"Winning at money is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent head knowledge." So states Ramsey, author and radio show host, offering a comprehensive plan to get out of debt and achieve financial fitness. Our current financial position represents the sum total of the decisions we've made to this point, he tells us, and we must take personal responsibility for our financial problems. His seven-step plan includes paying off all debts except the home mortgage at an accelerated speed, creating a financial safety net that covers three to six months' expenses, investing 15 percent of income in a retirement fund, and saving for children's college expenses. He effectively shows how regular people can rid themselves of debt and grow their wealth using current income. While many of Ramsey's concepts are not new, his simple approach and client testimonials will resonate with a broad range of library patrons. This is important information in a society buried in debt, with unprecedented numbers of people facing bankruptcy.
From the school of unemotional investing comes the classic How to Make Money in Stocks, by Wall Street analyst and publisher William O'Neil. Readers new to securities will find it an excellent primer, one that relies on time-honored indicators such as quarterly earnings, market capitalization, and daily indexes. O'Neil's study of winning stocks stretches back to the 1960s, and he shares his insights here, describing what characterizes a growth stock, when to cut your losses (at 7 or 8 percent, no more), and how to spot a market top.
Those new to investing would do well to read this book before embarking, and even more seasoned traders may find How to Make Money in Stocks a refreshing return to basics. Markets may swing bull and bear, but O'Neil promises to stand firm.
When the first baby boomers celebrate their 70th birthdays in 2016, according to rich dad (the author's financial mentor and father of his boyhood chum), a massive stock market crash will ensue. Joining half a dozen popular Rich Dad books, this volume continues Kiyosaki's eloquent yet simple survival instructions to investors present and future. Kiyosaki's wealth stems from lessons learned at rich dad's balance sheets, and here he deftly illustrates those complex financial truths. He encourages readers-many of whom suffer from what he sees as the dismal lack of financial education in the school system-to understand factors such as ERISA, the investor-unfriendly retirement law for which rich dad vilified the government, and the overabundance of "white bread" financial advice for the masses. Wall Street has nothing to gain by smartening up investors, Kiyosaki warns, so it's up to people to educate themselves. Those convinced that reading financial statements is an activity solely for the sophisticated and the moneyed will be reassured by Kiyosaki's analogies-Noah's ark is a primary one-as he colorfully covers a host of investing esoterica and scrutinizes details every investor should recognize. "Investing time when I had no time, and investing money when I had very little money is what made me rich," he says.
If you want to be successful, you need to develop the right habits. This books will help you do just that.