A Box of Books (And Why You Should Care)

I get tons of free books sent to me from publishers -- it's part of the deal when you run a half-way popular personal finance blog. I could get a lot more, but I only say "yes" to those that I'm interested in. Even then, I don't have time to read them all, much less review them all.

I used to give away the books I received one at a time. But that was time-consuming and was costing me a fortune in postage. Then I gave them away to a local charity. They seemed less than thankful for my effort, so I'm moving on to another idea this round. Here's what I'm going to do: as part of my giveaway newsletter in June, I'll be giving away a box of books. Yep, one winner will get all of the books detailed below. You have to be a newsletter subscriber to win, so sign up for my giveaway newsletter (click the link) if you want a chance to win. Details on the giveaway will be announced through the newsletter sometime in early June. BTW, most of the books are in new shape, but some may be slighty read or even written in a bit. Still, they're in great condition overall.

For now, here's the list of books to be included and a bit about them (from Amazon.com):

• How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street: Golden Rules Any Investor Can Learn - Investing is simple, but never easy. We carry a lot of investment baggage, including hot tips from friends and the financial media, as well as complicated financial recommendations from Wall Street "experts." Yet, the biggest obstacle we face is the tendency to outsmart ourselves. In order to overcome that obstacle, you need to follow straightforward strategies that will consistently push your portfolio ahead of the pack by an additional 3 to 4 percent annually. These are strategies that work in up markets, and especially in times of market crisis and panic. Most importantly, these strategies are basic enough for even a kid to understand. In How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street, you'll follow the story of Kevin Roth—an eight-year-old who was schooled in simple approaches to sound investing by his father, seasoned financial planner Allan Roth—and discover exactly how simple it can be to become a successful investor. Page by page, you'll learn how to create a portfolio with the widest diversification and lowest costs; one that can move up your financial freedom by a decade and dramatically increase your spending rate during retirement. And all this can be accomplished by using some commonsense techniques.

• The New Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get on with Your Life - This little how-to-invest book, which elegantly summarizes our common worries about how to build wealth, was initially published 11 years ago. This updated, revised, and revamped edition stands the test of time—and of updating. Seattle-based Schultheis states his three principles of investing—allocate assets, approximate stock-market average, and save—then proceeds to expand and expound with personal stories and provocative questions. When is enough enough? What’s behind this Wall Street obsession to beat the market? Why do we need to lead a penny-pinching life today for a high retirement style tomorrow? Forget the complicated formulas, the diversity of spreadsheets. Concentrate instead, he advises, on understanding your burn rate, the meaning of diversification, and the value of being on financial autopilot. Like his peers (Suze Orman et al.), the author exposes two myths: “no load” mutual funds and “great companies make great investments.” All in all, solid and comfortable investment counsel that will help balance (and, eventually, grow) your balance sheet.

• Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life - Written by John C. Bogle–the legendary founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund–Enough. offers his unparalleled insights on money, the values we should emulate in our business and professional callings, and what we should consider as the true treasures in our lives. Inspired in large measure by the hundreds of lectures Bogle has delivered to professional groups and college students in recent years, this book will help you discover what it really means to have "enough" and how close you are to really having it.

• Money, Purpose, Joy: The Proven Path to Uncommon Financial Success - Discover the connection between money and what really matters in life. Using a prodigal son approach, financial expert Matt Bell helps readers understand how we've traveled far from the financial home God prepared for us. Matt helps readers redirect spending to meet their deepest longings for relationships and joy.

• Rich Brother Rich Sister - Two lives, together, then apart, then together again, as a brother and a sister discover the riches of life. Rich Brother, Rich Sister combines the inspirational true life stories of Robert Kiyosaki and his sister Emi into one book that will reaffirm your belief in the power of purpose, the importance of action, and the ability to overcome all obstacles in a quest for wealth, both financial and spiritual. This book will inspire you along your own life’s journey to find your own truth and purpose, your own path to prosperity—both financial and spiritual—all the riches of life that were meant for you...and us all.

• Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties and Thirties - As one grows older, it becomes increasingly apparent that the oft-repeated admonishment that it is never too early to start saving money is all too true. But the young are often disinclined to think about growing older, and they usually cannot "afford" to start setting money aside. Kobliner, herself a barely thirtysomething who writes for Money magazine, attempts to reach younger readers by speaking their language and tailoring fairly standard financial counsel to the needs and circumstances of those just starting out on their own. Included in her advice on budgeting, credit, banking, investing, retirement planning, home buying, insurance, and taxes are tips on car loans, credit cards, ATMs, bank accounts, mutual funds, retirement savings plans, apartment renting, and paying back student loans.

• Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education In Business and Life - Over the years, Donald Trump has written many bestselling books, and he has also written short pieces that summarize his singularly successful tenets on how to live the good life, both personally and professionally. These have been personally selected by Donald Trump for this book, giving his special perspective in what amounts to an “informal education” on how to succeed in business and life. The pieces are engaging, informative, and educational, presenting the clearest picture yet into the mind and heart of an extraordinary individual.

• Financial Infidelity: Seven Steps to Conquering the #1 Relationship Wrecker - Money—not sexual adultery—is the #1 problem in relationships. According to Dr. Bonnie, one of the nation’s leading couples therapists, “nearly one-third of adults in committed relationships admit to lying to their partner about spending habits.” Secret credit cards, binge shopping, revenge spending, and POPs (pissed off purchases) are just a few examples of how financial infidelity undermines trust and harms a relationship. With clarity and compassion, Dr. Bonnie—who has a near one hundred percent success rate in counseling couples— helps readers recognize their hidden financial indiscretions, reconnect with their partners, and recover the trust and intimacy in their relationships.

• The Skinny on Credit Cards, How to Master the Credit Card Game - The Skinny on Credit Cards: How to Win the Credit Card Game. Finally, someone has written a book which is clear, concise and comprehensive on the subject of credit cards. The Skinny on Credit Cards will be helpful to everyone from the young adult getting his or her first card to the older adult who has used cards for years and never really totally understood the rules of the game. The Skinny on Credit Cards is a compilation of all the books and articles that have been written on the subject. All the experts were consulted. The Skinny presents all the relevant information in an entertaining and easy-to-digest fashion. The credit card world is willing to lend you money. They want money back in return in the form of fees and interest. In some ways, the use of a credit card is a big game. Your job as a consumer is to play the game well so that you get more out of the relationship than do the credit card issuers. The Skinny on Credit Cards will teach you how to win the game!!

• The Skinny on the Housing Crisis, What Every Homeowner and Homebuyer Needs to Know - The Skinny is an entertaining account of a multi-trillion dollar industry real estate buying, selling and borrowing that has lost its way. This skinny book intended to be read in about an hour or so will have more impact on its reader than a book with 10 times the verbiage which can take weeks to read. Recommended for anyone considering the purchase, sale or financing of real estate, The Skinny has been strongly endorsed by a wide spectrum of real estate professionals across the United States.

• Be Your Own House Contractor: How to Save 25 Percent Without Lifting a Hammer (Garden Way Publishing Classic) - This book should be required reading for anyone who is thinking about building or renovating a house. The savings involved can make the difference between just dreaming about that dream house and actually building it. The primary message behind Be Your Own House Contractor is “You can do it!” According to construction expert and author Carl Heldmann, anyone can oversee the building of a house and save up to 25 percent by acting as the main contractor. This popular book has sold over 268,000 copies since it was first published in 1982. Written for those with little or no experience in the building trades, Be Your Own House Contractor clearly and simply lays out the steps involved in home construction and answers the many questions that arise.

• How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job: Your Complete Guide to Opportunities, Internships, Resumes and Cover Letters, Application Essays (KSAs), Interviews, Salaries, Promotions and More! - No book description on Amazon, but the title kind of says it all. Also rated 5 stars with 24 reviews.

• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future - "Abundance, Asia, and automation." Try saying that phrase five times quickly, because if you don't take these words into serious consideration, there is a good chance that sooner or later your career will suffer because of one of those forces. Pink, best-selling author of Free Agent Nation (2001) and also former chief speechwriter for former vice-president Al Gore, has crafted a profound read packed with an abundance of references to books, seminars, Web sites, and such to guide your adjustment to expanding your right brain if you plan to survive and prosper in the Western world. According to Pink, the keys to success are in developing and cultivating six senses: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Pink compares this upcoming "Conceptual Age" to past periods of intense change, such as the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance, as a way of emphasizing its importance.

• Overworked, Overwhelmed, and Underpaid: Simple Steps to Go From Stress to Success - Louis Barajas provides 4 simple steps that lead to success for people living a life of quiet desperation. Overworked, Overwhelmed, and Underpaid is about creating a human experience through the coaching tools Louis Barajas uses with his clients. Perfect for people who are frustrated and struggling to express their full potential and live their highest purpose, this book takes readers through a four-step process to develop the self-confidence to not only build wealth but also live the life of their dreams.

• Nobody Wants a Million Dollars: How to View Money as a Personal Finance Tool Instead of a Life Goal - Do you really want a million dollars? This book takes a look at money as a tool in your life instead of a life goal. After explaining the benefits of this mindset, the book goes on to explore major areas of personal finance, and how to approach them with the money as a tool framework. The subjects range from following Dave Ramsey's advice about debt to avoiding potential money pitfalls. The author uses examples from his own life and the lives of others to illustrate a better approach to money management.

• Beat the Recession: A Blueprint for Business Survival - Everyone knows this by now: the financial outlook for the coming year isn't great. But your business will be OK - as long as you act now. It doesn't matter if economists' metrics indicate that technically the economy is not in recession. Whatever they say it's going to feel like one and in the words of the great Willie John McBride, you need to get your retaliation in first. Take the necessary action now and the recession everyone is talking about could actually turn out to be good news for your company; after all there's probably a lot of stuff you have been putting off dealing with: your pricing policy, how overdue accounts are handled, whether to drop that product range, straightening out morale levels and resolving team issues. Well now's the time to get all those issues dealt with, and this is the book to help you succeed. "Beat the Recession" contains the best of current thinking on how to survive - and with care, thrive - in the impending global economic downturn. It is entirely practical and there is absolutely no padding, waffle or theory. There are no pictures, stories or case studies. Just 100 per cent turn-this-business-around-now value. Here are all the ideas you have to implement now to strengthen and build your company's performance. Simple, clear and to the point.

• Make Up, Don't Break Up: Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples [MAKE UP DONT BREAK UP] - No description at Amazon. Yikes!

• The Skinny on Willpower, How to Develop Self Discipline - Ever wish you could speed read every book written on a particular topic? Well, now someone has done that for you. The Skinny on Willpower is a substantive analysis of the subject of self-discipline, told in story format. This book is the story of a young couple each with a goal that requires the development of willpower. Each struggles with their challenge but through trial and error and advice of the moderator, find the way to achieve their dreams. The author, Jim Randel, has spent thirty years studying the subjects of willpower and self-discipline. He has read every book or article on the subject, he has listened to all the CDs. He has spoken with the experts. He has interviewed superstars in movies. TV, athletics, politics and business. This book is the conclusion of his studies. In a book that can be read in about one hour, the reader will gain an incredibly valuable understanding of how to boost his or her willpower.

Comments

[Corporate Barbarian]

That's a very generous offer. I just signed up.

[Adrian B.]

Can't wait for the drawing. Thanks.

[Diane]

Consider donating them to your local library in the future. If they add them to their collection then many people can benefit from your donation.

[Anna]

DOes it work for people in Canada ?

[FMF]

Anna --

Yes, I'll ship them to Canada if you win. :-)

[Rob]

FYI in case I'm not the only one...I subscribed to your newsletter when you first posted about it a month back or so and have yet to receive one, I just signed up again and hope it works.. I know it didnt go to my junk box because I check that everyday to be sure I dont miss anything.

[FMF]

Rob --

Send me the email you signed up with and I can check my list to verify you're on. You should have received two newsletters by now -- one for April and one for May (just out this week.)

[Jenni]

Wow! This is a fantastic giveaway. I'll definitely look for this in June!

[Benjamin Lee]

That was generous on your part. Keep it up.
I would prefer to pass it round with the condition the taker must read the book and pass it to the next one.

[Mary]

These finance books look interesting. Thanks for the great offer.

[Brett]

sounds like some interesting books

[Carrie]

I would love to add all these books to my library. Thanks for the offer.

[Karen]

the books sound like great reads

[Nikki]

Sounds like a lot of great books.

[Sanjeev]

I am in

[Craig]

Reading. A great part of any financial plan.

[Kay]

Thanks for sharing!

[Lori]

Reading is FUNdamental

[Michelle Stewart]

This sounds like a great giveaway. There is something to be learned from thest books.

[Jerry]

I like to read