Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life - Hardcover

Eisenson, Marc; Detweiler, Gerri; Castleman, Nancy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471248886 ISBN 13: 9780471248880

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 1998

Synopsis

Don't just invest in stocks and bonds. Invest in your life.

"This book is guaranteed to make a difference in the way you approach money, work-and life in general-whether you're just starting out, struggling to succeed, or already on track." -Terry Savage, Chicago Sun-Times, personal finance columnist.

"We Americans have a choice-spend life enslaved to the gods of consumerism, or live simply but free to fulfill our dreams. If you are yearning to give freedom a try, you'll find this inspiring book provides the road map you'll need to get started." -Ralph Warner, author of Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well.

"The most important trend of the new millennium is the focus on freedom. Invest in Yourself will put you on the path to freedom, so you can live the life you freely choose. It will help you on the job, at home, and with your finances." -Gerald Celente, Director, Trends Research Institute and author of Trends 2000.

A Money Book Club selection

Put together the portfolio of your life-finances, family, and you

Success in life consists of more than just a hefty bank account. Your happiness portfolio also includes family, friends, home, career, and the time to appreciate life's simple pleasures. Invest in Yourself offers six easy steps to simplify your life and enjoy it to the fullest.

It all comes down to making decisions about what you really want and then mapping out a realistic game plan to get there. Where do you want to live? Do you want to put your career on hold to spend more time with your toddler? Are there a few small business ideas rattling around in your head that you'd like to turn into reality? Would you like some easy, proven ways to reduce the cost of college? When do you want to retire, and what hopes do you have for your golden years?

Changing your direction doesn't have to send your life into a tailspin. Once you nail down your goals, Invest in Yourself provides savvy advice as well as painlessly practical and risk-free strategies you can use immediately to test drive your fantasies and discover for yourself if they are right for you.

Invest in Yourself isn't afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. Do you really need to sock away a king's ransom for retirement? Is the purchase of a home the most important investment of your life? Do you need a lot of capital to start a small business, and is it worth the risk? How can you make sure your children will be accepted at the best college for them?

Invest in Yourself offers the perfect mix of down-to-earth philosophy, financial strategies, and money-saving tips. You'll also learn how to start your own business with little risk, negotiate flex-time at work, plant a healthful garden, and help your children become smart consumers.

Packed with sidebars, anecdotes, examples, homespun wisdom, and references to Web sites, newsletters, books, and other resources, Invest in Yourself is a comprehensive guide to creating the life of your dreams. It will have a major impact on your life's bottom line.

Marc Eisenson is the author of the bestseller, The Banker's Secret, and a nationally recognized expert on how to painlessly exit from debt. Nancy Castleman, along with Marc, publishes the highly respected Pocket Change Investor newsletter. Through books, software, audiotapes, and an assortment of other publications, Marc and Nancy's Good Advice Press has saved hundreds of thousands of families billions of dollars. They live the ideas of this book on a farm in upstate New York where their nearest neighbors are cows.

Gerri Detweiler is the author of The Ultimate Credit Handbook and an authority on the credit and financial services industry. The former executive director of the Bankcard Holders of America, Gerri lives and works from her home office in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.

The authors have been featured on The Today Show, Dateline NBC, CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, and Good Morning America, and in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and hundreds of other media outlets worldwide.

About this title

Review:

Written by three veteran consumer experts who escaped the rat race, Invest in Yourself is a comprehensive guide for saving money and becoming a better person in the process. The book offers six secrets to the rich life--the first is to determine what you want in a career, write Marc Eisenson, Gerri Detweiler, and Nancy Castleman. "By carefully investing your time, energy, and maybe a little money, you can find out where you really want to go--and then do what you need to get there," they write. "It's one of your best investment opportunities, way better than anything you can get in the stock market." The other five keys: invest in intangibles like family and friends; pay off debts and get into a 401(k); keep learning new skills; manage your own money and get an "ace in the hole"--a tiny business of your own. Invest in Yourself offers a myriad of tips for squeezing the most out of a dollar. It tells you how to negotiate to get the best price on just about anything, including motel rooms and used cars, and gives the lowdown on turning your kids into savers and investors, controlling college bills, cutting home buying costs, and planning for retirement. The book is also a good clearinghouse for Web sites, helpful phone numbers, and information about newsletters like Loose Change and The Cheapskate Monthly.

The authors know first hand how to live a simple life and reduce expenses. Eisenson and Castleman left behind the big city and started a pro-consumer newsletter in a rented dream home in the country. They very rarely go to stores, preferring yard sales and thrift shops; they grow much of their own food; and practically everything they buy is used. If it breaks, they fix it. Cowriter Gerri Detweiler chucked her executive post with a large credit-education organization and made it as a writer and consultant. If you're thinking of making a similar move, this book might be a good investment. It's also for anyone looking for some ways to stay on a tight budget or for people just joining the working world. --Dan Ring

From the Publisher:

Simplification is one of the major trends in this country. People are looking for ways to successfully balance their personal finances, work, and family life. Invest in Yourself addresses these concerns and provides the perfect mix of down-to-earth philosophy, financial strategies, and money saving tips all designed to lead to a happier and more productive life. While other personal finance books tend to focus on living frugally, this book explains ways to lead a richer life by only spending money on what's important. The authors, consumer advocates, have formulated a six-step program designed to help readers assess their needs and wants, and eventually lead them to creating the life they desire. The book also offers helpful tips on such timely financial topics as lowering credit card fees, reducing long distance phone service, prepaying mortgages, and negotiating flex time at work.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0471248886
• ISBN 13: 9780471248880
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256