babylon: The Success Secrets of the Ancients by George S. Clason

Absolutely classic/timeless. If you’re going to receive financial advice on how to become wealthy, don’t get it from someone who is broke! That’s why reading these books by successful entreprenuers, investors, and the like are so important.

Your Credit Score, Your Money & What’s at Stake (Updated Edition): How to Improve the 3-Digit Number that Shapes Your Financial Future by Liz Pulliam Weston

I received this book as an advanced copy as well, and it is a fantastic resource debunking myths such as you have to pay interest (on a loan, carry balance on credit cards, etc.) to start building your credit score (I know people that unfortunately buy into that myth). Much of what went into the credit scoring system was a secret until recently so a lot of people had to guess as to how the scores were calculated, thus, there are a lot of myths. The author also discusses the dangers of seeking bankruptcy and greatly cautions about debt consolidation plans and debt consolodation “companies.”  Watch out! She also covers how to get out of a credit crisis if you’re in one (it may be tough medicine for some, but it’s the right stuff). I thought the book would be boring but informative when I first picked it up, but the book turned out to be very interesting and enlightening.

The Greatest Salesman in the World: Gift Edition by Og Mandino

Another classic read set in a parable relating to our focus and thinking.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael. E. Gerber

A great resource if you have or are going to start a business. The book highlights different roles and personalities that must be present for a business to succeed.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey

Be Proactive, Baby!

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box by the Arbinger Institute

Ranks as one of the top three books I have ever read.

7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness: Power Ideas from America’s Foremost Business Philosopher by Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn is a Master. I don’t think the cassette tapes I have of his are sold anymore, but the book above has the same principles. Life changing.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

The gist of this book is that those who are truley wealthy, don’t live very lavish lifestyles, in fact, they save and buy discounted goods. They’re smart with their money…that’s why they still have it. The book reminds me of the saying:  It’s not how much you earn that matters most, it’s how much you keep and can pass on!

Chasing Daylight:How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life by Eugene O’Kelly

I loved reading this book. Eugene was the CEO of a company that I used to work for. He worked so hard his whole life and made it to the top of the corporate ladder only to be diagnosed with a terminal disease giving him about 100 days to live. Eugene’s life and thoughts in his book are a wake up call for all of us to understand that we must seize the moment, and that people/relationships are most important. Eugene wanted to have a one-on-one “perfect moment” with friends and family before he passed away. He wrote down his shared moments and they became part of this book which his wife finished for him when he died. The company gave us a free copy of the book (there were about 100,000 employees of the company at the time). I can’t remember if everyone recieved a copy or you simply had to ask for one, but I remember some people in the company saying, “I’m not going to read some book about how he wasted his life away working.”  It was also not hard to notice that those folks put in extremely long hours away from home.  How unfortunate a philosophy because the book has some very important lessons.

Discourses of Brigham Young compiled by John A. Widtsoe

Brigham Young had a lot of interesting things to say to the saints in the Salt Lake Valley as he tried to help them elevate themselves and the community from poverty.  Read chapter 25 on Unity and Co-Operation and you’ll find some very interesting advice given over 100 years ago to people trying to make a living out of the dry soil and harsh conditions of the Salt Lake Valley.  Brigham told the saints to invest their money and buy shares in the local businesses so that they could put their money to work and earn interest so that the poor may have some of the advantage of the rich.

Rich Dad’s Cashflow 101 Board Game

Play this game. This game has been a lot of fun for us to play. We’ve played it with friends and family over and over again. It teaches family members how to keep an income statement, and what a balance statement is. It also teaches that having a high paying job isn’t necessarily the key to success (in fact, it can actually be a hindrance if your high income is followed up by a high-rolling lifestyle). The game teaches about investments (real estate, stock market, and business) in very basic but very fun ways.  It was created by Robert Kiyosaki who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Many of the books above state that we don’t have to believe everything they say, but that we should actively be learning, questioning, and growing.

How can things get better for any of us, financially speaking or otherwise, unless we get better?  All of us should spend time developing our Financial IQ or Financial Intelligence as many call it.  Your wealth grows only as fast as your financial intelligence.

The good examples of successful people, their thinking, and philosophies about income, spending, and wealth rub off on you as you sit down with them (in this case by reading their books).  In response to the notion of someone being in debt financially, Jim Rohn commented, “Well who sold you on that plan?”  It’s important to understand whose financial plan we’re working from (the plan from our parents, plans shown on the television, movies, etc.); or does our plan come from successful people?  When I learned to play the saxophone in high school, I searched out the most respected and accomplished professor in the state as a teacher, and I’m glad I did, because I was a slow learner .  Learn from the best.

As Jim Rohn put so articulately: “In order for things to get better for you, you’ve got to get better.”  Taking the time to turn off the tube and advance personal education is one (but obviously not the only) way to get better.

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