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5 Minutes to Trust Money: 5 Minutes to Money by Nivedita Vedurla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved the concept of this book. The author, Nivedita Vedurla, challenges the reader to rethink their concept of money and their general relationship with it. The book central themes is to believe in manifestation (through the daily use of positive affirmations about money) and to challenge the reader to rethink their previous notions about money. I really enjoyed the part where the reader had time to reflect about their adolescence and their early encounters with money; the promotion of jotting these memories down in a notebook really helped. A lot of the ideas echoed another book I have recently completed called "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill. Money will naturally fall upon those that think positive thoughts about money and believe that they can attract it in ABUNDANCE. Whereas, if we have negative thoughts about money and believe that it is "evil" it will hinder our ability to generate it. Therefore, Vedurla's ideas about positive manifestation towards money echoed other books that I have read prior, so that is the main reason I listed it as a 4 star rating instead of 5. The shortness of the book also resulted in a four star rating, because I wished the author could go into more depth about the concept. All in all, it was a highly enjoyable read. I would gift this to a friend that wants to build a more positive mindset about money or simply in need of a good self-help book when it comes to personal finances. I will leave this review with a small section of the book that left me pondering over the subject matter. I hope you enjoy it! We all know we need money but the fact is, we all need money to have the life we have always desired. And the only possible way to achieve the dream is to erase the suggestions that claim money has negative aspects. Now, these beliefs have been rooted in our minds from generations, and removing them is quite difficult though not impossible. View all my reviews
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The Dhandho Investor: The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns by Mohnish Pabrai
My rating: 3 of 5 stars I found an audio book of "The Dhandho Investor" online and thought I should give it a listen. After all, it has been listed in the top economic and finance books on Goodreads, so I thought it was worth a shot. It is clear the author of "The Dhandho Investor" is a disciple of Warren Buffet, often quoting him and Charlie Munger throughout the book. Consequently, Pabrai echoes these famous investors principles, which is to find great undervalued companies with little downside and huge upside. The goal of an investor is to hold onto these companies for a long time, and slowly reap the rewards. Considering I have been binge watching a lot of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger clips on YouTube, I found "The Dhandho Investor" to be unfortunately redundant. Indeed, there is some original thought with special emphasis on Indians migrating from Uganda to America to slowly build profitable empires in the shapes of hotels across the country, but even still, it lacked a special quality that is often seen in other finance books by well known investors. A few takeaways from "The Dhandho Investor" is the importance of ingenious ways to build capitals. The example of "Papa Patel" and family members of the same name pooling their money together to invest in the first hotel is a brilliant idea. I have witnessed similar acts where I currently live, since newly immigrants from India live in a large house together, invest in a company/business and slowly reap profits that will benefit the future generations. However brilliant this idea is for the Patel's, it is not applicable to most citizens that were born and raised in North America. I suppose the only benefit of reading this book is the reinforcement of Warren's ideas that it is important to find a sound company with a good manager, and then heap loads of cash into their stocks to eventually generate a large surplus of income in the future. Recommend read for anyone that is interested in this investor, Mohnish Pabrai. If you have very little knowledge of stocks I would probably stay away from it, since the author uses technical terminology that investors tend to use when discussing the Stock Market and trading. A hopeful book for any new immigrants to the Americas, or those that want to find a clever way to generate income by pooling money together with other family members or friends. All in all, a somewhat interesting read, but one that I am happy to put down in favour of a better financial investment book. View all my reviews
How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by Peter D. Schiff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Life changing book. Hand's down one of the best finance books I have read in the year 2021. "How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes" explains the birth of Capitalism in America and its inevitable decline if the government and its policies do not change their ways. The strength of this book comes in Schiff's natural story-telling skills. I am a huge fan of his podcast "The Peter Schiff Show," and just like his weekly podcasts this book is highly entertaining. Schiff sense of humour kept me chuckling when turning the pages and the clever cartoon illustrations just added more of his dark humour to the text. It was interesting to see the analogies between the trade relations between China and the United States. The trading deficient has been declining over the past few decades and America's reliance on foreign goods will hurt them in the end. Schiff's stories give the reader a dark foreboding of the future but there is still time for America to change their ways. The book ends with a hopeful note, not only for the reader where they learn different techniques to prepare for the inevitable housing crisis and economic recession (or depression) but also the steps the FED and politicians can do to stop things before it is too late. As I read this book the CPI has just been released for the month of June and the inflation rate is "unexpectedly" higher than anticipated. The price of oil is skyrocketing, and basic consumer goods like food are steadily rising. How much longer will it be before we see an increase in the price of rent, electricity, and the basic necessity that American's need to pay on a monthly basis? I live in a foreign country (Canada), and even I can see the price of consumer goods doubling in grocery stores in comparison to last year. Schiff predicted these events would take place, long before Covid-19 packed a sizeable punch in the world economy. Now that the printing press is spinning, you can't help but wonder what will happen next, especially as the US national debt is increasing month by month in the year 2021. I think Peter Schiff sums it up the situation nicely with the following quote: "If our government won’t impose financial discipline, then our creditors, most notably China and Japan, eventually must. Although there are many forms in which this discipline could be delivered, the most likely method is that they simply stop buying our debt." Dark times lie ahead of us, but there is still a chance to make things right. I look forward to reading more of Peter Schiff's works. Highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in finances, investing in gold, or the importance of free trade relations without heavy government involvement. View all my reviews
Learn to Earn: A Beginner's Guide to the Basics of Investing and Business by Peter Lynch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars Let's talk about some late night reading. Just before bed I happened to stumble upon a free audio book of Lynch's "Learn to Earn: A Beginner's Guide to the Basics of Investing and Business." I knew this was a book that I had to read, so I was more then willing to stay up all night to listen to the audio book. Peter Lynch's most renown book is "One Up On Wall Street," a book that is still coveted and placed upon my top TBR finance list. After reading "Learn to Earn," it is clear that I need to invest my time and hard earned money on other works by Lynch. The author writes in layman's terms, simple for the everyday man or woman to understand. The target market for "Learn to Earn," is young folks, specifically those in their late teens or twenties. He breaks down the complicated world of economics, explaining the jargon so that people can better understand the system. Lynch states the different avenues of investments, and more importantly stresses the importance of learning about the business that you would like to invest in. Therefore, here are the top four key themes of this book: 1) Invest early. As soon as you are of legal age, now is the time to set aside some money and invest it into the stock market. 2) Place most of your money into stocks. You can place it in mutual funds/bonds, but if you want the biggest return for your money it is better to make a much riskier move and dabble in the stock market. 3) Anyone can learn the stock market! The goal of Lynch's novel is to make it accessible for all. He even points out different ways to trade in stocks without the use of a broker. 4) Put America first! A great emphasis on American citizens reinvesting in the companies that were built and remain in the United States of America. Lynch liked to trump up big businesses like Coco Cola, Nike, Microsoft, and other popular fast food joints. I was leaning towards a 3.5 to 4 stars because of the nauseating effect of American nationalism penetrating the pages. I know Americans like to state that they are "THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD," and Lynch is just one of many to proclaim it. All in all, it was a bit off putting for a Canadian, but perhaps it is because of the differences in our culture. I appreciated the historical background when it comes to Wall Street and the early settlement of banks. Personally, history lessons are always a joy to read, but could we take out the highly nationalist views that completely ignore the people that were settled there first (i.e. Indigenous people) or the people that helped make production more effective for the early settlers (i.e. black slaves)? The complete omission of the "other people" was hard to stomach when Lynch went through the history of Capitalism and its laws during the early formation of the United States of America. Sorry for being the Debbie Downer, but that is simply my own point of view. Anyways, this book is a good read for those that know very little about trading and how to read the stock charts. The author breaks it down into terms that are easy to understand. If I ever I have children, it will be a recommended read in their mid-teens or whenever they are old enough to legally buy and trade their stocks. View all my reviews |
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