Financial books recommendations!

[lekate]

So I figure we could have a place to post recommendation for financial help books.

I recommend Debt Free Forever by Gail Vaz-Oxlade.

Her book is excellent, blunt and to the point. That and some of her terms make me giggle

She breaks down the behind the scenes she does with her client on the show 'Til Debt Do Us Part. I've watched this show for quite a few years, but found it kind of daunting to take her ethics and apply them to my own life. With the book she breaks it down, and I was able to kind of mold it to my own life and figure out my financial situation, create a workable budget and fit debt repayment into it.

Take away tips:

Create a spreadsheet of *every* purchase for 3-6months. Instead of using credit and debit statements I've just started saving every receipt and enter it into an excel spreadsheet. Create as many as necessary sections for said expenses (groceries, HABA, baby, etc) and tally them up after each month. I like doing this, because I can see how many times I go to the grocery store and spend money there, and that's how I *know* this is an area i need to work on.

Emergency funds and savings. I like it how she really focuses on these two points. If I had an emergency fund last summer when I fell and broke my foot, chances are I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now.

Save now- buy later as opposed to buy now pay later. Kinda speaks for itself. Why put something on credit when you haven't earned it yet?

Lastly, she's weary of deal hunting, because it creates a "gremlin" and creates a feeling of anxiety if you don't snap up this deal, whether it's something you wouldn't have bought regardless (ie. a deal is only a deal if it's something you would have paid full price for, otherwise it's wasting money).

I'll add more later, if I think about it. I'm sleepy now.

[Insane]

I loved this book too. I haven't put into effect a lot of her things, but that is more sheet laziness. I don't have the ambition or drive and I KNOW it will be hard work. But I definately recommend the book too.

Bought it at Costco cheap too!!

[lekate]

I loved this book too. I haven't put into effect a lot of her things, but that is more sheet laziness. I don't have the ambition or drive and I KNOW it will be hard work. But I definately recommend the book too.

Bought it at Costco cheap too!!

Hahah so did my mom! That;s where my copy came from

[maggiespice]

Thank you for that tip, lekate! And the one I am talking about is the deal thing. (I was thinking about this last night) You know Gale is right. What is the point of getting something even if it on sale if you never planned for it in the first place????? That is no deal at all. I am going to more aware of this from now on when I am shopping!!!!

[Insane]

Honestly, I think things like humogeous stock piles eat at your budget. No one needs a year's worth of shampoo or TP or whatever. I am guilty of having a stock pile, but if you are trying to live on a budget buying cause it's onsale and you'll need it 6mths from now will drain your budget. That's what I think of when I think of deal hunting.

[ahazaras]

Now that I have a bit of a stock pile, my goal is to get any new products for just the tax. This helps me decide to buy or not to buy. That way there is less of a strain on my budget.

[ashedfc]

read the "Is Your Mortgage Tax Deductible - The Smith Manoeuvere" by Fraser Smith

[lizzie bargain]

I can recommend Tax Planning 2010 For You and Your Family by KPMG. I bought it at Chapters with the recent 25% off coupon-you might be able to find it at the library for free too. It is well organized and mostly about understanding things like RRSP, RESP, TFSA, self employemnt, achieving your financial goals, reducing your income tax bill etc.

[brunt]

Your Money or Your Life, by Robin, Dominguez and Tilford. A very good introductory book into money. No budgeting nor investment advice, for most people's problems with money cannot be fixed with simply trimming a bit of the fat or bringing in a bit more.

It tackles some of the bigger issues surrounding the difficulties with money. For instance, it discusses how people "need" a vacation to escape the pressures of work, when the added money for this vacation puts more pressure on their work lives. Less stuff means less pressure.

A highly recommended book. If you were to read only one money book, I would recommend this one. Sure, trimming your budget can get you out of a squeeze, but fixing your relationship with money can set you up for life.

Who Moved My Cheese? This book was very popular a number of years ago. It is a very simple read (easily in 30 minutes) and comes across as a simple story. Basic idea is that what worked before does not always keep working, and one needs to look for new ideas to get what you need.

The book is not meant to be just a money book, but cheese is used as a symbol for whatever makes you happy.

The book may or may not make a difference in your life, but it's an easy read and can be picked up very cheaply. I read it, tossed it aside and thought that it was overly simple. After a while though, I decided that I liked the overall message. I read it when I had come out of a financially dark period in my life and it kind of clicked afterward.

The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko, is a fascinating book that outlines the results of their research into the habits of real-life millionaires and how they are different than those who are not millionaires, or do not remain millionaires for long.

The book shatters quite a few illusions that people have where they believe that millionaires spend like they are millionaires - why else would you want to have so much money? They show that most millionaires are far more likely to be living in the modest bungalow on your street than they are to be in the small castle with the perfectly manicured lawn.

They even come up with a specific formula that does a pretty good job in determining who is likely to become a millionaire. If you take your current savings, and compare it to your current age times your current salary divided by ten, and you savings are greater than this number, then you are a PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth). A PAW is far more likely to become a millionaire than one who is not.