 5 Minutes to Trust Money: 5 Minutes to Money by Nivedita VedurlaMy 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 PabraiMy 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
Thus far, I have never written a character like Mr. Summers. In my historical romance novel "Awakening," Mr. Summers is introduced in the first chapter and the main characters (and even the readers) take an instant liking to him. He is nothing short of a gentleman. A man of honesty, integrity, and possessing a noble nature, it is clear he would be more than worthy to win the hand of Miss Ava Miller. So, what is holding him back? And why can't Ava turn her silly little head and notice that her ideal man is right in front of her? Human nature has its faults. Mr. Elliot Summers is tremendously proud, and moreover reserved. Being a successful banker he tends to think with his head rather than his heart. He has no time for romantic idealized fantasies like the woman that has caught his eye. Mr. Summers acknowledges the fact that he finds Miss Miller attractive, but instead of putting on the charm this intelligent man seeks to win over the approval of her parents and Ava's closest companions. Steadily he steps into her life, until Miss Miller realizes that her parents have taken a fancy to matchmaking her with their families banker. The inspiration for Mr. Summers came about naturally, although I cannot pinpoint its exact origins. Many have compared him to Mr. Darcy and only after publishing "Awakening" was I able to see the similarities between Jane Austen's "Mr. Darcy" and my own "Mr. Summers."
If you can just ignore the male pen name for a moment, imagine a sixteen year old girl absolutely obsessed with Jane Austen. Yes, that was me! I can still recall the day that I first watched the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice; the scene where Colin Firth emerges from the water with a wet shirt clinging to his chest and dripping down his body. It was from that point on that my addiction with Jane Austen grew in strength, compounding like interest until I could recite certain passages from her novels. So, in a sense it is logical to deduce that Mr. Summers was indirectly inspired by the many love interests from Jane Austen's novels. I see something of the spirit of Mr. Darcy and Colonel Brandon in the shape of Mr. Summers, whereas Mr. Wickham and the infamous John Willoughby emerge into its truest form as Mr. Riley. A happy coincidence! I see no faults in echoing a woman I have ardently admired and worshipped since I was a late teen, especially since I took those ideas and went beyond it to explore the depths of passion, temptation and the miraculous power of the heroine finding true love.  Mr. Elliot Summers is also adorable in the truest sense. At times he can be bold enough to make his intentions known, and others he is uncharacteristically shy and unable to hold eye contact for very long with Miss Miller. Her very presence makes him uncomfortably shy and makes his logical mind churn into mush. He cannot understand the power that Miss Miller has over him, and once his best friend, Mr. Riley, makes his intentions clear that he also wants to begin a sexually romantic relationship with the young woman it only inflames poor Mr. Summers passions for Ava.
With his back against the wall, what will Mr. Elliot Summers do? He has already won the good favour of the Miller family, but he is still unable to obtain the affections of his dear Ava. It feels like everything he says is falling on deaf ears. Can't she see all the things he has done to procure her happiness? Does she not see that he has taken a vested interest in her families bookshop, even offering to lend money to Miller's Bookshop to ensure its success? All of his good intentions are seemingly miscued by Ava, and he finds that her attention is unwillingly being taken away by his handsome and undeniably sexually alluring friend, Thomas Riley. Is there any hope at all for Mr. Summers? Will he be able to conquer this impossible task of winning Miss Miller's heart? You will have to read the book to find it out. You can read a copy of this book by clicking on the button below. Take advantage of this sale, which will end July 16, 2021.  How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by Peter D. SchiffMy 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 |
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