
Title : Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life
Author : Marc Eisenson
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Get High Returns on Your Time, Energy, and Money!
"Our goal for Invest in Yourself is to motivate you to take charge of your life and make the most out of your time, energy, and money." That's a novel and valuable perspective that's worth five stars for this book.
Too many self-help books focus on helping you get more money or more out of your money, but ignore the costs in terms of the time, attention, effort and stress involved. Invest in Yourself looks beyond that overly-narrow focus. That's the good news about this book.
The bad news about this book is that it has taken on more than one book can hope to fully deliver on. I hope the authors come out with sequels that expand and magnify what is here.
The six secrets are:
(1) Make your own lifestyle decisions.
(2) Put your family first.
(3) Wherever you work, be in business for yourself.
(4) Make the most of the money you bring home.
(5) Turn your debts into golden investment opportunities.
(6) Map out your financial future.
The three authors have an unusual perspective. They have dropped out of the "get ahead at the office" rat race and "shop until you drop" lifestyles much more than most. As a result, they have lots of money-saving ideas based on their own life experiences. Much of what is in the book, Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge would approve of. If you are like me, you will find money-saving ideas that would never have occurred to you, otherwise. My parents have always shopped are yard sales, but it had never occurred to me to use these routinely for the kind of around-the-house items that I will seldom use like unusual garden tools.
One of the strengths of the book is that it is not a "one size fits all" approach. They realize that each person will have a different set of life goals, and the advice is couched to accommodate that.
I also liked the way that the book challenged the automatic assumptions that many make: Career comes first; job comes first; exciting consumer experiences are a main reward for success; and only the best will do.
By having three authors, the perspectives and ideas were much more varied than I have seen in other, somewhat-similar self-help books. That also was a strength.
The weakest section was the last one on mapping out your financial future. Almost everyone will need more guidance than is here. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are lots of books about creating financial plans that you can use to supplement this one.
On the other hand, those who buy into the traditional American Dream and will happily pay the price for economic success will find less in this book than will those independent souls who listen to their own intuition for guidance. Despite ideas for making penny-pinching fun, it's not going to be fun for everyone. I do applaud pointing out how saving money for essentials is far more valuable than expanding income due to the income tax effects on progressive income. The advice about paying off your expensive debt is pretty standard, but I liked the way it was couched in terms of thinking of it as a high return investment.
I hope you will not only read this book, but apply its lessons. As you do, I encourage you to expand your perspective even more broadly than the book does. What other areas do you have important values in, besides time, money, and energy? How can those values be honored in your tradeoffs? The more you do this, the better life you will have . . . the richer your life will be in terms of its effect on those around you.
Enjoy, live long, and prosper!

Title : Grown-up's Guide to Running Away from Home
Author : Rosanne Knorr
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Solid, Nuts-and-Bolts Advice for Adults
Filled with practical advice covering both the philosophical ("Don't you love your country?" objections) and the practical (a recommended cat carrier), Knorr breaks a complicated, life-changing idea into specific, do-able tasks. Anyone who has thought about living overseas for months or years must read this book.
Beginning with a personality assessment for the would-be expatriate, Knorr guides the reader through a step-by-step analysis of moving overseas. As the title implies, this is a book for adults who may be encumbered with houses, aging parents, life-long living patterns and other apparent obstacles to making a major life change.
Knorr's cautious approach and practical information are designed to produce either a successful sojourn overseas or the avoidance of what might turn out to be an impulsive mistake.

Title : Have a Healthy and Happy Retirement
Author : Michael Apple
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : How to enjoy freedom better health a comfortable lifestyle
One of the greatest changes to have taken place over the last years is the attitude to retirement and ageing. No longer do the older generation creep along as Old Age Pensioners. Instead we see Seniors enjoying their freedom, better health, and with a little luck and planning, a comfortable lifestyle.
Dr Michael Apple, a GP who is also a writer, has brought all this together in his latest book. He urges anyone approaching retirement to think positively about what it will mean, and to seize with both hands the opportunities which are there. He advises us not to let this major change in life catch up on us without some planning, since he points out that in retirement we are viewed in a different light not only by others but by ourselves as well. He explains how some of the relationships we have will change, and how and why even our children may look at us differently.
So, read this book to find out about how to make the most of your opportunities - browse through it - and you will find out all you need to know about moving from a fixed daily routine to using your time more freely. He acknowledges that poor health or a disability may be a factor to contend with, and gives good advice about how to cope with some of these problems.
His sound recommendations are: keep healthy physically and emotionally, look at how ageing affects the body and the mind, make sure you are safe, care for your appearance, and maybe even reassess your sex life.

Title : Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well
Author : Ralph E. Warner
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : One of the best all round books on retirement planning!
As a Certified Financial Planner, I recommend this book to many of my clients who are seriously planning their retirements. Warner has done a great job putting things in the proper perspective with a book that is an "easy read". While adequate money is important to a satisfactory retirement (and helping clients build a satisfactory net worth is how I make my living), I do find, as has Warner, that there are more important things such as health, friends, and a purpose (i.e., reasons to get up in the morning) when it comes to planning out one's retirement. I frequently ask clients what they plan to do when they retire. When they say "go fishing" or "play golf", I then ask them what they plan to do the second week/month/year. And I keep asking the question until they realize that its a serious one. Warner takes it further with discussion and clear examples. In short, a must read for anyone approaching retirement.